Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mike Miz . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Mike , thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned to play music from my family. Growing up, there was always music being played, my Aunt Mary and Uncle Paul play in a band called Old Friends and my Dad is a great guitar player. I remember sitting at band rehearsals with Dad as a kid. Eventually I learned a few chords and never looked back. Playing and writing came easy to me and I found myself endlessly inspired as a teenager. One major regret I have is not joining jazz band in high school. I wasn’t interested in learning how to read and definitely wasn’t interested in learning standards. Years later I came to really regret this decision, and learning those things would have greatly helped me in certain musical settings, and now I love all the old standards.

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 playing music as a job in high school. My first band- The Appalachian Barnhouse Band would play bar gigs one the weekends and my Mom would come to support me (and obviously be there as my guardian because I was underage) One time we played a show at a local venue called the Diva theater, over 200 people showed up, and I ended up making $300, which when you are 17- that is mind blowing. Listening to lots of Bluegrass, Jam bands, rock n roll, folk, and jazz molded my sound early on. My early compositions were more prog-rock inspired but later evolved into a more simple Everyman style of writing. One goal I have is for my music to be all inclusive, I recently saw Elton John and I loved the diversity of his crowd, being able to inspire that many people and see how it moves them was exhilarating.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the most rewarding things about playing music full time for a living is that it never actually feels like work. There is definitely a lot too it, and its a lot harder than most people probably think, but a good show or recording a great song makes it all worthwhile.

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

Yes, there is a book called- The Artists Way by Julia Cameron that greatly impacted me. It’s called a spiritual path to higher creativity and its really a fool proof way to unblock any creative snags and get your spirit back into the creative flow. I wrote so many songs by practicing the principles I learned in that book.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.mikemizmusic.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/mikemizmusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/mizmusic

Image Credits
Glenn Collins Michael Weintrob