Performing artists in Los Angeles, Mike and Mandy met professionally on a Shakespeare play, after which they fell in love, took road trips, shared their love of music and married 3 years later. Mike was a ska/punk singer and songwriter for 5 years, a reggae keyboardist, & a jazz, funk, and acid-jazz drummer. Mandy grew up in the heart of the US, singing with an Orchestra Children’s Chorus, an Opera Children's Chorus, and in musicals. She's sung country, jazz standards, rock n’ roll, and loved “hard folk” like Indigo Girls, classic rock like Pink Floyd & experimental artists like Bjork & Tom Waits. Both developed a taste for the roots of American music.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Mike and Mandy, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Music was an escape, and outlet, for both of us… beginning in childhood. Decades before we met, we each had music teachers that told each of us that we had “no musical talent” - both in 5th grade! Yet, by sixth grade Mandy was singing with her city’s orchestra children’s chorus. And by 8th grade, Mike was writing and singing with a band that played gigs every weekend for the next 5 years. Music has always been a very important part of both of our lives… it has been a constant companion, a friend. We both still have vinyl albums and cassettes that have moved across the country with us.
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
It’s definitely a struggle to keep so many balls in the air, to be sure. We are lucky enough to have a cover band that gets paid to perform regularly. We also are both actors. We actually met doing professional theater. You can see Mandy in the St. Vincent movie, The Nowhere Inn, as one of her extended family members, and you can see Mike in the horror movie Stoker Hills.
Your latest song is 'Timeworn'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
A pandemic. A global pandemic was happening. Mike wondered if live gigs would ever come back… or professional theater. Mandy wrote the music and lyrics for Timeworn in 2020 and Mike arranged and produced it.
How do you find yourself in the music business? When you started out in music, did you know it would be like this?
The amazing thing about today is the amount of things one can do at home, in a spare room. Mike always wanted to produce and arrange and Mandy always wanted to be a recording artist… when we originally both wanted to make albums, it meant hiring musicians and renting studio time which we could never afford to do…making an album was a pipe dream for the lucky few who had the money and resources or were signed to a label… or if someone was independently wealthy and built their own studio. We both moved to Los Angeles and wanted to be in the music industry but there didn’t seem to be a viable path forward. Then the doors opened for indie artists.
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
There’s nothing I’d rather be doing. I don’t even want to contemplate that.
How do you know when a work is finished?
Mike: It’s never finished… much like myself. I’m a work in progress. When a song is over 90% “there,” it’s time to release it. Perfection is impossible. It’s a good sign when you listen back to it and can’t help but bounce your head and dance in your studio chair. That’s a sign that a song is nearly ready to go.
Mandy: It’s a pretty difficult journey doing all the facets from songwriting to recording to mixing. The process takes so long. There’s often always something that we could do. There’s often always another thing. At some point, we just have to let go and let God.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?
The enormity of the universe and the amazing things in it are a constant source of inspiration and amazement. How astronomy and spirituality intersect. And we are both sort of comedians at heart or tragic clowns, so we often surprise each another and make each other laugh.
What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?
What isn’t? .. the way music can heal…the way music can bring people together… the universality of music… the way we don’t even have to understand the words of a song to have an emotional response to it. It’s a language that is deeper than language.
Who is your favourite musician?
Mike: If I had to pick just one, it would be Mandy. Other composers/musicians I’ve admired include Holst, Lennon/McCartney, Andy Partridge, Herbie Hancock, Pete Townsend, Thom Yorke, P.J. Harvey, and Bjork.
Mandy: I love watching Mike make people laugh when we performs live or when he delights our in-person audiences with his unique arrangements of well-known tunes. So many musicians have impacted me. Just a few are Pink Floyd, Radio Head, Led Zeppelin, Heart, Patsy Cline, Nancy Wilson, Wille Nelson, Bjork, Indigo Girls, Portishead, Massive Attack, Cocteau Twins.