MIKE PINTO INTERVIEW

Bursting onto the scene a few years ago, there is no denying that Mike Pinto’s enthusiasm and passion for his music is probably the reason why he has already secured such a large and devoted following. Moving from coast to coast, his music has brought him great adventures and his adventures has inspired great music.

With a new album ready to discuss, let’s learn a little more about Mike Pinto.

The Pier: What can you tell us about Mike Pinto, as the artist and the man? How would you describe yourself to others?

Mike Pinto: I’m a person who is obsessed with playing music on stage. I love playing live and music has got a good hold of me and I don’t see myself doing anything else ever. Once I got into I really got the bug for it. I don’t see any alternative to this and really believe this is what I am meant to be doing.

The Pier: Cool, so what inspired you to first start playing music then?

Mike: I always used to like writing stories as a young kid. I used to have a book where I’d write stories in it for my family. I had a big imagination even as a young kid. I had a family friend that played guitar and his mom used to cut my hair actually. I used to watch him play and think it was something I would want to get in to. So my family got me a guitar for Christmas.

I ended up taking all the stories I had and I just put them on the guitar. Once I could express myself with stories on guitar it kind of clicked. Actually when I went to Australia is when I first started playing my music for others. We were on a yacht exploring the Barrier Reef and I was playing my songs and all these people were giving me positive feedback. I ended up playing a couple of shows in Sydney and that’s when I first started deciding this is going to be my career.

The Pier: Now you recently relocated to San Diego. That’s a pretty big move from the East Coast? Was it a music motivated move?

Mike: Yeah it was. I did a couple of tours in 2006, and both times I came through San Diego and both times I said to myself, ‘this place is beautiful and I could see myself living here.’ My style of music was also really well-received in the area. My biggest musical influence is Sublime and so I didn’t want to live in Long Beach because I didn’t want to cop their style, so I ended up moving to Ocean Beach, little knowing that Slightly Stoopid lived and grew up there (haha).

So I played a show nearby in Pacific Beach and I loved it there, but they said it wasn’t my style and I needed to check out Ocean Beach. So I did and fell in love with the place. So here I am.

The Pier: You are about to release your self-titled sophomore album (coming out around the 1st of Nov kids). So who did you work with on it?

Mike: I worked with an amazing musician and his name is Chuck Treece. He played drums for Bad Brains back in the 90s and he still plays with G Love. He played both bass and drums on nine of the tracks on this album.

We hooked though another mutual friend back home, Don McCloskey. He came to San Diego and we played a couple of shows together. I told him I was trying to cut a new album and he said I had to work with Chuck and that I would be an idiot if I didn’t.

The Pier: So where did you record this one?

Mike: We recorded it in three different places. We started in LA when Chuck was out on tour here. He is in a killer punk band called McRad who have been around since the 80s. He also used to be a pro skater himself and used to write songs for the skateboarding compilation videos they used to have out. I didn’t even realize how big he was in the skate world until I told a couple of my buddies who skate around here and they treat him like a celebrity.

Anyway, he had a friend in LA that was a producer and the studio was right on Hollywood Boulevard there, so that was pretty cool. This guy was a real legit producer and then all of a sudden the producer was gone from the studio. So I was left with an album that was only 40% done and no producer.

I went back east and cut more stuff in New Jersey and I did the rest of it in an Opera House in Delaware. So we pieced this whole thing together in three different places. I was starting to stress and it was pissing me off I had to keep driving all over the damn place (haha). It was worth it though. All the places were quality studios, the Grand Opera House though was amazing. I was recording up on this stage and the acoustics were ridiculous.

The Pier: Well it sounds like it worked out for the best then?

Mike: Oh yeah, I’m glad it worked out that way. I’m from the East Coast and all the musicians on the album are from the East Coast so it all makes sense. I am not trying to be a poseur here in San Diego and make people think I lived out here my whole life you know?

Ok readers this is where this interview gets a little more interactive. Are you ready for some reader participation? I can’t hear you? Ok then, Mike has put up four new songs off his new album on his MySpace page. So in a sort of a 'Scratch ‘n’ Sniff' type of concept, open this link HERE and listen to the songs while you read about their origins and stories behind them here. Neat huh?

The Pier: So Mike, firstly are these four songs a good representation of the whole album you think?

Mike: I think so. I think there is still some songs I didn’t show you that are also a total different direction. You know as they say ‘variety is the spice of life.’ Since I got here I have been trying to get into different styles of music so I don’t become stale. I think while these four songs are a good representation, there are others that you wouldn’t believe are on there. I have a song, called Get Me Down, which was heavily influenced by Johnny Cash and John Lennon. People would never think I would write that style of music, so that is why I wrote it.

The Pier: So people shouldn’t necessarily expect a Little District Part Two this time round?

Mike: As a fan of music. I’d be a liar to say I wrote these songs for myself and not for the fans. I thought about how I could make it different, but also keep it similar to some of the music I have and I like that style of music I played on the first album. So I wasn’t trying to look to deviate too far away.

I started getting into styles recently like old surf rock like Dick Dale and Link Wray. Cause I wanted to have that influence and then I started buying CDs of Ray Charles, John Lennon and Johnny Cash and I have been trying to figure out why these people are the best and are considered the best.

The Pier: Going through that process did you come to any conclusions? Did you figure it out why they were the best?

Mike: I figured out it does work. I think if you listen to different styles of music continuously it shows up in your own music. In the future there is going to be a lot of that happening for me and I am going to keep looking for styles to make to my own. I want to be ever changing, but something everyone can relate to.

The Pier: Ok let’s talk about the first song on the album, Full Speed. This song is obviously about self-belief. So have you had a lot of obstacles in making your music? Is it hard to stay positive?

Mike: It is definitely hard to keep going at this as your job, when you are trying to do something that is out of the norm. When I try to tell someone older I am a fulltime musician you get some odd looks. The fact that I do this all on my own without a manager it becomes very hard and it gets tiring.

I think I wrote that song a lot for me too. Trying to remind myself I need to keep pushing. It is not easy leaving your family. I have a really strong family and a couple of really close friends back east. Leaving them, that was hard to do. Also my brothers and sisters are making the family bigger by having children, so being out here by yourself trying to make this happen and not really knowing too many people it has been an experience that has been kinda hard.

The Pier: Oh yeah I could see that. You have some nice changes in this song; some rock, reggae and even full blown punk in there. Did you write the music trying to reflect your attitude to some of these naysayers out there?

Mike: Yeah I definitely think so. I like to relate to people, I think we have more in common as people than we do that is different. So I try to relate and have lots of friends that do different stuff too, like artists who are marching to their own drummer. Or even people doing construction cause they love it, when they know they can be doing something else making more money. I wrote that song for all us who are trying to do something that is not what society tells us what we are supposed to do.

The Pier: Ok the song Back Burner, is this based on a true story? A story of love that may not have been as strongly returned.

Mike: It is definitely about a girlfriend of mine back east. I was still doing the music thing and was contemplating leaving and I was trying to make a last ditch effort while I was still home. It was loosely based, but yeah there was girl in my mind for that.

The Pier: Like your previous album you have got some horns on a few of the tracks like this one. You like mixing in some brass with your reggae?

Mike: The horns are my favorite part of my music. It is unfortunate I have not really got in touch with a horn section to play with live. I usually just have a three-piece. I write most of the horn lines on guitar and the pass it on for them to do. I really wish in the future it is something I could really get into myself. I really like the trumpet especially. With ska and reggae when you hear a live show with horns it’s just amazing. I really like Slightly Stoopid’s addition of the horns, I think they do a great job and add a real presence to the music.

The Pier: I found the next song, Temptation, pretty interesting. What are some of your temptations and what was your inspiration when you wrote, ‘you would rather be a sinner than a saint?’

Mike: It is just fun being down here. I was a little more reserved when I lived on the East Coast, then I moved to the West Coast and it was kind of a culture shock. There is so much to do around here, good and bad. The women are different out here, but in a good way. Actually with the women it’s all good on both coasts, but it is certainly different. I think it was just me getting into the culture of San Diego. There are a lot of vices that were new to me that I threw myself into. I don’t know if I did it for the experience, but more for the high.

My friends were coming and visiting me and were like, ‘what the hell? What has happened to you?’ I used to be the more reserved one out of the group until I moved here and I went a little wild, because Mexico is so close, the women were new and I was living on the beach. Ocean Beach is a non-stop party if you want it to be. I let it be a non-stop party for the first six months.

The Pier: Speaking of Mexico, you talk about going ‘south of the border’ in the song. Have you done many trips down there? I notice you have some nice little Spanish influenced guitar on the track.

Mike: Yeah I have been down about four or five times. It is just too much fun down there for a man (haha). I wanted to get the vibe of this entire Mexican and Spanish flair and put it all together. I try to make all my songs based on experiences and that was a great one for me.

The Pier: Now the last song Bad Luck. Is this actually about you?

Mike: Yeah absolutely. My bad luck started right before I moved here. I got a DUI and me and my girl broke up in the same month. It was just like when the shit hits the fan, it really does hit the fan. I couldn’t do no right. That was the kind of period I was in. Every decision was the wrong one.

Sometimes I will sit down with a beer and write. So I’m laying down watching TV with a beer on my stomach and I was checking out the label and it says, ‘this drink impairs your ability to drive a car and operate machinery.’ And I was like, ‘damn there is a rhyme right there.’ From there it just came, this beer does impair my ability and cause me trouble. I had to write a song about this, as I was sure I was not the only one who goes through this.

I keep playing these outdoor shows and I play Bad Luck live, there's a part in that goes, ‘parking ticket makes me want to tell the cops to stick it.’ Every time I play that song live there is a cop right there in front of me who I don’t notice till afterwards. It’s ironic that every time I sing and tell the cop to stick it they are right there. What a great way to tell off a cop, in a song, and not really get into trouble for it.

The Pier: Haha, so you have had no reaction from the authorities so far yet then. No beat downs?

Mike: Actually all the cops around here are real nice. Well they have been nice to me. We have these huge house parties, I have a deck I turn into a stage, and where I am from that would be shut down in a couple of seconds. Here they actually sat around and were just keeping the peace for us. I almost feel guilty about singing that song.

The Pier: Thanks for giving us further insights into some of the songs. Do you have any closing thoughts about the album you want to share?

Mike: What I will say about this album is we put a lot of thought into and we didn’t try to cut any corners. Any advice I can give is I sometimes see what people are doing wrong when it comes to recording an album, and that is they try to record themselves a lot of the time. I never thought that’s was the correct way to do it, because I am a musician and not a producer. It takes years to become that, as it’s like any job. If you put so much time into one thing it is hard to do something else as well. I think that people these days try to balance that, with things like Protools and being a musician and a producer. You really have to be gifted to do both. I’m not and I don’t think I will ever be.

The Pier: Got to lastly ask on behalf of your fans, what’s the touring plans for the new album?

Mike: I want to tour with Chuck, cause I feel that is going to be the best representation of the music and that will probably be on the East Coast this year. I am still searching for musicians to tour with me on the West Coast, that are willing to work their asses off. So I am going to be doing shows for the next couple of months.

Thanks to Mike for his time and IrieAZ Photo for the pic.

Make sure you check out the songs on Mike Pinto's MySpace page (Mike Pinto MySpace) and look out for the new CD @ cdbaby.com and on iTunes in the next couple of weeks.