09/16/2025
As we have reached the first year anniversary of life without James (Victor) we are no less sorrowful and no less heartbroken. Xavi and I miss him everyday and we will love him forevermore.
Obituary
James Curtis Lane /aka Victor Gamble
April 21st, 1965 - September 11th, 2024
James Curtis Lane was born on April 21st, 1965 in Queens, New York to a fifteen-year-old mother, Nancy Gamble. Nancy named her son Victor before making the wrenching decision to give him up for adoption. As an infant, Victor was placed into the NYC foster care system, where he resided with several different foster families before finally being adopted and re-named James at the age of two, by James L. and Arlenia Mae Lane. The Lane family lived in Harlem, NY where James grew up with an older sister Marilyn and a large extended family.
James attended public school in NYC, where he excelled. In addition to his above average academic abilities, James was drawn to rock music at a young age. He described spending countless hours as a teenager listening to music and teaching himself to play both guitar and bass. Without a single guitar or music lesson, James became a highly skilled musician. Although his first love was music, James also possessed artistic and creative talents which gained him admission into the prestigious NYC High School of Art and Design.
In middle and high school, James made lifelong friends and continued to pursue his love of music by playing in various rock bands. Upon graduation, James enlisted in the US Army Reserves where he studied electrical engineering. After basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, James returned to NYC to begin earning a living while continuing his military service on weekends in Brooklyn.
During this formative time in his early twenties, James experienced several severe emotional shocks. First, both of his parents died suddenly only six months apart from one another. James described finding his mother’s lifeless body as a trauma no young man should have to endure. Then, while still reeling from the death of his parents, James unearthed a redacted birth certificate and adoption paperwork in his parents’ safety deposit box. He was blindsided to discover that he was not the biological son of his parents, but had been adopted by the Lane family as a toddler.
From the adoption paperwork, James learned that his birth name was Victor, but he could not find out his birth mother’s full identity or his original last name. Many in the Lane family had known James was adopted, but no one had ever told him this crucial information about his origins. The secrecy of his undisclosed adoption inflicted a deep wound which James could not comprehend and which began to haunt him. Yet, he buried his emotions and relied on his well-honed survival instincts to keep moving forward.
James’ innate technology skills paved his way into the IT workforce. His employers quickly recognized James’ savant-level talents, especially in data management, which garnered him employment opportunities in accounting, medical billing, online advertising, client services, and other positions in the technology field. All of this highly skilled work was largely self-taught and accomplished without traditional higher education — James had never earned a college degree.
While working full-time in his twenties and thirties, James continued to pursue his passion for music. He played bass and occasionally guitar in several New York area bands, including Perfect Mercy, Enemy Within, Defrokt, Black Dawn and most recently, Elefant Killer. Music continued to be one of James’ greatest joys. He loved all musical genres but was especially drawn to what he called “dark heavy metal.” He had many hopes and dreams for a life in and around the music world, and pursued those dreams with great energy, hard work and imagination. He devoted his time not only to his own various bands, but also lent his support to the vibrant NYC music scene.
In October of 1999, James married Daniella Liebling (aka Dani). They met through friends in the music world and had known each other for ten years before they began dating in 1998. A Manhattan resident his whole life, James moved to Brooklyn with Dani and they embarked on domestic life. They shared a strong desire and longing to become parents together. The prospect of starting their own family spurred James to embark on a search for his birth mother. That initial search proved quite challenging and would take many years to come to fruition.
Early on in their marriage, James began to pursue his entrepreneurial vision. While simultaneously holding down day jobs, he started working with Mia Mind Music on promotion of his own and other NYC bands. Eventually James started an enterprise of his own: Hot Indie Media/Hot Indie News. The business took on many incarnations over the years, most recently branching into live music video production. James had added video production skills to his wide repertoire and found himself in great demand to record live music events, propelling Hot Indie Media to become one of the most highly reputed music video production companies in the NYC indie music arena.
On May 7th, 2005, after several pregnancy losses, James and Dani were blessed with a son they named Nathaniel Xavier Liebling (aka Xavi). James was adamant that Xavi be given Dani’s last name as opposed to his, because he felt that, “Lane is not my name to give.” James was a devoted and loving father. He always had a childlike sensibility and time spent with Xavi gave him an opportunity to heal some of his own early life trauma stemming from buried memories of separation from his birth mother and abrupt transitions in foster care. As a child, James felt he did not “fit in.” He sensed something deep was missing during his childhood and made up for this sense of loss by developing a close-knit relationship with his son.
James played with Xavi for hours and took him on many adventures — to Comic Con, sports and school events, birthday parties, Kung Fu classes and family vacations. James taught Xavi to play guitar and (of course) took him to many of his own band’s gigs, as well as to shows James was recording. When James enlisted Xavi to help on some video shoots, he was often delighted to find Xavi joining the adults to dance in the Mosh Pit.
When Xavi took an interest in playing soccer, James organized a casual weekend soccer league where friends and neighbors played together for hours. As Xavi became a more serious soccer player, James attended and recorded all his games. Other parents and coaches often relied on James to share his game footage, which became something of legend in the soccer community.
In addition to music and family, James and Dani were dedicated political activists, working together on dozens of Green Party political campaigns. James also ran for elected office twice himself. First for NYC Public Advocate and again for US Congress. Both campaigns garnered him much love, respect and notoriety in NYC.
On the trail to find his birth mother, James became active in the Adoptee Rights movement in New York State. His own search had been hampered by the fact that until 2020, adopted adults in New York were denied legal access to their unredacted original birth certificates. However, in tandem with the activism and lobbying of elected officials, James was instrumental in the successful movement to overturn the draconian law.
While working in the Adoptee Rights movement, James attended an adoptee support group where he was able to grapple with some of his childhood demons. His experience in the support group also connected him to a private detective who specialized in finding birth families. In 2013, James was able to reunite with his birth mother Nancy Barbara Gamble. The reunion with Nancy and other extended birth family (including two half-sisters, Juanita and Francesca) was a profound and life altering experience for James. It helped him to process a lot of feelings and put some of his life-long anxiety at ease.
Nancy assured James that she had always dreamed of reuniting with him. She had only given him up for adoption due to her young age and inability to raise him on her own. However, James was never able to learn the identity of his biological father. This unresolved mystery and lack of clarity surrounding the circumstances of his conception, continued to take a deep emotional toll on him.
James and Nancy grew close during the nine years they had together. She was a keen supporter of all of James’/Victor’s musical endeavors. Though Nancy had serious health issues, she came to several of his band’s gigs and danced in the mosh pit in her wheelchair. James also hired a private chef to cook healthy meals for Nancy in an effort to improve her health. Tragically, Nancy passed away on November 17th, 2022.
James drew tremendous strength from a close bond with his older sister Marilyn (from the Lane family) and her three children Ashika, Allen, and Alexander. Marilyn was always extremely supportive of James (who she called Chuckie) and was thrilled when he found his birth mother. Marilyn made a special effort to meet Nancy and offered loving and enthusiastic support to James throughout his entire life.
James was always an extremely hard worker. He continuously put his best effort and many long hours into everything he did. Few possess his level of perfectionism, high standards and dedication to any endeavor. His desire to please bosses, colleagues, bandmates, clients, family and friends was always his highest priority, often to his own detriment.
When James did allow himself to relax, one of his favorite pastimes was seeing movies. He was a classic “movie-file” and passionate film critic, with an uncanny memory for the dialogue and scene-by-scene recounting of nearly every classic and/or favorite film. He could (and would) often quote famous movie lines. He could also recall exactly what year, in what theater, and with whom he saw a film, no matter how many years ago it occurred.
James loved to play volleyball and soccer. He especially enjoyed the challenge of playing soccer goalie. He played casually as a child and later in adult leagues associated with his various jobs. As a father, James relished playing goalie with Xavi and his friends at many pickup soccer games in the park. He recalled those weekend afternoons playing with Xavi and his friends as some of his happiest memories.
James had a Midas touch when it came to fixing things. He could take intricate items apart (locks, furniture, instruments, toys, electronics) in order to repair them, then reassemble them perfectly. Often after others tried to fix something for hours, James would simply touch the item and it would kick into gear. When asked how he fixed it, James would say with a wry smile, “I just touched it and it worked.”
James had a deep affection for animals and as an adult, became a staunch vegetarian. When asked what he would or would not eat, he often explained, “I don’t eat anything with a face.” He also had an innate ability to relate to animals. In particular, dogs were wildly attracted to him — as if he was part of the pack. He could calm any riled-up dog instantly. If a dog he knew saw him from far away, it would begin barking and wagging its tail with excitement at the chance to play with him. As a child James had a dog named Rex that he loved dearly. When Rex died, James was so distraught that he skipped school for two weeks before his parents knew. James would never again allow himself to have another pet due to the fear of experiencing another such loss.
James experienced more early life/early adult trauma than most people experience in a lifetime. Unfortunately, he was not able to avail himself of the therapeutic assistance he needed to fully understand and process his deepest feelings, yet he never abandoned his personal dreams and his hopes for a just society. His passion for life and dedication to all his pursuits are an enduring legacy for his son Xavi and for all those who knew him.
Tragically, in 2022, James was diagnosed with prostate cancer that had already metastasized when it was fully discovered. He struggled valiantly for two and a half years to beat the disease, never taking time off from work and always continuing to play the music that gave him so much joy.
James was a fighter and survivor who faced extreme emotional adversity, but he always tried to put on a good face for others. He was loved by so many people in all areas of his life from family, to music, to work, to activism. We will never forget his bright contagious smile, his goofy sense of humor, his stubborn perfectionism, his boisterous deep laugh, his curiosity, his ability to fix anything, his creative spirit, his many talents and his great hopes and dreams. We will keep his memory and spirit alive forever.
James is survived by his wife Daniella Liebling, his son Nathaniel Xavier Liebling, his sisters Marilyn Ford Vessels, Juanita Gamble and Francesca Watts, his nieces and nephews, Liebling in-laws and extended family from all three sides — birth, adoptive, and marital families.
We will love you deeply and forever James. We know you are now with your parents and with God’s spirits and angels who are guiding your healing process. We know you are learning to give and receive all the love you deserve forevermore.
