Welcome to G-Status, our weekly guest blog section.
For the first time since May 8, 2023, we have a guest blogger, as Steve Kaycee interviews his friend Mickey about drumming.
You can see the entry below.
Enjoy!
“My Intro To Art: Mickey”
Steve: At what age did you start playing the drums?
Mickey: I started playing the drums at 8 years old. My dad is a guitarist and wanted me to be a musician as well, so he got me a drum set.
Steve: At what age did you gravitate towards playing the drums?
Mickey: I ended up quitting playing drums when I was about 10. Since I didn’t choose it for myself and also not having any sort of direction or guidance, it was no longer fun for me. It wasn’t until I entered the 6th grade that I actually wanted to get back into it. I joined school band and have never stopped playing some sort of percussion ever since.
Steve: Which drummers do you consider influential in you playing the drums?
Mickey: Like many drummers, I was influenced by Neil Peart of Rush. As I got older and started developing my own style, I started taking influence from drummers in other styles. I was listening to a lot of jazz, and truthfully wish I could remember the many names of the drummers that I was both emulating and learning from at that time. But my top influences right now are Bertrand James from the band Totorro, “Smelly” from NoFX, and my friends and colleagues in town, who all have something to teach me.
Steve: Is playing the drums something that you consider a line of work, a hobby or both?
Mickey: Both! I play in a ska-punk band at the moment, which is a hobby for now, but would like to push it as far as possible to be able to make it into a living. Besides that band, I also take gigs from jazz groups in town when they need a drummer, as well as teaching private lessons and local public school percussion sections part time.
Steve: What’s the name of the band that you’re a part of?
Mickey: My band is called Mia Antifa.
Steve: Any advice for anyone with an artistic endeavor, whether playing the drums or some other type of endeavor?
Mickey: From my experience, I’ve learned that there are ups and downs as far as motivation goes in any art form. It was important for me to set goals in my practice to work towards, so that waiting on having a particularly creative or motivated mood wasn’t my strategy for progressing. Find something fun that you want to learn and sit down to try it! That gets the juices flowing for me when I’m feeling stuck.
Steve: Is there a way for people to see the work of you and your band?
Mickey: Yes! We are streaming on platforms (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), as well as YouTube. We just put out our EP “Better Future” and are working on another full-length record.
Steve: What do you hope to achieve and/or add to with your drum-playing endeavor?
Mickey: I hope to be able to exclusively play music for a living. I love everything about playing with my current band and being able to focus on growing it full time is my goal.