Mike Anderson of the “Mike A & The Prisoners of Routine” band was recently in a position to answer questions about his new album called A Hidden Peace. Soon it became quite obvious to see that this project was not just another commercial enterprise for the artist but indeed a passion project.
Having a career in music that has lasted for decades and having covered almost all sorts of genre, Anderson has gone into a new phase to release his very first punk album. Originally conceived as a one man EP project, it soon turned into an album which comprises of punk, pop punk, post punk, grunge rock, blues rock and hint of 80s glam metal.
This deviation in genres is an indication of the various events that have influenced Anderson, along with his different musical preferences. During the course of the project, it sort of evolved from the initial Anderson’s crusade into project involving like-minded people willing to create and experiment music.
During the interview with Anderson, I explored the narrative behind A Hidden Peace and unveiled how Anderson came up with the songs and his thoughts were on how the audience would interpret this music journey.
Listen to ‘A Hidden Peace’
Follow Mike A & The Prisoners of Routine on
What inspired you to write “A Hidden Peace”?
-I was in several bands, in several different genres, over a couple decades. I’m the type of artist who gets an idea and can’t get it out of my head until I make it happen. I had never attempted punk, before. A high school friend invited me to join his punk band.
I spent a year in that band, and left due to various different reasons, but I was still interested. I never tried to write any punk while in that band, so I tried a song. It came out so well (Walk Away) that I decided to just due a solo EP.
Can you tell us about the songwriting process for this track?
– I don’t really have any specific process for writing. If a really cool line comes to my mind, I just try to build lyrics and/or music around that. If I hear a really guitar guitar riff in my head, I try to hum it on my phone, then later on when I get the chance, try to record it. Then just try to build music around that. I honestly don’t even remember the precise process for anything I write.
I cowrite with a friend, Paul Fowler, a lot, and there have been times when I sent him a recording through Facebook messenger, and he and I sat there writing lyrics to that music, through Facebook messenger.
The title “A Hidden Peace” is intriguing. What does it mean to you?
– I guess the one thing that can be taken out of this EP, as a whole, would be: Whatever you do in life, do it with conviction. Because if you can’t even convince yourself, how can you expect to convince others? ..something a good friend told me once. (Ronnie Honeycut from Jackal)
Was there a particular moment or experience that sparked the idea for this song?
A high school friend invited me to join his punk band. I spent a year in that band, and left due to various different reasons, but I was still interested. I never tried to write any punk while in that band, so I tried a song. It came out so well (Walk Away) that I decided to just due a solo EP.
What do you hope listeners take away from “A Hidden Peace”?
Enjoyment…or…just any kind of positive vibes or feelings.
Music is a very expressive form of art. A song as listeners can feel something from it, the art did it’s job.
Did you experiment with any new instruments or production techniques on this track?
The drummer and bassist were actually playing together when recording the initial tracks for the EP. They were really feeding off of each other. It can really effect the feeling of the groove.
Is there a music video planned for this song? If so, can you give us any hints about the concept?
I definitely will want to have a video for each song, but there’s no particular ideas yet, for any video.
How do you think “A Hidden Peace” showcases your growth as artists?
This was my first attempt at punk. Previously, I’ve written and performed country, blues, metal, jazz, hip hop, nu metal, grunge, funk…but never punk. I curently have a Blues EP and a Post-Grunge EP on Spotify, and another Rock band I played bass in has a single on Spotify. I think it’d be cool to have an EP up for multiple different genres. I just love music.
I know the other guys have never tried punk before, either. Chris, Tony & I were all in a grunge band together. I was in a Metal band with Chris. Drummer Steve was in a Post-Grunge Alternative Rock band, and a Country band with me. We’re all just trying new things.
Are there any interesting stories from the recording sessions for this song?
Mike Smith and I were there 12 straight hours before we finally finished with the vocals. The instrumentation took forever, it seemed.
We were full up on coffee and candy and whatever else we could sugar up with. The vocals took maybe 30 minutes, total, for all songs. haha. But, he and I didn’t eat the entire day. We just stayed in the studio, and rolled through it all.
