I apologize for this being so delayed, but local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith took part in a 2+ hour interview named "The Sky's The Limit" for YouTube in July, so what should you know here? This was conducted by Australian metal musician and artist Jade Starr, who has quite an interesting backstory both musically and personally (she is trans and gender nonconforming, FYI), so I do recommend reading the manifesto on her website to track her journey! The recent videos on Jade's YouTube channel have primarily been about recording music with Apple iPads and iOS devices, and of course, Mike uses similar tech for his recent solo output, and has appeared on YouTube interview shows of this ilk in the past that help teach other independent musicians how to make their own professional recordings in this way. This "How To App" interview begins with Mike's lyric video for his song "All The Best".
If you want to skip directly to the interview proper, it begins at 4:56, with the first section running for about 22 minutes. Jade has been hoping to interview Mike for a long time given the multiple musical and professional hats that he currently wears, so it good to see the right intercontinental wires cross! The interview proper starts with Jade asking what music means to Mike, his early musical influences and songwriting (didn't expect so much Joshua Kadison talk!), how his family took to his music, his preferred recording formats, and the songwriting process, and Mike shares some good insights across this section! After Jade plays lyric video #2 of 5 for "The Start Of Something Real", the interview resumes at 31:14, with part 2 running for around 38 minutes. We next see Jade asking about the 1980s influences on Mike's recent solo material, the music/work balance given Mike's day job as a commercial airline pilot, ...
...the music lessons and classes that Mike took when he was younger, the perception of Canada domestically and internationally, how safe air travel is nowadays, how Mike became a pilot in the first place and got to his current level in the profession, and more about the good, bad, and routine experiences of being a pilot. If you're as curious about flying airplanes as Jade is, this section will be for you, especially the last story about Mike's scariest moment in the air! We hit the midpoint of the interview when Jade plays the "Carousel" lyric video, and part #3 begins at 1:12:58, running for about 17 minutes. This portion deals more with Mike's music, with Jade asking about the bands that Mike has been in, and he does positively reflect on his bands in Sault Ste. Marie, including his work with Haggith and both the acid jam & power pop versions of The Din, complete with visual aids from his website.
Mike also discusses Between The Ditches, the cover band that he performed in while living in Thompson, before discussing The Big Finish Band, his solo backing group as seen at local festivals and The Soo's Got Talent. If you wanted to know where they got the Big Finish bandname, he tells us here! We also hear about Mike's experiences and memories about playing live in general, and translating his more personal songs to live performances. The penultimate lyric video played on air is "Twist Of Fate", and if you want to skip to the last portion of this interview, it begins at 1:34:08 and runs for around 36 minutes. This is when we finally dive into the DIY recording angle of Jade's recent content, with Mike asked about how he recorded his newest studio album "All The Best In All You Do" with his at-home equipment, his experiences launching and operating MorningStar Records, using Kunaki to print CDs & vinyl records on-demand, ...
...Mike's artist-friendly business model for MorningStar, his recent work helping get physical albums ready for New Jersey's Maezend Music Lab, how you can get Mike's attention re: maybe working with MorningStar, Mike dislocating his knee (and briefly playing through it) during his set at last year's Rotaryfest, his expectations for his then-upcoming return to Rotaryfest this year, and his advice for when musicians should start recording. The interview closes with the lyric video for "Hot & Cold". While a long watch, this was really well done and informative, both for Mike's insights on his local music career and his work as a pilot alone, but Jade covered lots of ground across this 2+ hour interview, and the extensive use of screenshots and photos in the back half helped give some context, which is handy for newcomers! Fans of Mike's will absolutely want to check out this new interview, which you can do below, and stay tuned for much more this week! Thanks everyone!
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