Spotlight on: Mikey Shyne

Prepare yourself.

I was recently contacted by a man named Mikey Shyne and I'm not speaking out of turn when I say I can't wait for this guys memoirs. 

Throw what ever you want at him, kick him from his home, drive him to the lowest depths with addictions and one thing will become very, very clear. Mikey will not be stopped. 

I caught up with Mikey over email and below he gives us a insight in to his journey. 

Who is Mikey Shyne?  

Mikey Shyne is a Pop artist from Queens, NYC.  I'm a product of hopelessness, desperation and perseverance. I have turned a nearly non-existent dream into something remarkable.  

My hard work, dedication and learning to never give up on a dream have allowed me the opportunity to generate a huge local buzz that is slowly spreading globally.  

How did you get started in Music? 

I have been singing my whole life.  I remember my younger years where I would put on concerts for family members with my grandmothers vacuum cleaner set up center stage as a mock microphone.  I sang with church choirs, local theater groups and sang the national anthem for the New York Mets when I was 10 years old. Music is in my veins.  Its the heartbeat of my soul.

I took nearly decades hiatus of actually pursuing music because of family disapproval but never stopped singing and writing on my own.  

There were a few sparks to the fire that is Mikey Shyne.  The first is meeting Eric Anzalone, the Biker from the Village People.  I was doing a stint in rehab up for substance addiction where Eric was shooting a documentary.  I was asked to sing a solo for the documentary and absolutely nailed it.  Pitch perfect.  Eric became a very early mentor for me and an inspiration.  If he could do it, then I could do it.  

After rehab, my recovery progressed and I still continued and write on my own, but I still only had that glimmer of a dream. 

It wasn't until I hit a personal rock bottom in January 2015 following a bad breakup where something snapped inside of me.  I locked myself in my room for two weeks and made the DECISION that I would no longer waste my talent.  I wrote and wrote.  "Set Me Free" was born.  I recorded "Set Me Free", my first professionally recorded, mixed and mastered track and released it on Soundcloud.  BAM!  It became an overnight sensation and Mikey Shyne was officially born.  From that point on I said hey, maybe I really could do this.

I rebuilt my relationship with friend and manager DJ Manny Flyiso who introduced me to DJ Tomekk who introduced me to Kurtis Blow.  Tomekk and Blow are legends that told me they saw something in me remarkable.  Kurtis came out to my first live show and INTRODUCED me to the crowd.  I killed it that night and won the showcase.  I was addicted. 

Now, I treat this as a career.  Making it in the industry is really a full time job but I love every minute of it.

What kept you going through the addictions and homelessness? 

Man, its always hard to talk about my dark days but talking about it and keeping it up front keeps me from ever wanting to return to that lifestyle again.  

The specifics of my substance abuse don't matter but living with the disease of addiction, depression and anxiety make even the smallest tasks seem impossible.  Addicts are great at making mountains out of molehills.

Being kicked out of my families home, in the grip of a nasty addiction and having to sleep in the lobbies of hospitals, subways, buses and friends couches was a horrible way of life.  People were dying left and right around me of overdoses and felt it was only a matter of time where my own card would be pulled.  

But what really kept me going was a glimmer of hope that one day, I'd be on a stage in front of people.  Feeling the moment.  Feeling the love.  Feeling free.  I never gave up on the dream and I thank God for blessing me with this talent because if it wasn't for the talent I would feel no purpose in life.

Growing up, who were your biggest influences? 

Believe it or not I LOVED doowop and golden oldies in my early years.  Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Eminem and Justin Timberlake I would say are my biggest influences.

If you could collaborate with one artist, who would it be? 

I would love to collaborate with Eminem.  I grew up on him and his recovery inspires me.  I'd also love to do a recovery track with Macklemore.

What's been the highlight of your musical career?  

Theres been so many in a short amount of time but my favorite was getting to work with DJ Tomekk on my single "Put It Down" I had a blast.  And having an international Grammy nominated artist featured on my track was so dope.

What did 2015 mean to you and what does 2016 hold?  

2015 was like my indoctrination into the business.  Its not just write songs and perform them on a stage.  Its a daily grind to be noticed, get plays, get views, collect fans, beg bloggers to get me on their site, sell tickets, etc. 

I have built a foundation for myself so for 2016 I am looking to level up and start earning income.

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I can hand on heart say I want to see Mikey achieve what he wants. Mental illness and addiction are crippling people daily and Mikey is the perfect example of how these things are not a life sentence, they are only with you until you beat them and boy, has Mikey beaten them.

You can find more about Mikey at:

www.mikeyshyne.com

www.reverbnation.com/mikeyshyne

Twitter/IG: @MikeyShyneMusic

I hope you will all join me in giving Mikey what he really deserves. A chance. You can be sure he will not pass it up.

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HepkattFM

Music and Mental Illness

I panic at far more places than the Disco.

For the past few years, I've been living with mental illness and just trying my best to push it to one side. The one thing I learnt. That's not possible.

Finally, I surrendered, got help and started working toward managing my day to day life. I was scared at first. Lots of things had to change. I quit drinking and boy, did I drink a lot, I stopped going out as much and so lost friends but worst of all, I had to stop performing. 

I've been a drummer for the past 10 years and played in a handful of different bands. That rush before taking the stage, that relief at coming off at the end knowing you did a great job, they're feelings that just can't be recreated and it was all over. The cymbals had stopped shaking, the kit was in the van and I was all at sea.

At the same time, I realised that this was only for the best. The incredible feelings I got before playing were replaced with severe panic attacks and an overwhelming desire to just get it over with and when that happens, well, you're just not a musician anymore. I was just there to make up numbers. At least that is how I felt.

That's when Hepkatt was born. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and realised there is far more to music than just playing it. I started reading, excessively, about music theory and researching upcoming bands, venues, equipment, you name it I've been looking at it. Then I thought, why not write about this? This 'thing', this 'noise', that can bring us together and divide us all at the same time, make you feel lost and found in the same split second. 

Now.

I'm not going to go as far as to say music has saved me but it sure makes being here that so much easier. I'm excited to hear the next big thing and to find the dingiest venue that offers the best experience. It gives me desire and it gives me hope that even though I can't be doing it any more, others are and the industry is safe in the hands of every young kid who picks up an instrument. 

Music is free from all the things wrong with the world these days. We don't care about religion, politics and we're not about to go to war over who should be number 1. We're all here for the same reason. So from me to all musicians, all music lovers, writers, technicians, lighting engineers and so on and so forth, thank you. 

I'm a believer in music, fucking hallelujah.

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HepkattFM