Produced by Bob Rose at The Forum Music Village in Rome, the album reunited Des Barres with Nigel Harrison (former bassist of Blondie and Silverhead) on bass and guitar, in addition to Clive Deamer (Radiohead, Portishead, Robert Plant) on drums, and Dani Robinson on guitar.

[10] In 2018, he formed the Mistakes, consisting of all veteran musicians – Loren Molinare (founding member of Little Caesar & the Dogs) on guitar, Eric Himel (Powerman 5000, host of the Sunset Jam) on guitar, Paul Ill (LA-based musician with sales of over 20 million records as a studio musician and 4.5 million records as a songwriter) on bass guitar, and Matt Starr (studio and touring drummer with Guns N' Roses, Ace Frehley, Bon Jovi & Whitesnake) on drums.

The band is signed to Steven Van Zandt's Wicked Cool Records and has released 4 songs – "Living in the USA"/"Gotta Serve Somebody" (1/19/18) and "Crackle and Hiss"/"Stop in the Name of Love" (7/5/19).

He later concentrated his energies on acting again and was cast in Ghoulies (1985) as cult leader Malcolm Graves,[13] and Nightflyers (1987) as a charismatic empath.

His other film roles have included Midnight Cabaret (1990), Under Siege (1992), Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992), A Simple Twist of Fate (1994), and Sugar Town (1999).

[14] On television, besides the role of Murdoc in MacGyver, Des Barres was also a lead cast member of The New WKRP in Cincinnati during the 1991–1992 season, as part of a husband-and-wife morning team.

On 23 October 2013, Des Barres joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the world premiere of 200 Motels: The Suites, by Frank Zappa, in which he appeared as Rance, the narrator.

Over six million listeners hear an eclectic mix of rock, soul and punk, infused with Des Barres' extensive musical knowledge and his messages of positivity and longevity.

[15] In 2021, Des Barres released the documentary Who Do You Want Me To Be, directed by J. Elvis Weinstein, on streaming platforms plus DVD and Blu-ray.

The tag line for the film is "The son of a junkie aristocrat and a schizophrenic showgirl becomes a master of reinvention on a 50+ year journey through rock and roll, TV, and movies.