We were lucky to catch up with Mike Schmid recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mike, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

Probably the largest-looming music hero in my life is Jon Brion. He’s a great songwriter, guitarist, film composer, artist and plays many many instruments well. I kind of thought the options were: be an expert at one thing or a jack of all trades, but he sort of rebutted the “jack of all trades” thing for me, showing that if you put enough time and passion into it, you can do MANY things at an expert level.

In college, I remember hearing about his legendary weekly shows at Largo (a music club in LA), where artists would just drop in to do a surprise song with him – of the caliber of Elliott Smith, Beck, Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann, etc. Just being able to see this show, and be in a city where these artists were the scene, was a large part of why I chose to move to L.A.

And see it I did: I used to go to Largo (back when it was a small supper club — it has expanded since) every Friday I could afford, just to watch Jon make up a show as he went along, with the suggestions of a rapt and elated audience. It was truly world-breaking stuff, and I often left with the simultaneous feeling of “EVERYTHING is artistically possible” and “why am I even trying when there is someone that talented out there?”

Over the years, seeing him compose gorgeous soundtracks to many of my favorite films (Magnolia, Eternal Sunshine, Lady Bird, etc) only strengthened my respect in him and his ability to go wherever his whim took him.

And because of his influence, when I have wanted to do something outside of my known wheelhouse, instead of saying “oh I don’t know how to do that,” I usually say “oh I don’t know how to do that YET.” Cause there’s no limit to the amount of skills we can add to our toolbelts.

That’s why over the years, I spent a lot of time perfecting my roles as a songwriter, vocalist, keyboard player, producer, mixing/mastering engineer, film composer and lots of other stuff because if it’s interesting, why not dive in deep?

Mike, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started training classically on piano at age 5, and really gravitated towards it. I was winning national competitions by the time I was in high school. After graduation, I attended Berklee College of Music, and got a degree in Songwriting, and went on to win the Grand Prize in the USA Songwriting Competition.

I play keyboards for Miley Cyrus, and have been with her since she started as Hannah Montana about 16 years ago, and have also toured and music directed for Troye Sivan, the Chainsmokers and many other artists.

In addition, I’ve been mixing and mastering for over 25 years, including for my own albums, of which I’ve released 7 so far (with over 3 million plays on Spotify). I also sing and topline on a lot of EDM songs with DJs from all over the world.

So because I can provide all these services at a high level, I recently started a company called SOUNDSUGAR, to help songwriters and artists get their songs to the finish line. No matter where they are in the process, I’m happy to jump on board and assist: whether it’s with the writing, recording, production, keyboards, vocals, etc, or the post-production process — from editing to tuning to mixing and mastering. And it’s really been a pleasure to work with some really special and talented artists in all these different capacities.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I’m an avid reader, and the most helpful books that have influenced my business are The Go-Giver, The Pumpkin Plan, The E-Myth Revisited, Atomic Habits, Deep Work and Fix this Next. I highly recommend all of them!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

After spending time doing something (that’s already fun and satisfying), we have this permanent thing to show for it (whether it’s a song or a painting or a movie). And even if a piece of art isn’t completed, it’s always a learning experience. So that time is never wasted.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.soundsugarmusic.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/mikeschmid
• Facebook: facebook.com/mikeschmidmusic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeschmid
• Twitter: twitter.com/mikeschmid
• Youtube: youtube.com/mikeschmid