Thank you so much for chatting with us Michael! So, what is your favorite dish to cook? I am known for my habanero macaroni and cheese. It is super, duper hot, not for the faint at heart and that is my potluck go to. I love making it and watching people’s reaction when they eat it. It is addictive.
What is the one place you have always dreamed of dining? I have always dreamed of going to brunch at The Broadmoor in Colorado. I saw a profile of their brunch on a cooking show once and it just seemed so elegant and ritzy and I was like, that’s an experience I want to have.
What’s on your pizza? Do you fold your pizza or eat it straight on? Ranch or no ranch? I like practically everything on a pizza but anchovies and pineapple. I generally get the most meats I can and of course extra cheese. I’m weird in the fact that when I eat a pizza, I scrape all the topping off and eat the crust first, then I go back and eat the toppings second. I’ve been doing that since I was a kid. Definitely not ranch, but bleu cheese. Bleu cheese is the all purpose condiment it’s my go-to.
Southerners know good cookin’. What should every Southern kitchen be stocked with Although I was born in California, my family has roots in Kentucky where my grandmother was born. There were always two things in my grandmother’s kitchen, the first thing was bacon grease. She used it in everything. She kept it in a coffee can on the top of the stove . The second thing was Lawry’s Seasoning Salt. Not just any seasoning salt, it had to be Lawry’s.
Where did you grow up and how has that influenced your style of music? I was born and raised in San Diego, California. I developed a passion early on for the arts and show business in general and I would have to give that credit to my mom. My mom always had different kinds of music playing when I was growing up, she didn’t limit herself. I remember how she used to play, “Sweet, Sweet, Smile” by The Carpenters to me all the time and we always had Hee Haw on the television as well as disco, hard rock, it was really quite eclectic and that is probably why the See Your Shadow catalog has almost every genre in it.
Looking back, what was the first album or “Vinyl” you bought? Well for me it’s cassette tapes. I have a huge, I mean huge collection of cassette tapes and the one that started my huge collection was, “She Works Hard for the Money” by Donna Summer.
What was the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given about pursuing a career in music? I was once told by a colleague to keep thinking and creating outside the box. When you are outside of the box it is harder to get a break, but when the break comes it pays off huge. That has stayed with me and the work that See Your Shadow has created over the years sometimes doesn’t conform to industry norms, we just take a project, where it takes us.
Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? See Your Shadow’s work is about human experiences and emotion, so I generally tend to gain inspiration from observing people. I’m that person that sits in a crowded room, stays silent and just listens to what is going on around me and then sometimes something just hits me, generally in the shower or even worse, in the middle of the night while I am asleep. It’s funny that I joke with my friends that I work so much, I even work in my sleep and that literally is true.
Is there one song in particular you’re most excited about people hearing? I am excited about the entire body of work from this new material, but “I Will Tell Jesus You Said Hello” gets me the most excited as I think it is just a fantastic piece of work and the message of it is so deep. That is why I decided to release it as the lead off showcasing See Your Shadow’s new sound. I feel the piece brings the emotion back to country music, something that the fans of country music have been hungry for.
Finally, if you could be sponsored by one food/drink brand who would it be and why? This is a tough one, but I would have to say Jameson Irish Whiskey. A beer and a shot of Jameson is my go-to when I party, and I think the product would be a good reflection of the music because it has many dimensions just like the music.