On Good News Santa Cruz, Thursday, November 25, 2021, Lucille Tee interviewed James Durbin about the release of his new album “Durbin – The Beast Awakens,” and life in Santa Cruz.
“It’s OK to be an artist in your hometown,” said the 32-year-old singer who made a name for himself a decade ago on “American Idol” and had spent several years in Nashville, Tennessee, before returning to his hometown two years ago.
Durbin decided to take his modern heavy metal revivalist bent to the next level with the album he released in February, “DURBIN — The Beast Awakens.” The album takes his love of all things Dio, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest and sets out “to craft his own signature strain of fantasy-inspired power metal.”
Good News Santa Cruz is a show hosted by a collective of women inspired by the peace and social justice mission of WILPF (Women's International League for Peace and Freedom). There's 104 years of history behind this show–years of women crossing many nations and facing all kinds of odds to make a world that works better for us all. And this work is still going on, as powerful as ever. Our show brings that story home, here and now, in Santa Cruz, and in real time. We air interviews with local people who are finding real ways out of the mess we're in – with stories, ideas, successes and strategies connecting across issues to achieve systems change. Team Members include: Randa Solick – Educator and Social Justice Activist; Pauline Seales – Educator and climate activist; Nancy Glock-Grueneich – Educator and systems change visionary; Debora Bone – Medical Professional and Social Justice Activist; Christine Barrington – Therapist and Societal Transformation Activist; David Sweet – WILPF member, Retired History Professor and Social Justice Activist; Keisha Frost – CEO, United Way Santa Cruz County.