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| MikeDrastic |
MikeDrastic likes to keep it real—really real. But that doesn’t mean this 6’4” 300 lb open book isn’t full of surprises. From a trumpet-toting kid in jazz band, dodging bullies in rough-neck neighborhoods, to providing military security during the Iraq War, he’s anything but your typical hip-hopper. But these extremes are what make MikeDrastic, well—drastic, and what gives his music its raw edge. Bringing elements from funk, jazz, heavy metal, rap, hip-hop and melding them into a surprisingly harmonious balance, he’s out to prove that there’s more to hip-hop and heavy metal than labels and stereotypes. Recently signing with LA-based media company, Heavy Metal World, and Itchy Metal Records, MikeDrastic is poised to be the next hip hop artist coming out of Seattle that makes you stop, listen, and, most importantly, rock on.
As the first hip-hop artist to be signed to Itchy Metal’s heavy metal record label, HMW takes a moment to ponder this unique pairing and find out more about the man behind the growl.
HMW: Mike, tell us a little bit about how you got started in music.
MD: I come from a real musical family, it’s kind of like a joke that everyone in my family has to play at least two instruments. They don’t do it as much anymore, life kind of got busy, so I’m the only that really pursued the music thing. When I was younger I played the trumpet and the baritone, a little piano—basically more traditional style music.
HMW: Were you in marching band?
MD: I was actually in jazz band [laughs]. I just found the shirt I used to wear—I used to be a little guy—it was this little white shirt and little white gloves that can barely fit on my arm now. But, yeah, band is kinda where I got my start.
HMW: How did hip-hop find it’s way into your world?
MD: I actually used to really hate rap because I lived in some rough neighborhoods in Virginia and every time I heard rap it meant trouble. I was one of the only white kids living in the neighborhood and so usually when the guys in my neighborhood would come around they’d harass me and I got beat up a lot. I was a little guy, really little—I mean not medically stunted or anything—but this little blond-haired surfer kid living in the hood and I knew that as soon as I heard rap music it was time for me to go.
It got so bad that eventually I ended up going to a private school because my life was constantly being threatened. My friend there said one day, ‘Hey, I got some music for you to hear.’ At the time I was listening to heavy metal, a lot of rock, trying to be like my older brother and when he told me it’s rap, I told him I didn’t want to hear it. But, he popped in a tape, and I remember all I heard was this guitar riff and I was like, that’s kinda rockin’, and then I heard these three words: ‘walk this way’ and the rest is history as they say. The next song he had me listen to was kinda funny, it was a song about parents not understanding, something that I could relate to [laughs], so I’d have to credit Run DMC and Will Smith as the rappers that opened me up to the entire genre.
HMW: What was the first hip-hop song you wrote?
MD: It was when I was a teenager, a song called Reality. I don’t really remember the song, but the first verse was: ‘Living in America night and day; the criminals run where the children play.’ That’s what I’ve stayed focused on ever since, lyrics that can reach people and be a little more informative and educational.
HMW: Is that where you get most of your inspiration for your lyrics then, looking back at past experiences?
MD: Elements of past and the future. At this point in my life—I don’t want to be cliché and say that I’ve had a hard life because there are people that have had it much harder than I have, so it’s more about knowing what I can change, what I’m capable of, what is about to happen. I see what a lot of my friends and what people out there are going through and I always want to relate to the people, so it’s them who give me the inspiration for my lyrics. There may be times I write a song about wanting to do something or things that this person (through the lyrics) has gone through and I didn’t necessarily go through it, but I know that I have a voice for all of “YOU” out there. From the emails, letters, and calls that I get from people, and the messages on Facebook—I really take that and I say, ‘You know what, you might not get on the microphone, but you want to have your voice heard—I’ll do it for you,’ so that’s another aspect of why I write what I write.
HMW: Have you always been interested in combining different genres of music, styles that most people wouldn’t think could fit together?
MD: Yeah a lot of my influences are really diverse. I listen to everything. There are only a couple little styles that I say, ‘Nah, those aren’t for me,’ but I can appreciate them at the same time. As I’ve grown and traveled I like to listen elements of everything and incorporate it. Something I’m really big on. You’ll catch me listening to Tupac and then world music, switch to Daft Punk and then I’ll pop in some old funk.
HMW: Speaking of world music and your travels, how do you think your time abroad—how much of that had an influence on your musical career?
MD: All my time overseas was in the military at this point. I stayed in Rimini, Italy, for 3 months and then Saudi Arabia at the tail end of Desert Storm. We didn’t get a chance to get out too much—I was security forces, we were the guys that rounded up the M16 and grenade launchers and stood on the rooftops—but it definitely opened me up to new styles and new outlooks on music and the entertainment industry. It made me realize that there was a whole other world out there with their own musical heroes, fans, and tastes. I think we as Americans we tend to really believe we’re “it”. We know there’s other music, but America is the foundation of it—we think. I got to learn at a young age that we’re not “it” here and other people are doing it just as good or better. It was one more step into pushing me into a global citizen instead of a local citizen and thinking in that small box. So now, I seek those differences out, I’m a Google whore—constantly looking up different songs, videos, instruments—to see if I can incorporate them into what I do. When I hear some of my cohorts and companions out there in the musical industry and some of the things they talk about especially with hip hop, I’m looking at them thinking, you gotta start thinking bigger, man. I’ve got nothing but love for them and what they do, but I really want to bring diversity into my music, I want to break away from the stereotypes, I want to be something different.
HMW: As far as your fans go, how do you want your music to affect them?
MD: I have this catchphrase, ‘Let’s keep it really real’ – I feel like in this industry and in this current pop culture everybody says ‘keep it real’ but it’s not real it’s what I call ‘media real’. I feel like we should all tell each other how we really feel and where we’re really at. I posted on Twitter an image of my old busted shoes I was wearing because I’m not ashamed of that. Most rappers and musicians wouldn’t do that because they have to maintain this pristine image, I just want to let people know, hey I’m just like you, I just have a career doing music. I want them to be able to take that music that they hear and when they’re having a bad day, they can say, you know what, I don’t feel alone, this guy knows how I feel, I’m not the only one out there struggling. So that maybe will give them some solace. If they’re having a good day, I want them to turn on one of my songs and celebrate and have a good time. I want them to realize that everything they bring to me is heard and considered. When it comes to putting the words out I just want to be the people’s voice. I have my own stories to tell, but ultimately I want people to hear MikeDrastic music and say that guy is telling my story right now.
HMW: So tell us about your future plans musically, next steps, upcoming shows, what are you working on right now?
MD: Everything has changed, I’m now signed for a two-song deal pushing Worst Side of Me and Three Shots with Itchy Metal and building everything up on the backend. We’ve got the EP out on iTunes, Amazon, and Rhapsody. I’m hoping to do some shows in the near future. The Seattle hip-hop scene is much more unified than other cities, these guys are really cool and supportive and I feel like once I’m ready to get back on stage I think I’ll have a lot of doors open. For now, my focus is getting the music exposed and out there. I love the music on my EP – I reduced it to 6 songs, it’s kind of a harbinger to the world to say look what’s coming, but I already know what’s going to be on the new album and I can’t say anything, but I’m excited. Not to shoot down the 6 songs—I love those songs—but I know what’s coming next and it’s going to be a monster.
HMW: Any predictions on when the new album will be released?
Hopefully this next year. Everything with me is finances. I do all of this from nothing so I’m going to have to save the bucks and put them back into the studio. So, for the new stuff, it’s one step at a time until I win the lottery or an investor (hint, hint) wants to come invest.
The only teaser I can give you is that we are working on a revamp of a song that is very well known—a ‘80s hit that we’re revamping into my hip-hop style. That’s all I can say since we haven’t solidified anything yet, but we’re going directly to the people who created the song for their go-ahead; we’ve gotten a couple green lights that have said, ‘let’s do it,’ and I think when people hear this they’ll say, ‘Oh my god, that song is off the hook!’
Check out more MikeDrastic at: www.mikedrastic.com
