Mike Edel can still do this

ep21 Mike Edel can still do this

[00:00:00] There are a lot of reasons for me to do this podcast.

A lot of outcomes that get layered into the delivery method. Same can be said for the people I think of to interview or find myself in conversation with others about choosing to invite as guests. Lord knows we are only 20 episodes into the lifespan. I’ve already scrutinizing my choices so intensely.

One of those criteria for me personally that gives me joy is being able to introduce others to someone I think is awesome. It’s the same energy of making a new friend and being excited to bring them out to an event. To meet your current group of friends,

you wanna rise up and vouch for them so badly. And with a podcast, you encounter stories and characters that feel compelling and wish everyone else could know and appreciate them the way that you do. I’d say like a good book, but I don’t really read. What does it look like to chase the [00:01:00] dream?

Those who roll the dice on not just wanting to be rock stars, but make the sacrifices for that life. Is it what we expect? What can we learn from the stories, the life lived between the shows, the tours, the albums? I wanted the real stuff on this podcast. Mike Edel’s story delivered. I knew I needed to talk to him.

I was already aware that he is charming, witty, and sharp and articulate. A great start for a podcast guest, but Mike has had an interesting version of chasing the dream, the centerpiece of which can only be characterized as a health tragedy. He’s a Canadian, married and living in America. How good do you think a air quote struggling artist’s healthcare coverage is?

Do they even have it or afford it? So what is a 30 something artist about to embark on a tour out of his van with his newly pregnant wife [00:02:00] do when he suffers a stroke 30 something stroke wife is pregnant on the road. How long of a recovery do you think that is? Why don’t we introduce a global pandemic into the mix too.

Mike Edel is an indie folk pop singer songwriter originally from Western Canada now making his home on the US West coast. He has released six full-length albums along with multiple EPS and singles earning critical acclaim across North America for his cohesive but unique take on indie pop moving seamlessly between the genre overlaps with thoughtful lyrics and endearing performances.

Some of his most recognized work came out of a collaboration with Indie guitar and Production Hero, Chris Walla, formerly of Death Cab for Cutie. Mike has a refreshing take on growing up in Conservative Alberta, evolving himself in a burgeoning Victoria Vancouver scene in the later two thousands before [00:03:00] transplanting to live on the West coast in the US and all the ups and downs a career artist can go through on the way.

My name is Glen Erickson. This is Almost Famous Enough. Thank you for spending your time with us. This is Mike Edel.

 

Glen Erickson: mike, let’s, let’s start off together making sure I know how to say your last name. It’s one of these things, like your name. All of a sudden I realize it’s like Dan Mangan to me. Like you look at it a thousand times and you think, you say it in your head, but I’ve I’ve never called you by your last name.

So, um, I would naturally say Edel, and I’m like, is it

Mike: I like, I like that. Go.

Glen Erickson: on the e like in German stuff? I don’t know. What, what is [00:04:00] it?

Mike: Yeah. It’s that.

Glen Erickson: is okay.

Mike: Yes.

Glen Erickson: So

Mike: I, like that the most, but in different parts of the world, people will say different things. Yeah. If you’re in Germany, they will say it’ll, if it’s spelled the same way.

Glen Erickson: uh, yeah. Okay. But it’s just EDEL and it is like, so my only fear is the transcript of this thing will probably make it look like Adele, the British pop singer.

Mike: Oh yeah. I love that.

Glen Erickson: well, as

Mike: Yeah. That’s what I’m trying, that’s what I’m going, that’s what I’m going for.

Glen Erickson: Perfect. Perfect. Uh, you look like

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: little studio set up, like you’ve done this before.

That’s all pretty cool.

Mike: Yeah. Um, COVID COVID-19,

Glen Erickson: exactly.

Mike: people an opportunity to, to up their, um, up their game. Well, and I’ve always, like, I, I have a bunch of like, film friends kind of in, you know, Vancouver, bc and I feel like I’ve done a lot of like, video projects over the years. And so eventually I just started. You know, editing music [00:05:00] videos and getting my hands more on things than just getting my talented friends, um, to do things.

Glen Erickson: for you.

Mike: Yeah. So,

Glen Erickson: that’s pretty cool. I mean, it’s kind of always nice to take hobbyist learned skills and start applying them, right? Like that’s

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: my, I have a whole career right now that I have no degree or training for. Built out of

Mike: Yep.

Glen Erickson: Hobby’s Gone Wild. So that’s pretty, pretty awesome.

And I know what you mean. Like, uh, when I decided to start podcasting, I already had half the equipment ’cause of things I picked up in COVID, for the same reasons. So, well, let’s, uh, Mike, let’s, let’s, I wanted to chat to you about your career, uh, in music. That’s what I chat to everybody about. It’s different for everybody. Uh, I was sitting here doing my planning. And I hadn’t even seen anything from you in a while, and your name just came to mind and I’m like, shit. This guy has, I’m sure, such an interesting story [00:06:00] about the way everything sort of played out in your life. So, if it’s okay, I’d love to just sort of get into it and, and dig,

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: back a little ways.

The fun part for me was, doing some prep and going back and listening to your discography and, uh, and some of those things, which is really cool. And looking back on some videos. So the place I want to start is just, I, I need an update on Larry. I need an update on your, on your dad. How’s Larry doing?

Because your dad was a star of your social media for quite a while and it’s honestly, there was a time when that was kind of like, you probably didn’t know it. It was probably one of my favorite. Social

Mike: good.

Glen Erickson: to watch. ’cause I absolutely love that stuff. There’s a, an artist Nashville via Calgary, a country artist named Sykamore.

And for a while

Mike: Yep.

Glen Erickson: of her content was her mom, Carol, whenever she went back to visit on the ranch in Calgary. And it was again, some of my favorite stuff. So Larry was a star in my world, so How’s Larry?

Mike: Oh yeah. Uh, well, here’s, I have a picture of Larry [00:07:00] this week. Uh, my parents Larry and Helen, they, yeah, I grew up on a wheat farm near, you know,

Glen Erickson: yeah.

Mike: Calgary and Edmonton. Um, car stairs, go 18 miles east. You’ll run into Larry if you drive on the 581 highway. Lyndon Acme. Yeah. And he is, well, my dad is 78 or 79.

He just had his birthday like three weeks ago. Um, he’s, so, he’s now an old, he’s now a pretty old guy, so he’s not farming anymore.

Glen Erickson: say

Mike: Uh, and my parents,

Glen Erickson: it’s kind

Mike: yeah, my, oh yes. But he is a former, um, wheat and pig farmer from out there. And yes, he votes conservative, but he’s still a good guy. Um, that’s what I say. But my dad, I, I actually, I haven’t, um.

Yeah, I have like a Patreon, and one thing I do on there is I would record my phone conversations with my dad, Larry, and then I would just post ’em on there and I’d usually have to like edit the, I’d have to edit like the two personal stuff and like, you know, the racist and sexist things out, like lightly edit.

Um, but he called me up [00:08:00] one time, the first thing he said, he called me up and he said, Mike, he’s like, you tell me some of your friends are liberals. And he couldn’t believe it. and I found I have, I’ve actually founded my like, musical life or career.

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: I am, you know, I grew up in Alberta, but I lived in Victoria, BC for most of my twenties.

So I definitely like find myself, part of two, you know, one world is like my high school friends, like, you know, uh, drinking, um, lucky logger, Molson Canadian, down in the Cooley with the truck with our, everybody drives their trucks down there. And I’m still like pretty connected to that in a lot of ways.

And then also like living on Vancouver Island where like, you know, my best of friends would like.

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: You know, are just like the, kind of the opposite end of some spectrums or whatever. So for myself, I’m like, I find myself, uh, and that’s played into music a little bit with just like playing and, and being connected to people.

But I’ve de I definitely find myself a, uh, a moderate human being in like, so many, in like all conversations I find.

Glen Erickson: Well, I mean, I [00:09:00] think that’s really interesting for where you grew up. Again, like if you, if you didn’t become a country music star growing up in rural Alberta, to a degree, that’s already a bit of an anomaly if you’re pursuing, uh, a musical career on its own and. And I know that, um, and especially right now without us getting political, Alberta is getting painted with a pretty interesting brush and it’s challenging for us who don’t feel like we are part of that picture who live here.

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: I still feel, I grew up rural Saskatchewan, so it’s very

Mike: Mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: uh, conservative Christian background, rural Saskatchewan. So my life right now feels like don’t wanna misuse someone else’s term, but it feels like I’m out of the closet with a lot of them, for a lot of political and, and, and sociopolitical views.

But, but I feel moderate, like what you’re saying, I, I still feel like a moderate, which I feel has always sort of been a Canadian thing to be [00:10:00] rather centrist and moderate. And I think that people might be surprised. I think that prairies and, uh, has a lot to do with. That actually they think we’re terribly conservative.

I think historically we’re, I don’t know. It seems like you might agree, which is the only reason I bring it up, but I thought it kind of feeds being centrist. A little more moderate.

Mike: Yeah, I think just like, you know, I live in the United States, states of America now for the last seven years. And so I feel like I’m just, you know, just a little more of like a melting pot in so many ways. And I’m not like, you know, I am listening to my, you said you listen to my discography, like our song, like the music, it’s not, it’s not really, it’s not really charged with issues.

’cause I’m like, not an, I just, I’m like, not an issues guy. But it’s songs about like, right, it’s a song about, it’s songs about like home, it’s songs about nostalgia, it’s songs about lament, it’s songs about love, things like that, that are maybe like a little bit more universal and like, that’s why, like, that’s why Larry [00:11:00] is on, you know, my social media or my Patreon or whatever because like he’s.

You know, he is my dad and I, I love him and I try and get away from his blood sometimes or whatever. And if you want a great album about, um, about that, there’s, um, an an a record that I really loved last year, um, that’s called Son of Dad by Nashville Guy. Oh man, my

Glen Erickson: Jr. I,

Mike: thank you. Because I,

Glen Erickson: Great

Mike: my brain is slower.

Steven Wilson Jr. Yeah. I was like, something with an s Um, and there’s a great song, there’s a lot of great songs in that, and some of them are, you know, some of them are kind of like about his dad and that kind of,

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: just that feeling that you, you know, where you’re from, you know, it’s in your blood. Um, but you are, you need to kind of embrace that, but also, you know,

Glen Erickson: you’re

Mike: your own path forward, so,

Glen Erickson: you can be completely different, but you’re fooling

Mike: mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: you think that you’re that far of a stone’s throw from where you came from. Right.

Mike: Yeah. Oh yeah. One of his [00:12:00] lyrics is like, oh, the tree doesn’t grow far from the apple.

Glen Erickson: I

Mike: I remember that on there. Yeah. There’s, there’s, uh, that’s, yeah. That’s a great,

Glen Erickson: pretty

Mike: that’s a great album, so,

Glen Erickson: I’m actually, I, I’ve actually just tried to pitch to get him on the show. I probably won’t, but, um, he’s coming to our folk fest in Edmonton this

Mike: oh, nice.

Glen Erickson: anyhow, I’m gonna do everything I can, ’cause I’d love to talk to the guy.

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: so Mike, Yeah.

so I love Larry. I thought he was great social media content. It kind of gave me sort of a more Canadian, like western Canadian version of like someone who’d be on a show with Larry David or, or that crew, you know, from that

Mike: Mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: TV programming. Great guy. Uh, and I love that he just embrace what he is on this stuff.

So let’s go back because, um, there’s a, a period of your career where I’m like very familiar with what’s going on with what’s going on in your life, and then there’s where I’m less, and I’d love to sort of be able to paint a picture of how this, unveiled for you. So, I mean, we’ve already [00:13:00] touched on, you know, a guy starting out of, know, a, a good portion of your life out of rural Alberta, but not a country artist, but you were toten an acoustic guitar at least, which everybody was.

So how, how did, how did you get to the song writing? Bit. And what was inspiring you when you started for where you grew up? Your first release I think was like 2008, uh, or something like that when you started putting out music, you know,

Mike: Mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: comes a little while after you’ve been seriously to make music.

So what was

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: inspiration? What was the starting for you? The North Star.

Mike: Let’s talk about Edmonton, Alberta, and let’s talk about oil companies to start. Um, I, uh, graduated high school. I went to Germany for a year, um, right outta high school, like a gap year. And then I came back and I was working for an oil company out on the prairies. And I remember I got a call from, um, from Grant Macewan in college, and they were like, oh, you’re accepted, um, to this music program.

And I was [00:14:00] like, I thought that, I thought this was like, uh, I was like, oh, this is the greatest thing. And I think I, I think I like stopped. I remember getting this call and I stopped my truck. Actually, no, my mom called me ’cause they obviously called like the landline in those times. So my mom called me, she’s like, oh, you got this thing and you’re accepted.

And I like, stopped the truck and then like, you know, cried to myself or whatever. I was like in the middle of this weed field, basically. Probably like in June or something, 2005 maybe. Um,

Glen Erickson: emotion? It

Mike: and then,

Glen Erickson: I’m getting out.

Mike: I was like, I was, yeah, I was like a. Yeah, like I, I was very not, um, versed in musical things actually. So I was just kind, you know, I’m kind of like a entrepreneurial, ambitious spirit with, um, you know, I’m, I try and not be, I try and I try and be the least talented person in the room so I can, so others can like, influence me and I can glean from them and I can, you know, steal, steal, steal,

Glen Erickson: Yep.

Mike: steal like an artist and then make it your own and then,

Glen Erickson: Yep.

Mike: and monitor your thing or whatever.

So I think I was just like, so I [00:15:00] was like, oh, this is a step, you know, now I look at, oh, this is a step along the, you know, journey. Just as anybody, like does, has a step along the journey, whether it’s, you know, if any 18-year-old kid is like, should I go to to school? I’m like, don’t, like, no. At like hard, no.

So I get that fast forward, like six months maybe, and, um, I’m in Edmonton, Alberta, which is, wait, are you, do you live in Edmonton right now?

Glen Erickson: born in Edmonton,

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: somewhere

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: Now this has been my

Mike: Okay.

Glen Erickson: time. Yeah.

Mike: Yeah. Which I was 90% sure of. So I’m in Edmonton, Alberta, and I like, you know, I go to the, um, what’s the bottom of the Starlight Room called now? Bricks.

Glen Erickson: Uh,

Mike: Nothing.

Glen Erickson: not, it’s the revival house. It’s a different thing now, but it had its own stage, like a second smaller venue, basically in the basement.

Mike: So I went down there as a 19-year-old kid from the parade and I’m like, you know, some event, and I’m shaking hands. I shook hands with this one kind of tall guy. Um, and I said, Hey, my name’s Mike Edel. You know, I probably was like, I’m gonna be a professional musician. I go to Grant Macewan College and study [00:16:00] music.

Glen Erickson: I gotta

Mike: And he’s like, Hey bud.

Glen Erickson: You said a tall guy.

Mike: Yeah. But just, yeah. But this guy brought me in

Glen Erickson: Brent?

Mike: said, Hey, just a word to the wise. never tell anybody that again. And my name is Brent. Oliver.

Glen Erickson: Oliver.

I knew it. You said tall guy. There’s three of them at Edmonton who basically booked all the shows for like 25 years, so

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: that’s awesome. That’s a great story.

Mike: And so I see this guy, I think there’s like so many people on my way that I like, you know, mostly like producers or something. And I would, I would say Brent is in this, you know, he’s not a producer, but every time I see Brent, Oliver in Edmonton, I remind him that he told me that when I was 19 years old.

And that was a great piece of advice. And I was like, that’s good. ’cause I think it was just like, oh, like,

Glen Erickson: yeah,

Mike: just, you, I don’t know, you just kind of like can’t be in my, in for myself. Like, maybe you can’t be too keen, or there’s so many different niches and scenes, like, you just have to be like, you know, a kind humble person, like loving humanity and like treating people well.

And [00:17:00] like, that’s what’s going to, you know, that’s what’s gonna like propel you along. So I think I just remember, you know, I spent, I spent two and a half years of in, in Edmonton. Um, but that was like a good, that was like a good little piece of five minute advice, um, that there was kind of a world I. Um, outside of this, and it’s maybe it’s important too, like Yeah, like the, those, you know, treating people that way or like going out to shows and like learning music at school is like, probably not like the best way or whatever.

And it was like a little entry, a really calm, cool entry into the school of hard knocks. And yeah. And I think I like, you know, I, that’s kind of where I went in my musical life, but that is one little, um, that was one little y in the road,

Glen Erickson: I

Mike: um, kind of in the early days.

Glen Erickson: have to understand in Edmonton, cause I showed up here. 1996.

Mike: Yeah,

Glen Erickson: quickly, yeah. I got baptized into this idea, like at Grant McEwen, like the little joke is, you almost didn’t even have to say it, the [00:18:00] word you just did this. And it was the, the guys who would play their bass up here probably were Grant McEwen grads, music program grads. there’s

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: between a DIY scene and, and like

Mike: Yeah,

Glen Erickson: grads as if they aren’t compatible or something. So I think

Mike: yeah,

Glen Erickson: stems from the same thing as, uh, Brent Oliver’s advice. So, so you start developing, obviously your music stuff, your, your, your both, your ideas and your identity, probably really starts to form.

I’m gonna guess in that time. I.

Mike: yeah. I was, you know, being from, you know, growing up on a wheat farm and playing sports when I was in high school or something, I was just like, kind of like discovering a lot of things about music when I was 19 years old that probably a lot of people do when they’re 14 or 15. Like I had, you know, very, you know, very little I think.

Um. My brain’s slow today. Very little. Um, I just didn’t have a, a wide [00:19:00] breadth of experiences. So I, you know, I remember going to this library and getting all the Bob Dylan compact discs, and, and I knew, and, you know, playing guitar or like playing jazz or like holding a bass of peers not holding my thing.

And I knew that and I was like, I am going to, spend a lot of time on music and discover it and like, become like proficient at music and play the guitar. Um, but I’m gonna write songs and I’m gonna do my own project. So the summer out of, that I went to school for this, what I did not do is like, oh, I’ll move home and get a job or like, be like, I’m gonna play on cruise ships, or I’m gonna go play in a country band in Drayton Valley, Alberta, on the sea circuit or something.

I had songs, I recorded a five song EP and I like hit the road as like a pretty solo person. And with, You know, a friend that lived in like Seattle area, um, we like played a lot of shows together in that time. And so it was really like just learning that, like booking shows and playing original songs, um, to people in like whatever [00:20:00] capacity.

’cause you know, like, um, well I listened to a few of few episodes from your past season. Like, you know, some Dan Mangan advice, um, in that era would be like, oh, go play 500 shows and then see what you learned. Kind of. And that was kind of the attitude is like go learn, learn that on the road, like talking to, you know, playing those songs.

Learn audiences, learn venues, learn. Yeah.

Glen Erickson: like the Canadian.

Mike: Canadian.

Glen Erickson: of passage. Did you feel like that was the impression you got from a kind of every area you touched at that time too, which is like, there’s all these venues and you’re, and it’s a huge country and it sucks, but you’re gonna have to drive ridiculous hours and keep trying to play play

Mike: In two thou in 2007, right? Like, um, people looked at a music. Um, scene, say like, say Canadian music scene or like more regional or local. Um, the scene was like, important or venues were important more. So now it’s 2025. And like a scene is way less important. Ask a, ask a 19-year-old and they don’t care about a scene.

They just care about the internet and [00:21:00] like Spotify and social media and digital ads or whatever. Then it was like, you need to like, you kind of need to like grind it out and you need to meet the people in person. Like you’re not gonna, you don’t send emails to someone to meet them. You meet them in person and,

Glen Erickson: in,

Mike: stuff like that.

Glen Erickson: in, right?

Mike: Yeah. And I was, I was like willing, you know, there’s a lot of people that are not willing to do that, and there’s a bunch of people that are. And so that’s kind of probably how I learned a lot of things. And, you know, I spent some time in California right after then, and then I ended, I ended up landing in Victoria, BC as when, as a 23-year-old.

And that’s, I, I would say that’s like where for like, you know, most of my twenties, I sort of like, yeah, cut my teeth even more in kind of like some of those worlds, like more so getting into like, you know, like actually touring or playing with a band and touring or having people come into shows or like, you know, getting songs on, you know, the radio like in rotation on CBC or Sirius xm.

’cause my, you know, my music’s [00:22:00] like, it’s a little bit indie folk, but it’s also like more mainstream than some. So I’m like, oh, it’s, you know, death Cap for Cutie meets Brian, summer of 69 Adams. Um, and it’s a little more. You know, it’s a little, little more like radio friendly than,

Glen Erickson: I sure,

Mike: know, than,

Glen Erickson: sure hope

Mike: yeah,

Glen Erickson: got your subtle I. Like clarification of Brian Summer of six nine Adams in there. ’cause we all know what you’re talking about if we do.

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: so is you

Mike: So,

Glen Erickson: shortly after the release of the ep? When, when is it that between that and your sort of first full length in 2011?

Mike: yeah, so I would say my first, you know, I had a, I had a band with some friends when I was probably like 20, 21. but one, the guy I was playing bass, he’s like, Hey, you just should do your own solo thing because then you do not have to rely on people that are gonna college or people starting another thing, or like someone can’t do the tour or whatever.

and I kind of like took that advice and I [00:23:00] was like, yeah, I totally agree. So I think, like, you know, I’ve, I’ve, I’ve been an, you know, kind of more a solo guy playing acoustic guitar. A little bit out of necessity, like half the time, yeah, I wanna be in like, play in a indie rock band or something. but I, as you know, when I was 22, I started, I put out this EP under my own image, just haven’t kind of looked, you know, back or I’m someone that like, consistency is like, pretty key.

and I’m like, oh, like starting, you know, starting a new project or something is like a lot of work and you like take

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: steps back to hopefully take more than three steps forward. And I’ve, I’ve never done that, um, because it didn’t seem like the right thing to do.

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: So yeah, I’ve moved to Victoria in 20 2009.

I was 23. Um, had an EP under my belt and then kind of just went like, I was so social there, um, the first couple years and yeah, put a band together and then,

Glen Erickson: you plugging into Vancouver at all? Across from Victoria. I know that that

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: not from [00:24:00] there, think, oh, it sounds so easy, but like the ferry can be a pain in the ass and stuff

Mike: Yeah. Oh yeah.

Glen Erickson: can be a little landlocked in Victoria. I know there’s, like, Logan’s pub was probably thriving back then, um, as the main sort of bar that brought bands in from,

Mike: Yeah,

Glen Erickson: from out of town. but there was also those cool venues kind of up the road in a few of those smaller towns I think that had a lot of shows. Did you, were you able to sort of plug into it that whole island scene or was Vancouver still quickly a part of what you were trying to build into?

Mike: for me it was, it was like Vancouver, like, especially like going, I actually like went to the, the states more than probably most people. My like, in my. What’s the, like, am I seen or whatever? Um, just ’cause those, I like had those kind of connections from like friends and like being, being down there a [00:25:00] lot or like playing, playing some college things or like, and that was kind of like the goal when I was, you know, when I was 23, 24 years old, like, I’d be in Victoria and then I’d like go to California for the summer.

Um, and then yeah, that’s kind like, that’s why I live in the United States now, but I’m still kind of like a Canadian musician as if you read Wikipedia or whatever it would,

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: that’s ’cause I spent most of my twenties in Canada and didn’t, you know, I I moved to Seattle when I was like 31 years old or something.

but yeah, I, I like, it was playing Lucky Bar for me in, um, in Victoria. And then you’d play like, oh, the media club or Biltmore. If you were to go over to Vancouver, if you like, you know, if you could have some people come out or you were,

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: You know, friends with other bands and like, yeah, you play a show in Vancouver and for me it was a lot of it’s ’cause the touring definitely like touring Alberta, BC it was like, oh, Alberta was good.

And so it was always like, oh, tour ton Calgary, maybe Red Deer and like then play in Cologne and Vancouver and the island or something. That was the Western candidate thing. And [00:26:00] then it, and then it started to be like all of Canada and then it, I don’t know, you just,

Glen Erickson: But, but you

Mike: you’re trying things.

Glen Erickson: had connections down the west coast early, you say you had friends. Were you able to sort of build that? ’cause that’s one of the things.

sort of visibly recognized and learned about you very early was that you seemed to have a lot of Seattle, Portland, kind of Bellingham roots. Like you just seemed like you just identified it, but I already knew that, right, that you were there a lot. It seemed like you were there a lot. Was that friendship connections or just your own personal desire to sort of. Get into those scenes. ’cause I love those scenes. I would

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: to

Mike: Yeah. I think it was like from a lot of different, you know, a lot of different ways in, I think like, yeah, a lot of different ways into that. I’ve al like the goal has always been to, I’ve like gotten a lot of visas early on because I was like, [00:27:00] just willing to do those things. Um, you know, willing to sign fake contracts for the, um, actually don’t put that one in there.

Um,

Glen Erickson: that out.

Mike: you know, just like, deal with all that stuff. And yeah, if I was releasing an album, like, oh, I didn’t just wanna play like in Vancouver, Victoria, and like, it was read to your Calvary, it’s like, okay, do that. And then, okay, then let’s, like Seattle, you know Portland,

Glen Erickson: Hmm.

Mike: yeah. Played on the coast. Played like LA and some of my, like I have one good friend, he’s like, he lives in San Diego.

And at that time he was just moving down to San Diego. So there’s like that, and then there was, you know, the Bay Area. There’s just lots of like, um, there’s just like lots of friends that come from like, time spent down there or like, you know, saying yes to things or like Yeah, from your young twenties, you’re just like hanging out all the time, so, yeah.

Glen Erickson: okay. So there’s two things I wanna talk about, about that whole stage of your life, kind of that,

Mike: Mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: you know, the stage. I think a lot of people have the stage where they’re trying stuff is, I think [00:28:00] is the phrase that you just used. And they’re, early on, they’re building relationships, they’re younger, so they tend to be more social Yeah.

Opportunities before things get quote unquote serious, and then people

Mike: Mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: sort of whittle out, you know, like who’s sticking to it. but in that whole phase two things. One is, I’m, I’m curious what your, what was your, sort of your musical North Star? What was the thing that. Like most of us, I think, are trying to become some version of what inspired us in the first place.

And sometimes that’s a very specific thing or maybe it’s a bit of a, a mesh blend. So I’m curious what was, what was the thing that was kind of driving you that you wanted to be?

Mike: Like creatively or,

Glen Erickson: as a musician, as an artist? yeah.

Mike: Yeah. I think as, I think just like the, like a songwriter and the connection to people. Um, ’cause I like love, you know, I feel like I know more now, like what my, like why is, like why I play music or [00:29:00] why I’m writing songs. Um, it’s to like, you know, take experience from my life and be able to like, share that in a song or a story and provide like hope, um, provide truth and like provide comfort to someone, that can transcend to their life in, you know, three or four minutes or something.

Um, because I, you know, there’s things in my life that have been. My, I think generally like, oh, I’m a, you know, I’m a white guy that grew up on an Alberta farm. Uh, I’m like, oh, generally my life has been like pretty good, but there are like, there are hard things in my life or there are hard things in your life, or I see life actually as like a bit of a struggle for a lot of people.

So I think there’s like a big hard thing, um, in a lot of people’s lives and I think just does music, like, can, can, you know, can influence or speak to those things,

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: most other things cannot. And I think that’s like my, you know, that’s my primary, like if, if this is not about like a records I love or artists I, you know, love or something, I think that’s kind [00:30:00] of like the why.

Yeah. Is like, is being able to, yeah, being able to like connect with people and influence people and give, you know, give people something. And I think, I think as human beings, we’re creative people and I am happy when I am being a creative person, both with music and with like a project or something.

Glen Erickson: Yeah. I mean, uh, I mean, we will talk a little bit about the whole, like continuing, like I said, getting past the point where a lot of people drop off and you decide to try to make a career. I’m gonna guess that that creative drive has a lot to do with it. I find that that’s people who tap into it and understand that you see it in the ones that separate themselves from others, and words, like you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if you weren’t making something and. If you were to noticeably find yourself unhappy, you could probably connect the dots to, you know, that part of your life isn’t being sort of, it’s not a a cup being filled [00:31:00] but, so who, who was, who was inspiring you, like 2000 ish when you’re sort of like getting into making your own records and probably thinking, try to do this for your life.

Who, who were your musical inspirations?

Mike: This is when I don’t say, um, this is when there’s a few things I don’t, well, you know how some of your influences are.

Glen Erickson: of 69 Adams. It’s, no

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: judge you

Mike: I listened. No, I did like, I listened to a lot of Ryan Adams obviously, like in, in, actually in those days, I would say, yeah, I’m, I’m someone that is like a little bit more about like the current or modern music, like, creatively than, you know, like, oh, I listen to like as much Bob Dylan as I can, or, um, but I didn’t, you know, I’m not like, oh, I love James Taylor, or

Glen Erickson: Oh dude,

Mike: things of like, yester year.

Usually I’m like, oh, great. And like they, they’ll recreate themselves every 10 years or something.

Glen Erickson: hearing

Mike: Um,

Glen Erickson: ’cause I get ridiculed by some people for not the old music. I’m always

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: whatever is the newest [00:32:00] thing.

Mike: Yeah, that’s, and that’s just like, you know, that’s just who I am, I guess. And I like don’t, I’ve never really played music to like be cool or like to really like, um, I’m not that cool or I’m not of, I’m not a cool kid a. I’m just like, I am. Yeah. Like influences. Let’s see, like 2010. I like, you know, I listen to a lot of local stuff.

I listen to like All Dam Mangans records or like what Said The Whale was doing, or I listen to, you know, the current swell album like in Victoria I’m thinking, or like the band Jets overhead. Like people that, just, people that you all you like know and you like run into and things.

Glen Erickson: the,

Mike: at the, and you know, I listen to all the, all the death cab records when they were coming out or, um, yeah, like listen,

Glen Erickson: and, and Damien Jurado were those, I guess I was curious listening to music

Mike: um, tho at the time those were too indie for me. Whereas now I’m like, oh, [00:33:00] I was at a Damien Jurado show like a few months ago, or like, you know, I know David Bison now from like living in. You know, living in Seattle,

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: or, you know, there’s the times when I’ve, yeah. The last time I saw David Ani, he was at the tractor and then, and he, he walked into the tractor after the show.

I think it was David Ramirez. There’s, there’s like artists like that or something, like David Ramirez is like David Ramirez and maybe like Noah Gunderson are like this, you know, 2010, um,

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: kind of maybe, maybe kind of their peak was in 2010. And Okay, so David Bison walked into like the tractor and he’s like, oh.

I was like, Hey, like I’m my, I think maybe this is the first time I met him in person. He’s like, oh, sweet. He’s like, sorry, I’m from really high. I was just at the Spoon Show at the Paramount. I’m really sorry. And I think that’s like all I said. Um, and he, it was like the, it was like, you know, the room was empty and the show was over and like there was, you know, 40 people in the bar or something just hanging out and there’s some, yeah.

[00:34:00] So yeah, I would say like, I don’t think of that often, but yeah, there was a lot of. Yeah, probably listening to a lot of the death cap for kitty stuff. Yeah. David Ramirez, like, I don’t know the Noah Gunderson albums when they were there thing. Um,

Glen Erickson: Well, that makes

Mike: just kinda like things,

Glen Erickson: Mike, I listen to your music and I hear, I hear an awful lot of pop. I don’t know if how, how

Mike: Mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: told that or maybe that’s normal for you to hear. it the classifications that you read, like you, you already said like, if I look you up like I did to do my research and see what others say, like yeah.

they don’t say pop, but I hear so much pop in there and I actually feel like Death Cab for being such an indie band has so much pop sensibility and just, I guess I, I hear it this way in your music is that your music never sounds singer songwriter me.

It sounds like you wanted to arrange for [00:35:00] an album that sounded like a band playing like the full arrangements all the time, not just singer songwriter.

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Glen Erickson: I don’t know if that’s accurate. Oh, we got a frozen. Screen here.

Mike: Okay, Glenn, I’m not getting that last thing that you said. ’cause of the internet,

even though I am hardwired into the internet,

I see you again.

Now I see you again, although I do not know if I hear you again.

Glen Erickson: Are we good?

Mike: Yes.

Glen Erickson: Where did you lose me? In there. ’cause I didn’t pay

Mike: Um,

Glen Erickson: was freezing up.

Mike: oh yeah, your, your whole question. Just that.

Glen Erickson: was gone.

Mike: Oh, you said you could hear, you know, you’re like, you could hear that in, you can hear that in some of the music, like the more pop influence in Yeah.

Glen Erickson: Oh, okay. Yeah. so I was saying that it’s not surprising when you talk about Death Cab for Cutie that way. ’cause I actually feel like they are so structured, they’re well structured for indie music and lends itself to elements that I think also go into pop. And when I hear your music, I hear a lot of consistency and I hear like, full arrangement writing, not, you know, singer songwriter writing.

Marker
Glen Erickson: So I don’t know if

Mike: Yeah. Well, like to, well, like Chris Wallow, like produced the album thresholds like in 2019 and which is, you know, which is a fascinating pro process. ’cause like someone you’ve, um, yeah, like I wouldn’t define like Chris as a God before that. ’cause I think I’m like, you know, Chris Wallace said to me, he was like, I don’t like to be the one producer and the person in the room that people loved my old band.

And when there’s a problem or something goes wrong, everybody looks at me. He was like, that’s where why I like to like co-produce. Um, I remember him saying that one time and I think when we made this record I was, you know, it was like, it was a little bit wild in a lot of ways. Um, ’cause I think he is motivated by making, [00:36:00] um, really special art.

Um, and not on, he’s not motivated by, you know, the business or getting people in his studio and out of his studio and making a day rate or something. So that’s pretty awesome to have someone that is motivated just to like, make great art. And I think, I think actually musically, I feel very, one thing that was awesome about that record is I felt, really we were on the same page, kind of like project wise and musically and, yeah, like it, I just feel like we were a good, kind of like pair to lead the ship,

Glen Erickson: Yeah, I think

Mike: in that way because yeah, because, yeah.

’cause I, like, I’ve loved a lot of death cab music or I, I think of music in the same way. Like, it’s not like, oh, like it’s, you know, this is, the progression is, you know, the progression is, um, 4, 5, 6, 1, and just like, let the, you know, let. The Let Russell Broom, like just do his thing on it or something. Which, you know, which [00:37:00] Russell Broom played on my record before that.

He played a lot of guitar on it. Yeah, he is. He’s played live. And if, if you’re going for that, like do that and like lean fully into it. This was like, not that, this was like spend a year on a record, um, you know, and record things and then evaluate it and be like, that’s terrible. And then delete everything

Glen Erickson: Hmm.

Mike: and start again.

Or spend a whole day recording like one guitar part. And that is crazy and like no one is doing. And like people are not doing that a lot. And I actually like, don’t, there’s a lot of records I’m not interested in, because I think the kind of like, oh, let’s make it sound organic or something. It’s hard to, there’s just so many things, so many people are like, let’s go in a room and record a record in five days.

I think it’s hard to make those records really special,

Glen Erickson: Yeah,

Mike: um, because they’re, they’re less expensive and there’s, you know, you’re just trying to catch the magic

Glen Erickson: lightning.

Mike: other way is

Glen Erickson: attempt. Right? That’s pretty

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: odds. [00:38:00]

Mike: Yeah. And, and there are some records. I could name the ones that I love that way, but I find my, like brain and the way I make music is a little more, you know, like from the production side, it’s like, write a great song.

It’s like if the song’s not good enough, the, like, the recording’s not gonna be good and you’re, you know, the people aren’t gonna like it. And your, I dunno, your digital ad is not gonna do well or whatever you wanna say in these days terms. so yeah, like the song just needs to be great. And I, I hear so many records where I’m like, oh, this is fine.

But like the song, honestly. I’m always like, the songs would be better. And I’m trying to like do that to myself, like these days, it’s like write more songs, co-write more songs, write lot, write bad songs so the good ones can come out. So don’t go into a record and have like 15 songs go into a record of 50 songs.

because I think those are just the records that I think I’ve really liked or the artists that I really like are Yeah. Are kind of doing things, you [00:39:00] know, that way not kinda writing like 12 songs and then putting 10 of them on the album or thing.

Glen Erickson: your,

Mike: And, and that’s not like, yeah.

Glen Erickson: I was gonna say your last record had a lot of collab sort of focus right up front, right? So that continuing? Is that sort of where you are in a, in an evolution?

Mike: I love, um, when it comes to say, like records or like phases or the 20, 25 term eras, maybe we could say that of six. Um, I, I really like process, so you know what I just said? I would be like, oh, I could contradict that with the record before that or after that or something. Right? I, you know, in 2022, or at least casts and flowers, that was like my stroke rehab album.

And so the guiding light, um, or the North Star and that was, okay, this record is casts and flowers. and I am going to do it as much myself as I can. Um, because literally I’m still rehabbing [00:40:00] and I cannot play a show like holding a guitar pick. Um, I can’t play the guitar, but I can. You know, apple space and I can do a lot of takes on something

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: and I’m just gonna do this as much as I can.

Yeah. To make a record, but also just to like get my, to like rehab my, my broken

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: body. And I think, and, and, and part of it that was like, oh, all the songs were co-written with this friend that lived, Alex and SSI at the time, Alex Lockhart. Um, now someone who I met through Chris Walla in Seattle. And I was like, Alex let’s, you want to just like co-write a whole record with me?

And she’s like, yes, of course. Um, and she’s like a little bit more of an indie kid or something, but she’s like, um, she writes Pop Melodies and like, yeah, she likes pop music. but she can arrange for that. So I would just like arrange it kind of for that or something. But that would be, you know, that that process was guided by that.

And I think all the decisions kind of filter down. [00:41:00] Um, a little bit like I mixed, I mixed the whole record because I was like, I need to try and do as much as I can, and then relied on a few people when I, you know, needed help or needed to move faster.

Glen Erickson: so I let’s just put a pin ’cause I definitely want to talk to you about what you went through with your stroke. Uh. kind of more toward the front half of COVID, but, and what happened, all through that. So, um, but before I get there, I want to just chat about the other thing that I noticed, which is relative to what you’re talking about right now, is that the other thing I’ve observed about you is building, building your career. You’ve, you’re a very social guy, like the amount of relationships and collabs and, and interactions and partnerships that I’ve seen are quite astounding. So first, first thing is you’re, you’re a rural farm guy from Alberta. You know, a lot of those kids are often [00:42:00] the quiet types. You weren’t the quiet type growing up on the farm.

I, I presume you were social, were you a social kid? Very social kid.

Mike: Yeah. Yeah,

Glen Erickson: That’s

Mike: I get it from Larry.

Glen Erickson: it from Larry.

That’s awesome. okay, so I mean this is, to me a big part about how somebody starts to develop a career. For some people it comes pretty naturally, the networking part, which you don’t realize until you’re well into it, just how much it’s a part of the fabric. you get past all of the grassroots early stuff, more into, I’m gonna use the term like tiers, higher levels of a career where you start having a team and people that are on the quote unquote payroll. When you start getting into the business, you start to realize it’s still so much just relationship oriented. Um, my earlier exposure to you, I think I probably heard or saw you play coming through Edmonton, I’m pretty sure, [00:43:00] but, ’cause I already knew your name, I. And already seemed to have a sense that you had Alberta roots. Um, I don’t think I met you until the first time Alberta and BC merged the Peak Performance Project. and then the myth about Mike Ade at Peak Performance Project, which I’ve talked a lot about on this podcast, um, at the bootcamp, was that it was like your fourth or fifth bootcamp. ’cause you had found a way in either getting in ’cause it’s not easy to get in, um, with your own solo project or you were playing with other people and you got to go to bootcamp as part of their band.

So I always thought that was interesting. So first of all, you can clarify amount of truth there was to how often you got into that thing and how, and, uh, but then also I just, I’m interested to hear about how all these different social relationships has sort of shaped your ability to get a career going and started even as your choice to be a solo [00:44:00] guy.

Mike: Ah, yeah. Oh, that’s, that’s interesting hearing that. ’cause I’m like, oh, like that’s not totally the, that peak performance thing, but now I’m like, oh yes I did. Um, Lindsey Bryan is this girl from Victoria and she’s actually a great songwriter. I saw her like, you know, six months ago and I was like, Lindsey.

’cause I like do not see her a lot now ’cause I don’t live there. And I was like, Lindsay, I think you’re a great songwriter. And so I think I actually like played, was playing bass with her then in those Yeah, in those days. I like, yeah, toured and toured and played with some people playing bass and playing, you know, like league guitar or whatever.

so I actually, I totally would’ve forgotten about that. yeah, so that, yeah, probably something like that or whatever. yeah, then the social, like, yeah, I think that’s just like been my, you know, if it’s your personality and a little bit your, you know, I don’t know, I, strategy is probably too strategic of a word or something.

I just think in 20, you know, in 2025, the, I think the musical world [00:45:00] is more, is. There are more artist entrepreneurs than,

Glen Erickson: Hmm.

Mike: you know, 1969 when, I mean then in the Bob Dylan movie when Timothy Chalamet played Bob Dylan. And you can kind of just be like moody and artistic and um, what, like, I think that’s probably like a little bit less common and there are more artists that are Yeah, maybe just like artist entrepreneurs and more kind of like cut from that cloth or something.

I think. And you know, there’s, the anomalies are, you know, Andy Shauf is, you know, not the artist entrepreneur, I don’t think. ’cause he’s like just really creative and his, you know, a really strong flavor of his thing and that’s why he’s amazing. Um, so I think just like being, being an outgoing and like extroverted social person, like I genuinely, I.

being an extroverted and social person, I genuinely like am interested in anybody [00:46:00] in, in the room as like a human. Like I, I would love to like ask you questions about things or times or your life and that’s mostly like I am in, I am interested and curious in like how in so many aspects of spin else’s life, whether it’s like your career or your, you know, how you make money or that’s usually music people or like what, yeah, what is your why or what is your north star as you might say.

Or, um, you know, even like where you grew up or what your family is or like all those things. I think that’s just, that has just been my. I am interested in those things, in people. It’s why I would, like, when I play a show, I’ll like go stand by the merch booth and hopefully put it by the back door and be able to like, have everybody walk by me or like say thank you or hello to like people at a thing.

’cause I genuinely like want to do that as just a person, not like, oh I should, it’s like good, [00:47:00] it’s strategic or something. I just, I would, if it wasn’t that way, I’d probably do that Anyhow.

Glen Erickson: That’s awesome. so you talked about Thresholds, I think, what year was that? 25th? No, that was India. Seattle was 2015. So thresholds was 2019. Uh, I’m gonna, I’m gonna be the guy who just tells you that one’s my favorite. And I did go listen to the whole discography again to just

Mike: Thank

Glen Erickson: And maybe, maybe, maybe it’s ’cause of the Chris Walla thing.

’cause I was a huge death cab too. Maybe it just makes its way out and somehow finds its way into me. I think your song 31 is surprising to me. A song that I play a lot, still play a lot. It’s on playlists. I don’t get tired of it. It’s a very great song, Mike. Um, and the backhanded

Mike: you.

Glen Erickson: Here comes your backhanded compliment.

Uh, everybody, every musician loves these. But what I love about your records, Mike, are, and having gone back and listened, and I, for me, like [00:48:00] I said, thresholds is kind of an anchor in the middle, but even, even Casserole and Flowers like feels the same. They all feel the same. To me and I, you know, you get a lot of records and a lot of artists who, when they go do their press tour, right, they’re like, oh yeah, I wanted to do this song and I wanted to try a power ballad, and then I wanted to create a lot of diversity on the record for people.

And really, they’re just trying all this stuff out. And I, and I don’t hear your records, try a whole bunch of different shit out. I, I hear your records sounding Mike Ade every single time. And the backhand of compliment is, that may sound like they aren’t wildly exotic or except here’s the fact is that I keep playing them over and over and over again and I don’t get tired of them when I, when I play them.

And I, and that consistency is kind of remarkable to me. I don’t hear that in a lot of, uh, artists who just sort of stick with [00:49:00] what they know, um, and do it really, really well. So. You hit thresholds in 2019, which I think is great. And then you have a really big song off of your 2021, your on mass record, you know?

And then we’re going into the pandemic. So right before the big thing that happened there, where were you in your career? Were you a full-time artist? Were you still having to try to pick up gigs? Not necessarily the Starbucks gig or the whatever, but you know, you said you’ve done some work on different skill sets or video stuff.

Like how by that point you got some records that are doing well, you’re always on the road, it seemed this whole span, been doing this a while now. where was the career? I’m curious.

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Glen Erickson: Oh, we might have another freeze. I don’t know if I’m frozen you.

Sometimes these things are goofy.

Mike: Okay. I think I just missed the end of what was on your question, but I sort of got the gist of it.

Glen Erickson: Um, well, I mean, the end of the, it.

was, oh, sorry. This is just, I don’t know what the internet connection is today, Mike. I’m sorry. I don’t know

Mike: Okay. I’ll just go for it on that.

I think.

Glen Erickson: Sorry man.

Mike: Okay. You look good now.

Glen Erickson: it together. I don’t know what the Internet’s doing today. It’s not always is so freezy like this, like it, the, the feed between you and I often gets frozen up, but it’s still. I’m doing its work in the background. But

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: my, my question, my, my thing there was just the

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: and then you hit that and

Mike: Yep.

Glen Erickson: just saying, where was the career

Mike: Yeah. And then

Glen Erickson: you.

Mike: into a mass, like yeah. Um,

Marker
Mike: yeah, I would like 20, um, you know, 20, yeah. 19 would say, um, threshold was released, which I think is like a little bit of a marker. Um, because I actually like moved. So personally, I like, [00:50:00] um, moved away from Victoria. I. Yeah, probably like 29 or 30. Um, mostly ’cause Alyssa, my wife was like, lived in Seattle and so we like had dated for a year while I still lived in Victoria.

And so kind of had this like, I was like, well, I guess I’m like getting off the island or something. And so I lived in Seattle 2017, maybe 2 20, 21 or two. Yeah. Um, for four years. And so in that like thresholds was yeah, released like when I like lived in Seattle probably. And then on mass was like shortly thereafter.

Um, and it was like, oh, keep this going. It was just yes to everything. It was like anything goes kind of as the vibe or process. Um, and like career wise. Yeah, we, like, we lived on Finny Ridge in Seattle, um, across from like Woodland Park Zoo, which is like a great spot to live, like up the hill from Ballard and.

You know, my wife Alyssa, she had a, she’s a therapist and had an office, you [00:51:00] know, block from the tractor or the sunset, um, which are some of like the best venues in, you know, to some of the better, you know, in Seattle to play at or whatever. Um, yeah, and I think our just, you know, our expenses were low and our life was like pretty simple.

And I think that’s, like, that’s different advice I think I’ve remembered or picked up was like, oh, if you’re an artist or a musician, like you probably keep your expenses low, um, have a reliable mechanic. Like, you know, it was not totally like the, not like the Los Angeles vibe, um, but more like the Canadian vibe.

And so, uh, we lived in the same, same house for four years in Seattle. We started paying $870 rent and by the end it was at like $1,100 and I gained like this really small closet studio. And so yeah, I was just kind of like. I dunno, it’s just like playing live and like putting these records out and like, you know, trying to still get [00:52:00] Canadian grants and then like, trying to make money on the radio, which like,

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: um, and I put one record out on Cordova Bay Records, which outta Victoria and then actually like, um, sort of got out or weasel my way out of that deal.

’cause I was like, oh man, I should just like do this myself. Um, which was, and then ultimately like, probably a good thing because, um, just like had a few of those songs, like land in a few places and I was like, oh, like I get 100% of this now. I don’t have to like split this with anybody. And when you’re splitting like, you know, when you’re splitting money, it becomes less money, like really fast or whatever.

So I think around those like, yeah, I think I, I think around those times that was kind of, yeah, like, I’d say like business wise it was probably like, oh, things are going the best. That way then. And then, you know, and then the pandemic hit. And when I was, and when, and everybody has their pandemic story, but I was probably [00:53:00] like, how old was I?

Like 30, 33? Was that like five years ago or something? Yeah, like 33 or something. And I think at the time I was like, definitely like, oh I am, you know, hustling and charging. Um, but then kind of, you know, the long tail of the pandemic was happening and it’s sort of like, just a lot of things like changed and I think when you’re 33 and then you’re 34 3, but then you’re like 36 or something.

And then we had, you know, I have two kids now, and then we had like our first kid and then we had like another shortly after. And then I like also had a stroke, um, in that time in 2021. And so I think like, um, I. To be in a mindset of like hustling or working hard, you know, a pandemic and then like two kids and having a stroke or something.

Glen Erickson: that’s,

Mike: and just like, yeah, just kind of like some of the, some more like life [00:54:00] things outside of the control of Yeah. And, and like music, entertainment doesn’t, doesn’t go well with age necessarily. It’s not like you’d rather be for

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: Yeah, it is. That’s, you know, that’s why you have to go country eventually. Which I, which I’ll do.

Glen Erickson: That’s a,

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: you’ve been

Mike: Like it, like a song.

Glen Erickson: whole time. You’ve

Mike: Oh yeah.

Glen Erickson: Alberta country record.

Mike: Oh yeah, yeah. There’s a line of song I wrote while it’s like, um, I think I’m gonna country ’cause Indy Rock is done. Maybe I’ll move to Nashville. I don’t know. It’ll keep me young or something. Um, yeah, so I think, yeah, just like some of those just kind of that change, you know, some of those things change the trajectory, which I think a lot of maybe like people from the outside sometimes don’t always see.

Glen Erickson: Well, I

Mike: Um, but, but yeah. But having a, having a stroke probably like, um, started, um, kind of like started a lot of that [00:55:00] because, um, my, it just, my capacities as a human being just took like a huge hit.

Glen Erickson: let’s talk about that and let’s not soft sell it because like for most people Yeah. The having your

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: starts to change

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: an artist looked like. I mean, you said you listened to the conversation with Dan you know, that was a big thing for Dan, who on the outside, a lot of people may not have seen his trajectory change. But the

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: he had to do behind the scenes to change what his life and career looked like, to keep

Mike: Yeah,

Glen Erickson: going. The same is pretty intense and difficult for anybody. But let’s not soft sell that before even that normal thing happened. You have a stroke in your thirties, which just doesn’t happen most people,

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: it happens while you’re on the road. I mean, the cliche is like anybody who’s in their twenties telling their parents they’re gonna go [00:56:00] be a full-time artist. Their parents are thinking, you’re not gonna have a steady income, you’re not gonna have insurance, you’re not gonna have all these adult things. Um, those are actually very real fears, even for established artists are either hustling or maybe thriving at some moment, but still. Um, so you have a stroke in the states, which. just gotta be, this, from my outside perspective has just gotta be the scariest, like is my whole life over thing. guess my, just my first question.

Mike: Yeah,

Glen Erickson: things about physically and between you and your wife, what are going on? Like, what’s the very first wave of things that hit you? Just regarding your career a, as a musician and what you’re doing. You’re on the road trying to hustle through a pandemic

Mike: yeah,

Glen Erickson: and something life changing like that happens. What’s the first

Mike: yeah. So, so [00:57:00] Alyssa and I, I was like, you know, my entrepreneurial, um, hustle spirit. I was like, let’s, this is lame. Let’s buy a van and live outta this van. I’ll play like outdoor shows in people’s backyards. And you like, I. Um, see online clients, like outta the van or whatever on Trader Joe’s wifi, and she’s like, yeah, I’m in.

Um, and so that’s what we, we bought this van and we were like, let’s go for it. Like, it was a good time to like make a bold move it felt like. And so we, yeah, I mean I had played like four shows, um, like pretty, like, and we kind of ha like I was usually I’ll like book a tour one way, but these, this was like, okay, like had a few key things and then we’re like really just like filling in as kind of, we went a little more like not booking all four months out.

Like maybe like booking a f booking some things, announcing like these 10 shows and then trying to like fill in everything and being, being willing to like play. Um, yeah. And so we were, so for three weeks we were in this van and then we were [00:58:00] in Palm Springs, California. I like had this stroke. I like it’s pretty outta the blue.

I think for most people have a stroke as a pretty healthy 30 5-year-old guy. Um. And I was like, you know, at first I was like, oh, like um, oh, I am from Alberta. I can do hard things. I was like, this’ll be fine. Like I had like four shows this one weekend in this in San Diego area, like LA and San Diego. And then I was like, it’ll be okay.

Like I’ll just like, here, I’m gonna just like practice a bit. And like, it was sort of like in real time it was like, I’ll just practice. And then I just like would sleep and I like couldn’t eat and I was like just a mess. And I couldn’t like walk, you know? But I was reluctant ’cause I’m like not a can.

Like my first intuition is like cancel the shows. It’s like, just let me like see if I can do this or whatever. And I remember thinking that. I was like, huh, maybe I’ll be able to do it. And then slowly I just like, you know, [00:59:00] I had a stroke in my like cerebellum, it’s like the center for like balance and coordination and I just like could not like.

Play a song or like play guitar at all. Like let alone, you know, let alone like, oh, I was, you know, probably like close to dying or like couldn’t eat and like slept all the time and just there was myriad like problems. Um, and so, but pretty quickly we’re like, okay, like, you know, in a matter of two or three days we’re like, okay, this, this is all not, um, paused or delayed.

This is just like canceled. Um, and so we like moved to, moved into my, into Alyssa’s parents’ basement in Bellingham where we live now, like with, you know, no, no notice. We just flew home and I dunno, A friend picked up the van from Seattle, flew down there and drove back or something with all her stuff in it.

And, and Alyssa was six months pregnant at the time. And so it kind of went from like, oh, we were kinda like hustling this. We had this cool little vibe to like being a little bit more of a hot mess. So, [01:00:00] and I think with, you know, career wise it was just like, oh, everything’s just. Um, on hold or everything’s just, everything’s just canceled.

And it was like, oh, thank God I’m not dead.

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: Um, and, and then for myself, I was like, oh, I’m not gonna focus on music. Just mostly on like, rehabbing my body. Like, it, it was like, oh, I would maybe never play. Like, I was like, will I play show again? Or like, ’cause I could not play the guitar. Like, I, I couldn’t do a lot of things with my like right hand, but especially like, like I’m a way worse guitar player now.

Um, especially like playing like lead stuff, which I would start to, I plays a trio at that time. Mainly like playing all the lead stuff and kind of like doing this, a lot of things grant. And then I could not like strum, I couldn’t strum a strumming pattern. I couldn’t down, down, up, up, down, up. So yeah, so I think it was just, I was just focused on like [01:01:00] being, you know, I being alive and like being able to like.

Hopefully be like a husband and be a human or like be, then I turn into a dad shortly after. Um, right. I just remember the first time I was like, I’m gonna try running in this, like, there’s this big open field and it was like this, like Forest Gump moment or something and I was like, I’m going to, I’m gonna do it to Alyssa.

And she’s like, okay, just be careful. And then I just like tried to like, you know, I just like kind of ran and I was like, oh my gosh, this is like so fun. ’cause I, you know, I maybe hadn’t my body just, I couldn’t do that for like a couple, you know, maybe it was like a couple months or something. Or even if it was like six or seven or eight weeks or something.

So, and as far as, and then that just changed like the kind of the outlook on music in a lot of ways.

Glen Erickson: Yeah, I bet. So how, how quickly did it change from, you know, maybe things are on pause or maybe, you know, [01:02:00] because you’re in the middle of the music career. How, how quickly for you did it change to just like, I have to just, have to fix this, I have to work, work on me. Was that, like you said, within like a couple of days or there a little longer period of, you know, you were in denial with your pioneer spirit or something?

Um

Mike: I think that was like pretty, like pretty quick as like a safe two to four days or something. Because you, in your body, like, I think you can, you can feel, you know, when people, when like, oh, there’s a, there’s four doctors and lab coats come in and they’re like, you can’t do this, or whatever. I thi and then you feel it in your body too.

You’re like, oh, like, oh shoot, for lack of a better word. Um. They’re prob they are experts and I feel what they’re saying or something. Um, and so, okay, like I need to probably like, you know, not deny any truth or whatever, but be like, what am I, you know, like, what am [01:03:00] I gonna do? But my, you know, what am I gonna do?

I, I like, made a big chart and had these baseball man stickers and I just started to rehab things. I was like, I can’t, so I cancel everything and then just literally do these, these eight things every day.

Glen Erickson: becomes

Mike: And so I just like, yeah, I like made it a full-time job. Like after like two weeks of that, which was, um, you know, and some of it then eventually was like, try, like I just sat there and I felt like I was in Grant Macewan college in Edmonton again when I was 22.

And I’d just play like, like pick a note and like play scales, like really slow. just to kinda, you know. And then I, when I got bored of that, I like started just writing. Things, um, ’cause I was like, oh, I’m bored of like, practicing things. So, so then I just started to like, write things as a form of rehab a little bit.

yeah, like on cast with flowers. The last song was called Baseball Stamps. It’s just about this like, rehabbing on this chart. ’cause it’s something I just like, some random little thing I like wrote in this time. ’cause I was just

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: wanted to just spend time doing [01:04:00] that. So,

Glen Erickson: What’s that

Mike: yeah. And

Glen Erickson: gap? Like how long until you’re back? Like you’re working on yourself, you’re trying to get your body like.

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: to be muscle memory. Obviously you’re retraining again. How long was that timeframe before you felt like you, I don’t know if you even feel you’re fully back or what parts of you are fully back?

Maybe that’s a better question. Like

Mike: Mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: four years removed.

Mike: Yep.

Glen Erickson: what parts have kind of never fully come back and what things you’re surprised did come all back.

Mike: I would say, like now I’m like, oh, I’m 92% old Mike. and at the time, so I had the stroke in April, 2021 and fast forward I booked, um, a few shows March, 2022. So that’s like 11 months after. And I called it the, can I still do this tour? and I was just kind of like, it was mostly I wanted to like see if I could do that or if it felt okay and you, and this is like part of my like live show now, I’m like, oh, I just wanted to play like one show again.

’cause it wasn’t. And it was, it’s [01:05:00] not the most important thing to me if I like, oh, do this as a career or like, money. Money or provide for my family.

Marker
Mike: Like, I wanna just prove to myself and prove to others, um, that I can still do this. And part of my, like, why, what I said before is I want to do that because like, I believe Glen, that like, you can, you can do your thing or like you can do this or anyone, when they have that big heart thing in their life to like overcome, like, I’m like, if I can do, if I can do this, like maybe it’ll help you or inspire you or show that you can do your thing also.

And so, yeah, I think I, I booked these few shows. The first, a few, like a couple of them were in Edmonton. ’cause my family lives in Calgary, red Deer Edmonton. So it was like Edmonton, red Deer, Calgary, but I think there was like five in Alberta. And then I like played in, I actually did play Victoria that time.

I played in, then I played in Bellingham, in Seattle.

Glen Erickson: Hmm.

Mike: And as a duo with my friend, my Dutch friend, Seward. And, you know, I couldn’t hold a pick. so it was just kinda like, it was more like mellow folky songs and I just kinda [01:06:00] like play a lot of dance strokes with my thumb or whatever. But the, you know, the songs were the songs and I had written a few of them from Castros and Flowers, like the song Casts and Flowers.

There’s one called Domino, which is like literally about having a stroke or whatever. and that was one of, actually one of the wild experiences of my life because, it was, I just remember, I don’t even know what the venue was in Edmonton. I played this one show and like, I had a panic attack.

Glen Erickson: Hmm.

Mike: Um, and I do, it’s, I’ve never had one of those in my life.

it, it was just like so scary actually. And just from like, yeah, like, I just like didn’t wanna like fall over or like, yeah, like I mostly, I just didn’t wanna like f. yeah, like, yeah, something like that.

Glen Erickson: yourself? Was that.

the thing? Like you were or embarrass

Mike: It was just scary. I don’t, I just didn’t want it to be like, awkward or something. And he was like, why am I doing this? Like,

Glen Erickson: yeah.

Mike: yeah. I actually remembered like, yeah, I like, it was, [01:07:00] it was a little rough. I’d like, get these, yeah. Most things were kind of rough. whether it was like, yeah, just my like, brain wasn’t, it was trying really hard and I’d be really tired or like, and good thing I had like, good thing it was just a duo thing.

So there wasn’t a lot of, um,

Glen Erickson: a lot of moving

Mike: there’s just a few less details. Yeah. And even, even more so these days, I like don’t play with, I think I’ve played two shows with the band and my choice is to play outta necessity like solo shows. Um, with no opener. Not at a venue, because I can’t, it’s hard to deal with like talking to someone like a Sam person, them doing a soundcheck.

It just take it like, would take it a lot. It would take a lot out of me. yeah, I like outta necessity, I like need to like not talk to anyone. Like set up two bo systems and like some lights and like my stuff not soundcheck, have the sound the same. Um, not have a door person just like sell,

Glen Erickson: Hmm.

Mike: you know, the goal is to sell a [01:08:00] $20 ticket online, play some earth show up, you know, a little more David Bazan solo style or something and, and then just like do the thing and have less like details.

you know, partly monetarily and partly like my brain sort of. So that’s kind of like why I’ve like, and I’ve played like basically like a hundred shows, that way. And when it’s still, when I get into, like I’ve, I’ve played two shows in clubs. This. Year. Um, and it’s like a lot. It’s like a lot. It reminds me that it’s a lot.

Um,

Glen Erickson: So

Mike: yeah,

Glen Erickson: comeback shows you’re, I I can, I still do this shows where I’m wondering ’cause you’ve, like, you’ve been doing this since 20 2008. Before that, before you even, like, you’ve been pursuing this, you’ve been playing a lot of shows. You’ve had a lot of cool gigs in like places, like you talked about the tractor, like you’ve played a lot of iconic rooms. where, where does pulling that off rank for you in your life of [01:09:00] like your personal achievements in being a musician and performer?

Mike: yeah. Say like, um, say thresholds. If you look at that element, it’s like, oh, maybe that’s, um, the most. Uh, when people look at these vinyls or something, I’m like, oh, this one’s the most commercially successful. I say that about Thresholds. Um, but a friend of mine, you know, maybe like shortly after Castle’s, he’s like, Hey Mike.

He’s like, this is your, this is the pinnacle of career achievements is like this album. And a lot of that is like more like personal than it is, you know, than it is. Um, you know, like it’s not on the, you know, Polaris long list or on, not on the, um, not nominated for Grammy or it didn’t even like, you know, wasn’t as commercially successful or something as, but the, yeah, the fact of like doing that or being able to like put that, put that together and like just release it as an album.

Like, oh, I made a documentary and an album and then toured the album. And like played

Glen Erickson: I.

Mike: a [01:10:00] bun in whatever capacity and, and did that as you know, pretty well, as if it was, you know, had people working on it, like promoted the album. Like, did that all the best I could do and like the best, um, yeah,

Glen Erickson: that easy for you to accept? I’m just curious, is that easy for you to accept that kind of success? I, I guess I, I ask it because I’ve known a lot of people or talked to people who they, they’ve never been able to accept critical acclaim. They really, just because they’ve been so driven, you know, to have my most commercially successful record or some

Mike: yeah,

Glen Erickson: thing that we chase that was supposed to be the definitive thing. But then for this

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: be your definitive thing takes maturity, I think, which you’re already showing in this conversation of course. But I’m just curious if for you

Mike: Mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: a natural thing or actually kind of difficult to accept.

Mike: Um, I think like, yeah, like [01:11:00] everyone, like 10 outta 10 people in your sphere say, say, Glen, Glen, your sphere. In my sphere where the intersects take the take 10 people. Um, those people, probably all of them would love to play, you know, 1000 or 1500 soft seat theaters like 80 times a year or something. Would I like to Yes.

Would you like to? Yeah. Like, yes. Um, is that gonna happen, um, in reality to nine of those people? No, it is not or something. and so I think like, yeah, like take the, take the definition of success, like, oh, has, has that been a goal? Kind of, yeah. Like, yeah. I would say that’s been a goal. Like, have I like done some cool things Yes.

In some capacity. Like Yeah, celebrate them when they happen. I think just like, well, even like. You know, the pandemic and after that and yeah, this, I think my definition of I am okay if it, if success is looking a little more like, um, David Bazan’s [01:12:00] solo shows and like selling a 20 or $30 ticket playing in like living rooms or something.

Because there are like, there are so many people that are carrying a lot of expenses and they do the bus tour and then they lose 40 grand at the end of like a tour or something.

Glen Erickson: of pressure.

Mike: Yeah. It’s a lot of, that’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of like, pressure and, you know, my, my like goal the last few years is not to do, it’s to like, um, sell 50 tickets for $20.

It’s to make a thousand dollars and then have some fuel expenses and. And no other expenses. Um, and it’s to put like $750 in your pocket because you have to like, sell it a 200 person room if you have a band and then you’re traveling with a sound guy, because then you, you don’t wanna do all that work and like be at the mercy of some random sound guy and like, and then hotel rooms for the people, and then people aren’t 20 anymore.

And like, and then you need to sell like a $25 ticket at a 200 person room, and then you’re putting $400 in your pocket or something. And there’s a lot, there’s just so much risk with that or whatever. Um,

Glen Erickson: I [01:13:00] can’t,

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: emphasize this enough for people who listen want to understand

Mike: Yeah,

Glen Erickson: current state of music for people about how

Mike: yeah. Yeah.

Glen Erickson: bucks in your pocket is. I

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: a song with like 1.8 million streams.

Mike: Mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: a lot of people is gonna look like. Ooh. Like that’s a lot of streams.

Mike: Yeah,

Glen Erickson: but that’s like six grand, seven grand, depending on where

Mike: yeah,

Glen Erickson: scale landed.

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: nine grand at most. Like, um, it’s not,

Mike: I’d say seven.

Glen Erickson: not, it’s not paying out what people are think are paying out. Like

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: are so important. So, uh, I would, I would hope that people could hear that and realize how important it is to buy that 20,

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: ticket to that show. I’m curious where you’re at now.

You’re obviously still trucking forward and writing songs. Is there new music? Are you still working on? It’s a different version of an album

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: I’m sure, in your life [01:14:00] now. two kids, 39 years old,

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: know, stroke survivor, but, Yeah.

I’m just curious where you’re at right now, Mike, like what’s, what’s the process look like for you now?

What are you working towards?

Mike: Um, let’s see. Well, what am I, how, how to put this the best way? Um, my, my general, um, inclination has been to like, do a thing and then when that thing’s finished, then charge on the next thing. Um, so I had Casseroles and Flowers. Um, I played a bunch of shows on that. Um, but then I have a two and a 3-year-old.

And, and maybe this is, oh, like, yeah. Um, that conversation with Dan Mangan, or actually like, opened this Dan Mangan show in Seattle last, maybe it was last year. And, um, we just had Nev and it was, or our daughter Nev and it was like three weeks after that. And I remember him being like, Mike Goodell just had, has a three week old.

Like, what the hell is he doing here? Like, playing the show every day. And it’s like, oh, I literally drove [01:15:00] down the road. Like I drove an hour and a half down to Seattle and then like, played the show then like, drove up that night or whatever. It was that big of a deal. Um, yeah, I think, um, I am, you know what I, what I tried not to do post cast with flowers.

Um, I was like, what I can do is charge and do the next thing that doesn’t feel right. Um, it doesn’t, it feels more right to, to take stock or be like, oh, I’m 39 years old with a white guy with an acoustic guitar. Um, like what’s the next thing? Uh, having a 3-year-old and a 2-year-old that is like, you know, I made cast flowers with a baby and into a 1-year-old and, you know, traveled around in an RV with Alyssa and Julius and I one summer, and then the next summer it was like, um, Alyssa, Julius and Nev or whatever.

And then, you know, so definitely like did that with, you know, kind of babies. But, but now, you know, I just have more, I have less, less time and less, you know, [01:16:00] less energy and a little less attention that I can, you know, I can’t use all my time to like play music and write songs and like book these shows and, and do all those things.

Like definitely. Um, so yeah, you’re kind of like, oh, thing things need to change. Um, in some capacities or things need to like, fall off the boat, like what falls off the boat and like, what doesn’t. And then, um, so I have like, let’s say like career wise. Yeah. Like, I think I’m going country ’cause Indy Rock is dead.

Um, maybe I’ll move to, or like, no, Indy Rock has done, I dunno what, I forget what that record was, but I’ve been, so I have a, I actually have like this four song EP that I am sitting on and it’s more like indie rock songs, right? There’s a song called Once Upon A Dream, um, there’s a song called, um, fortune Teller, and they’re a little more like, oh, Sirius xm, the Verge, and um, more like indie rock songs or whatever.

And they’re, they’re fun and whatever and they’re mostly just ’cause like those got written and it’s like [01:17:00] a cool four song ep. But I like have been sitting on that for like a year. Um, ’cause it hasn’t been like, it just hasn’t been the right time to do that or the effort and energy there. And I generally have like done, um, like this summer I’m like not playing live shows this summer.

Um, in the last like three or four since COVID, I’ve played a lot of, um, shows in the summer mostly ’cause I’m try, I’ve tried not to play in clubs ’cause

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: too dynamic of an environment for my brain. and usually I will, I will release something and play shows and kind of like really like focus so I can like, you know, promote the, um, shows with music and promote the music with the show, whatever, like,

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: you know, good Music pro and people will be like, yes, good job.

So I have this four song EP and I’m probably gonna like put it out or something. But I’ve also started to basically write like more. Um, country songs or like folk, maybe it’s like indie folk country, a little more Back to America or something. Um, and I think that’s like what creatively, I think it’s a [01:18:00] little more, there’s a little more audio production in my future, um, which I’ve, I have done probably over the past like eight years.

I’ve always like done like two or three projects, um, whether that’s like producing recording or like a little more mixing the last couple years or something. Um, and I’ve had some, some records I’ve like, I like for my friend Tyson, I produced this one record for him when I didn’t know what I was doing and like it did really well for him.

Um, and so I’ve, like, I think I do have a, I have like a lot of skills and a knack in, in that world and it’s a lot of music people, they, you know, when they get a little older. Yeah, they’re gonna like, produce music or whatever and, and do that stuff. So that’s kind of like in, you know, in the, in the works a little bit.

’cause I’m not like doing that as a, I’m not doing that all the time or like, don’t have a good business doing that. But I’ve always done two or three or four projects in the year and that’s been a portion of like what I’ve done. So I would probably [01:19:00] go to more towards that. And then it’s really just like, probably like, there’s this like four song ap but then I’m just like, I’ve been like writing songs and putting them in like a big pile.

Um, because I think in this era, um, a good song is, feels really important because there’s so many, there’s, there’s so much content out there. And I really like, I don’t think I am the, I don’t think I’m the total content person. That’s interesting to. And make great content. I think it has to be like great songs and it has to like, speak to people and speak to like, oh, an audience that has listened to my records or something before.

So I think it’s just writing a lot of songs and I have a pile of them. It just doesn’t feel like I should press record on them or something. Or even how to do that or do who to do it with or like, you know, I think about that a lot. I’m like, oh, is Walla producing this one? Or I’m like, am I re recording this with like Marcus [01:20:00] Wyn Or like, you know, I don’t think I’m, am I mixing this one again?

Or like those questions like that. And I think the. Time is just, time is, doesn’t seem like the most important question. Um, with that it’s more like creative and more an artistic statement or something. Just ’cause of like, yep, I’m 39 years old, white guy with an acoustic guitar. I have a two and a 3-year-old.

Um, I’m like, won’t be a bad dad. I, so, um, I think with those questions, so, um, yeah, I don’t think the world needs another, the world does not need another Mike Edel record and the world doesn’t need any other records. Actually. I think it is in the human spirit to be a creative person and make things, and I think I’ve had to answer that question.

’cause if you’d asked me like six months ago, I might have said like, oh, the world doesn’t need another Mike Cade record, so I’m not gonna make one like, or something. But I, I feel like I’ve said that a few times to people, they’re like, oh, the world [01:21:00] does not need art. It just,

Glen Erickson: well, I heard a, I heard

Mike: Like,

Glen Erickson: recently,

Mike: yeah,

Glen Erickson: to remember who the guest was. It wasn’t Seth Rogan, but it was someone, I think, in

Mike: yeah,

Glen Erickson: that was talking about how they started to get to being, making movies, not just being an actor. And way they put it, Mike, was nobody’s banging on anybody’s door.

Nobody’s banging on your door. the next Mike Edel record. Nobody’s banging on

Mike: No one is,

Glen Erickson: to make a new movie or to write a new script. He’s like, nobody’s banging on my door to do it. Like when you’re a creative, when you’re an artist, you just do what you’re compelled to do and it finds its way in the world and finds an audience and builds whatever it will build.

So you’re right. I don’t think anyone’s banging on your door for a new record, but you had talked about before about being a creative and if you get biggest pile of songs you ever imagined you could pile, [01:22:00] and it

Mike: Mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: probably still doing what you were best at doing along with,

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: a dad.

Mike: Yep. And just like, just a different, like, if it’s a different process, it might, like what I said one thing before, like I, I’m obsessed with process and not, like, probably more than I’m obsessed with trajectory of a career. Like is it the best career move to do a, like, maybe not, but I’m compelled to do, to like really know what like the process or the era is or the record is or something, if it’s a record.

and so like that’s what I’m like going to prob like gonna do just whatever feels right and yeah, this is the creative spirit. Whatever, like feels right. And this is kind of, sometimes it’s just like why there’s a four song Indie Rocky P is, ’cause it was like, I don’t know.

Glen Erickson: Yeah,

Mike: was like going down a few roads and it was like, oh, this road is not right.

But actually these songs are really good. So let’s like, we’ll like, you know, put that out or something.

Glen Erickson: like

Mike: Um,

Glen Erickson: a

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: of, you’ve had that strategic [01:23:00] thinker in there along with your creative side. I mean, you referenced Andy Shaw earlier and I worked in New Andy with Andy when, when he was like, 20 years old or 21

Mike: Mm-hmm.

Glen Erickson: Yeah, and especially Andy in that era. he just wanted to make the art.

He just wanted to play the shows. It, I didn’t see, and I, so I couldn’t speak to Andy now whether he’s developed that sort of strategic side, but a lot of artists just don’t, and some artists really do. I think, um, it’s probably helped you, I’m gonna guess at a lot of stages in your career, but especially now when you’re, like, you’re saying, I don’t have the time.

I don’t have the energy, but I like process. So you can strategically figure out how to keep doing things in a diff in a different way. Yeah.

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: Yeah.

Mike: And like, it feel, it still feel, I wrote, you know, I wrote on Friday, ’cause I was like, I don’t wanna do any of this other stuff. And like I’ve, I [01:24:00] have lots of half days for things. And so like, oh, I wrote like on Friday, last Friday, I like wrote and I just like made this song. I was like, oh, this song probably, this song probably isn’t, this song’s probably not near the top of the pile or something.

But I like really, I’m really glad I did that. Or I enjoyed it or whatever. So,

Glen Erickson: days

Mike: um,

Glen Erickson: to me.

Mike: yeah.

Glen Erickson: that would be awesome.

Mike: Yeah.

Glen Erickson: well, really appreciate your time with this Mike. Um, telling, telling a bit about your story and your insight all of these things. I think your career is really interesting. I think your music has been always very interesting like I said, it’s it, it worked its way into the fabric of what listened to quite a bit and regularly and, uh, I think that just goes to how good a songwriter you are.

So, um, I know I personally would be very happy to hear that you’re still writing songs and hope that four or five of them make the light of day for us at some points [01:25:00] along the way or more. Um, but I’m especially encouraged to know that you’re still writing and still flexing that. M muscle memory, um, that one didn’t go away. Um, mostly happy that you’re still here with us. I, I know that you sort of downplayed little bit, the whole stroke thing as if like, oh, I guess I’ll have to do this now. Um, but I mean, that’s, most people attribute that to much more serious, more serious things. So, um,

Mike: Yeah,

Glen Erickson: that’s a pretty incredible story. Your wife, Alyssa, sounds like incredible, the support

Mike: she,

Glen Erickson: obviously

Mike: cool.

Glen Erickson: given you and before and after, kind of just riding along with what, with what you’re doing too, which is a pretty awesome part of your story. But I’m mostly just really excited to hear you’re still moving along with, with where you’re at and with what you’re doing and just figuring out what it looks like now. It’s pretty

Mike: Oh yeah, there will be. Yeah, there will be pro. I think there will be [01:26:00] a record and there will be. Yeah. It will be. It will be a good listen.

Glen Erickson: well come, come back to Edmonton and play at least

Mike: Oh yeah.

Glen Erickson: sometime. ‘ cause uh,

Mike: Yep.

Glen Erickson: I, I’m disappointed that I missed that last one, so I would really like to be,

Mike: Uh,

Glen Erickson: for it.

Mike: yep.

Glen Erickson: But

Mike: Okay. Well Glen, thank you for, thank you so much for chatting with me and, um, I appreciate it as well. I appreciate your, um, your curiosity and questions. I think that’s, I think there is not quite enough of that in the world and I appreciate that.

Glen Erickson: sweet of you to say. Thanks Mike. Uh, best of luck in everything and I can’t wait to hear more from you.

Mike: Okay, sounds good, Glen.

 

Glen: Okay. Guess what?

alexi: and you.

Glen: thank you. Guess what I just noticed right in the moment, so I’m just launching right into it. Um, so today we are talking about, uh, episode 21 with Mike Edel. And [01:27:00] so I had just sort of, was just swiping through some screens on my. Uh, on my computer just clearing some stuff out so I don’t have everything open when we come to record. And I had the Spotify page open where I had his discography and he kind of has some commonality in a couple of his albums and sort of the tones and the style of his art has been consistent for a, a few albums in kind of his earlier part of his catalog. And there’s like little trees and leaves and stuff.

And for whatever reason, I just, you. Your screen came on and you’re wearing this gray hoodie, but

alexi: Oh.

Glen: trees and it’s kind of green and gold. And then behind you though is like that artwork and it’s kind of got those, you know, the little shapes on the posters that are sort of like kinda randomly placed.

That made me feel like his album cover. I don’t know, I just had this serendipitous like that just kind of made me feel that way. So. A fun way to start. So here we are. Hi Lexi. It’s um, [01:28:00] episode 21, uh, with guest Mike. Edel. are you, do you know how to find it?

alexi: Oh no, I was just looking up what you were chatting about.

Glen: That’s

alexi: so right by the way.

Glen: Am I, am I accurate that that’s okay? Good. Oh, I love validation. I appreciate that very much. yeah. Okay. So, great great conversation. Oh, I have like, things I want to talk about today are like, not about Mike. I feel kind of bad saying that. I mean, we always talk about other music things, it’s just so on my mind the last two days.

I’ll be looking forward to talking about it. But, we can talk briefly about episode too, which for me, was really fun. Going back to, so like, the behind the veil might be for people to realize that you don’t always publish podcasts in the order that you record them. so I had recorded Mike probably very early in the grouping of season two. so.

alexi: Yeah.[01:29:00]

Glen: if, if, which is great, but also then it made me feel like ISI was sitting on that for a really long time, uh, before getting to the point now where we’re releasing it. Do you know what I mean? Like, that conversation actually happened quite a while ago.

I don’t love that part of it. Uh, I like it when it’s a little more fresh. but it was. really, good conversation. It was like longer than I remember it being like, we really, he doesn’t, he doesn’t talk slow, like he like really delivers. So there was a lot, was a lot in there I think, uh, which is really interesting. but obvious fascination of his story to me was, um. You know, having a stroke, like, I

alexi: Yeah.

Glen: not to like, you know, sort of glamorize or tokenize his experience, in some way other than to say, it just, it really hits home to me this idea of, we’ve all just kind of [01:30:00] come to ex Accept, I guess is the right word, this notion of the starving artist, you know, that like, that, that percentage of the ones we see who have not just quote unquote air quote made it, you know what I mean?

Um, but are like very well off and comfortable in their life because if you happen to cross that threshold, then you become this. It’s actually a very small percentage of those who, As a result, financially live very comfortably from then on. and the rest are always working very hard to some degree.

And we don’t necessarily even know the difference based on what we see or how much press somebody gets or how many streams they have on to really know sort of where they live in their world that way. So the idea of. Getting a stroke. Having a stroke, sorry, you know, get a stroke. that sort of health crisis of what, you know, you don’t assume that an artist who’s having to [01:31:00] work months to month to keep the bills being paid and all that stuff is gonna have like a really great healthcare plan in the states.

So, It just feels like, what a devastation, how does someone get through that? And for him to be able to talk openly about what that was like and all of the crazy things around it. there was so much more than that to the episode, which I’m really thankful for. I’m also really thankful that I got, you know, a, a great insight into all the pieces. Were a part of that and, and where that led. I don’t know. I don’t know what your thoughts were that

alexi: Well, yeah, there was, I mean there was that, and he, it was interesting too, and I think we said it before about something else, but like, he didn’t speak of it like with a bitter taste in his mouth so much. which is like, I think just like really good, like kind of introspection is like to who he is as a person.

But I always find that really interesting ’cause um, when that kind of thing happens to people, it’s either like, you know, they reflect on it with a [01:32:00] really bitter taste in their mouth, or they’re just like, pretty optimistic.

Glen: Yeah.

alexi: he felt very like, kinda reflective on it. Like it didn’t feel like. He was like, oh, you know, like he didn’t feel like pity me.

He didn’t feel like, oh, I’m so angry this thing happened and I’m never getting over it,

Glen: Yeah, and I

alexi: which,

Glen: you know, like he talked about his wife a lot, and I think it’s really easy to connect the dots that he’s obviously a place where it’s not just all about him. Right.

alexi: mm-hmm.

Glen: when something like that happens, some people are like, why is this happening to me? That’s how a lot of

alexi: Right.

Glen: to any version of a tragedy.

And for him it just seemed so clear that it was like, now what do I do? What do I need to do for my family, for my wife, for,

alexi: Yeah.

Glen: all of that. And, being able to just kinda. Do that. Um, that’s, yeah, I think that’s a really great show of character. I think the other thing it made me think of is something that’s come up a couple times on our [01:33:00] episodes when I’m talking a guest, or particularly a guest who’s an artist, you know, just, which is like, there’s a million reasons to stop. this like as an artist, it’s like often you never feel like anybody is actually asking you to make more music.

alexi: Do you know what the other answer was? Oh, go ahead. Oh, I was gonna say the, the other answer that he gave that was like, kind of in the same realm of just like him being so like, I don’t even know the word. It’s not even optimistic, it’s just like. Very genuine, like a little bit like kind of selfless, um, I guess, but there was, you asked him, um, you said like, what was your musical North Star?

And as soon as you said that, I totally thought he was gonna kind of say like, ’cause we were asking him what inspired him or like who inspired him. And I just instantly like assumed that he was gonna say like, an artist or band or like some performance.

That was his inspiration. Um,

Glen: Yep.

alexi: but [01:34:00] he instantly answered and was like, oh, like Mike, like the connection to people. And like being a songwriter and like having that connection to people. And I thought that was shocking. Like, not even like in a crazy way, it’s just like not at all what I expected and it was just so much more genuine of an answer than I expected.

Um, because I think a lot of people you’re like, oh, what inspired you? And you’re like, oh, this famous artist, right? But he was like, oh no. Like connection to people. Like I know what my why is and like, that’s it. And I was just like, holy, like this guy, this guy’s like so pure of heart. Like that’s just such a sweet answer.

Glen: I’ve known, known Mike for a while and, I think I was always trying to figure him out in the early days. I think he sort of gave off, perception or, uh, an impression that, um. That I probably wanted to put in a certain box and I think, but there was always things I saw that made me feel like I can’t put him in that box. which I think is actually really cool, right? Like that somebody you realize, you [01:35:00] know, that there’s something really dynamic about a person and you shouldn’t. Judge the book by the cover, all those sort of things. And he’s kind of been that guy who’s challenged my desire to sometimes quickly put people in a box to the point where, he released his album like just before the pandemic, um, in 2019, the Thresholds album, which like, I, I told him this on the pod, but it’s like my favorite work of his, like, everybody latches on to somebody’s. Discography at some point in their career. Like that one, for whatever reason. And the timing, I ended up playing it a lot. I love it. It was really great work and I think that I, I’m glad that that happened. ’cause I might, this might be like an artist slash person. I didn’t give the proper benefit of the doubt early on.

And then to have this conversation with him all these years later and see exactly the things that you’re pointing out. just kind of affirmed to me that there was like something special about the guy that should force me [01:36:00] not to judge so quickly about what I think might be. And I should quickly caveat that it’s not like I was thinking awful nefarious things about him 10 years ago or whatever. I think I was just allowed, I would’ve allowed myself to just make quick assumptions that.

alexi: Yeah.

Glen: he’s, he’s better than the assumptions I was gonna make, and I’m willing to say that and, and I’m actually really happy that he’s such a cool dude. okay,

alexi: We love that.

Glen: I, oh, and the, I’ll just highlight this stuff.

Like I brought it up. We ended up talking about Larry an awful lot, but his, his dad is like so funny. Like when you see some version on. Social media or even TV shows, you know, where they like sort of bring their parents into a reality show. Like we were watching the Jackass like, and it keeps being on TV and your mom keeps wanting to watch. The Jackass

alexi: Yeah.

Glen: and Bam, from the jackass crew always goes and like traumatizes his parents at their house [01:37:00] and and, but it kind of makes them a star without them wanting to be stars as a result.

alexi: Yeah,

Glen: of how I always felt about Larry and, and how early on Mike would always include him in a lot of his social media stuff and I think he even did like little like video series with Larry and just. Very cool, very funny. So I think that’s awesome. Okay,

I guess what I will quickly say to wrap, I won’t go on about it because the first episode of our post fame plus told the long story about the war on drugs being so important to me in the hospital room.

Do you remember that album?

alexi: Yes.

Glen: So I just, and I’ve also talked about. My favorite song of last year was Sam Fender’s. People Watching, by far, I absolutely loved it, which was produced in by Adam Granduciel, sale of the War on Drugs, and played on it and stuff. Anyhow, one of my favorite podcasts to listen to is Song Exploder, which has been around one of the longest running podcasts.

Their latest episode was on the [01:38:00] Sam Fender song, People Watching. And to hear him tell the story, Lexi, I just, I just, I need to communicate this to people because above everything, I hope people realize that every day. I’m still more than anything, a fan of music and the power of music on you. So the first half, he’s, um, this is what I love about song Explode.

While you’re talking about the bigger things, like the meaning of it, like what was going on in his life at the time, they’re also unpacking the little details of how you recorded it, how they played it.

alexi: Yeah. Like how the actual production happened?

Glen: music geek things that satisfy me.

alexi: Yeah.

Glen: But

alexi: Up your alley.

Glen: but they’re also telling the story of a girl that basically helped pull him out of his shell when he was young and through acting classes and stayed with him his whole life and checked in and really influenced, and he calls the biggest influence on how he’s able to be a performer and be creative person now. And then [01:39:00] she ended up going into the hospital and dying. And the spending the time with her in the last days and he gets choked up. He’s like, I actually haven’t talked about this with anybody she died. And he gets choked up and I’m in the gym listening and I’m getting choked up and then, so it’s the most sweet touching story and he is basically like people watching was like every night when they took shifts at the hospital with her and he would leave the hospital and he would just. Watch people as a way to distract him from his thoughts and feelings. Anyhow, so all of that I get about halfway through. I forget to go back to it for like two days till I’m at the gym again, and then he starts into the second half

alexi: I’ll have to give it a listen.

Glen: work with. Yeah, so they’re going into the recording with Adam Gr and he’s like, so what was it like doing these acoustic parts?

And he is like, it was maybe the best moment of my life. He said, I’m sitting across the studio

alexi: Bring it in.

Glen: an acoustic part with my hero. [01:40:00] Adam Granduciel. And he is like, why was that so important to you? And he’s like, he’s got that British accent. So he is like, well, you know, man, I was like 10 years ago, I’m living in a flat with mold and broken everything with my mom and we had barely a penny and I, and I ended up in the hospital and he goes, and while I was in the hospital, you know, that Lost In The Dream album saved my life.

It got me through that time. And I’m sitting there, I’m like, it got me through. of my hardest times. Then I had to like almost stop myself from crying in the gym for a second time. And anybody who saw

alexi: Oh my goodness.

Glen: must’ve been like, boy, that dude’s really going through it. So, but it is the most touching thing, and especially serendipitous because the song had already, without knowing all this meant so much to me. then you find out the

alexi: Yeah.

Glen: behind a song, and then it’s like, so powerful. So

alexi: So much better.

Glen: I just had to talk about it. That’s

alexi: I love that. I’ll have to listen to it. For real.

Glen: Okay. It’s a really great episode. It’s [01:41:00] maybe the best podcast episode I’ve ever listened to my life now,

alexi: I love that.

Glen: took over, number one. Okay. That’s all. Thank you.

alexi: Okay.

Glen: Okay.

alexi: i love you Bye.