Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lil Mik_e. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
LiL, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I grew up teaching myself how to play guitar and write songs from 6 years old all the way to my senior year of highschool. Then I went to Northern Arizona University to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Music Performance with Emphasis in Classical Guitar – this is where my professor Tom Sheeley taught me how to play guitar beautifully. Professor Sheeley was taught by Manuel López Ramos, who is one of my favorite guitarists of all time, and we studied the Segovia method. Professor Tim Smith taught me music theory – I learned so much from him regarding harmony, Bach, and beauty – we would even meet for tea every Thursday at Dunkin Donuts so I could pick his brain more and get advice on pieces of music I was composing at the time. Outside of college I was constantly recording in Los Angeles with mixing engineer JJ Catalyst (credits: Hollywood Undead, MOTHICA, phem, Max Bennett Kelly, Papa Roach) and song writer Seth Smades (credits: Emma Stone, Dylvn, Beleganas). JJ and Seth taught me so much about literally everything imaginable both in music and in life – I am forever grateful for their generous knowledge and support they’ve given me over the past 8 years. They have put me in rooms with accomplished songwriters, producers, engineers, and more. I met Paul Slaughters through JJ (credits: Simple Plan, State Champs, We The Kings, YUNGBLUD) and he has taught me a lot when it comes to patience, getting the most convincing take vocally or instrumentally, and producing. Between teaching myself growing up, obtaining a college degree under Tom Sheeley, and being in Los Angeles with my team I have truly learned to appreciate the craft – I will always be learning more and growing until the end.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
When I was 6 years old I saw Drake & Josh and begged my Dad to take me to Guitar Center to get the Fender Cherry Red Stratocaster. Obviously my Dad passed on buying me the $2,000+ Cherry Red Strat and instead got me a beginner acoustic guitar. I could not put it down and was already writing my own songs, figuring out what sounds good to my ear. After discovering Hollywood Undead, I started my first band with some hockey teammates in elementary school. Over time I’ve been in over 15+ bands in genres ranging from rock/rap, metal, metalcore, hardcore, emo, pop punk, and alternative. After the difficulties of being in band and discovering Adam left one of my favorite bands, Tigers Jaw, to start solo venture Wicca Phase Springs Eternal – this inspired me to go solo and start making music as LiL MiK_e. My first song “Issues” was very successful – from there I released 7 other singles which turned into my debut album “Memories” now having over 3 million + streams. From there I’ve been adding to my discography with more singles and my second album “Sellout” which came out in 2021. My new mixtape is coming out December 13th and my third full length album is coming out TBD. I am most proud of all the friends I’ve made in this industry. I want to be known for always learning, growing, never giving up, and being a positive influence.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
At first back in 2018 I scratched out my face on all my releases because I was terrified of family, friends, and peers seeing me at my most worst, raw and vulnerable states – I used these songs as a journal leading to the end. The response I got on this collection of songs (Memories 2019) was very overwhelming and I did not expect for people across the world to be relating to my story or let alone be heard. This made me feel less alone – part of me felt like I was enabling a certain type of behavior while the other part of me felt like I’m making positive change and giving the people what they gave me – a chance to escape our darkest thoughts and times – to truly grow in to the person we are all meant to be. So I would say that relationship with my audience is the most rewarding part of doing this – I’m very grateful to be able to be myself and be accepted for who I am.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
With the success stated above, I became very diluted with this idea that everything following my debut album “Memories” had to take off to the same capacity or greater. This made me drift from doing this for myself to having goals out of desperation and that took a long time to recover from. Now – I’m coming out with a new mixtape called “Crying in the Moonlight” where I got back to making music from the heart which is my focus and my goal from here to the end. This entire collection of 10 songs are generally freestyles that I sang off the top of my head – some are refined – some are one take. “Crying in the Moonlight” really got me back on track to my true self and my goal of making music for me. I can’t wait to share it with you December 13th!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilmik_e
- Twitter: https://x.com/lilmik_e
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lilmik_e
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lilmik_e
- Other: Tik Tok : https://www.tiktok.com/@lilmik_e
Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/5ozcTK7CBsKCHf08ZhL8N5?si=AojijBDiQCyUsMMBbDADkQ
Apple Music : https://music.apple.com/us/artist/lil-mik-e/1423866938
Image Credits
Jorge Santacruz