Mikey – T-Shirt

By starrymag | March 8, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “T-Shirt.”

A) It’s one of my favorites out of the batch I wrote over the past couple years for this project. It’s a song about being stuck in a relationship or situation where the other person only really wants you when it’s convenient for them. I think it’s a place so many people have been, on either end of it. The song takes a good look at the feelings that come with it.

 

Q) The song was inspired by a chat you had with friend and actor Josh Radnor about writers block. How did you two become friends?

A) Josh is someone I look up to a ton creatively and personally in the way he carries himself through success. He’s in a great folk-pop duo, Radnor & Lee, who you should definitely check out. I had met him at one of their shows and we stayed in touch after that.

 

Q) What advice did he offer you that you really took to heart?

A) He came out to one of my shows in LA, which is when he had a talk about songwriting and things I want to improve on. And he made the recommendation that I start to read more well written fiction as a new way to open up my mind a bit. I was in a terrible state of writers block around that time and halfway through a book he suggested I had this idea for a song, and it started to pour out. So, his advice about actively reading has stuck with me and it has consistently helped me think a little differently when I get stuck writing.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans will connect to?

A) I think that it’s just an extremely relatable situation. Out of the few people who I’ve showed the song to, most of them have made a comment about “being someone’s T-shirt” in the past. I think it can also be related to outside of a relationship aspect if you’re in a friendship or any situation where somebody is acting like you’re only useful to them in certain situations or who can’t just let go fully of something.

 

Q) How will the video for the track play into the message behind it?

A) There aren’t any plans for a music video on this one, but I am toying with some alternate versions of the song that I might pair with a video of some sort. I have a music video for my last single, “Bitter,” that is up on YouTube now!

 

Q) Your other song “Bitter” has become a fast fan favorite. What makes this song such a standout?

A) “Bitter” was a fun one to release because it was the first time that I put out new material in probably two years. It’s a song I wrote about self-improvement and coming out of a setback. It’s another that takes on different meaning depending on what you have going on in your life, which makes it easy to relate to from many angles.

 

Q) The song streamed over 35,000 times! How does that make you feel?

A) It’s great! I was really nervous about anybody listening to it. Starting a brand-new project means no guarantee that old fans and listeners will translate over to the new one. It’s been an uphill battle also as a completely independent artist launching a new project and there were a few things that didn’t go as planned, but things turned out well and I’m so glad people have been hearing the song. Hopefully, it goes up from here!

 

Q) You have a new project called “Mikey” coming out. Will it be a full album or an EP?

A) I’m currently just writing as much as possible and putting out singles, but I have some ideas for down the road, so we’ll see what it turns into!

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you? 

A) Here in LA, The Hotel Cafe is one of my favorites. It’s a venue I’ve played out here a few times now and it was one I had heard of forever before moving out here. It’s amazing to be among the huge names who have showed up and played there. Home in New Jersey I love playing Crossroads in Garwood because it’s the first venue I ever sold out headlining in my career. It’s a great intimate venue that will always have a special place in my heart.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

A) Man, this is always somehow the hardest question in an interview because I listen to so much. I super recently just got turned on to Shoffy and have had a few of his songs on repeat. I’ve also been listening to Lennon Stella a ton.

 

Q) We loved seeing you on “The Voice.” Have you kept in touch with any former contestants?

A) There are a couple I talk to pretty consistently! Owen Danoff has become one of my closest friends and I’ll be in Nashville doing some writing with him in April.

 

Q) How do you think the show has evolved since your time appearing on the series?

A) To be honest, I haven’t watched much since I was on, but I hope everyone is loving the experience!

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) THANK YOU! This industry is such a beast and it’s so hard at times to keep up the motivation to keep at it. However, whenever you come across a fan or supporter who has something positive to say about your music (especially when someone reaches out to say a song helped them through something) you get reminded of why you really do it. So, thank you to anyone listening and I hope you’ll stick around for the ride!