Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Flanagan.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I was born and raised in Brockton, MA and moved to Boston at age 18 to go to Berklee College of Music. I grew up listening to R&B and Hip-Hop and at age 10 I started formal saxophone lessons. By age 14 I was studying jazz (Charlie Parker, Coltrane) intensively and my grandfather started teaching me piano. At 15 I heard my mentor and musical hero Yasko Kubota perform for the first time and started studying with her in addition to monthly lessons with Jerry Bergonzi. I arranged pieces for my High School Concert and Jazz Bands and received a performance scholarship to Berklee on Saxophone.
After my first two semesters at Berklee, I went on tour in Japan with a big band playing tenor saxophone. When I returned, I finished Berklee and hosted my own two-night live performance residency at Sheraton Hotel with Yasko on keys and several jazz greats as featured artists including Esperanza Spaulding, Christian Scott, Terri Lyne Carrington, Joann Brackeen, Andre Hayward and many more.
In my last year of Berklee, I came out and distanced myself from the jazz scene. I finished Bachelors of Arts in Music Education and started traveling to NYC a lot. I began songwriting because it was so cathartic for me and this led to the birth of my first album Elevator Music. During the creation of that album, I was introduced to Lisa Bello and we were musical soulmates and destined to be best friends. We started performing a weekly residency in Boston at Club Cafe, duo with me on piano and Lisa at the mic. It quickly exploded into a beautiful weekly gathering for the city. We would take any song we wanted and do it in any style we wanted with tons of free styling and improvisation. We fearlessly would take the music anywhere we wanted and the audience was with us for the entire ride. This elevated even more when we were joined by Justin Waithe and affectionally known as Mob Music, which served as our unofficial band name. This became my sophomore album and musical vision going forward.
Here we are 7 years later with a Lennon Award, 2 OUTmusic Awards, TV/Movie placements, viral music video, a GRAMMY nod, all from the Mob Music album which hit #1 on the iTunes Jazz Albums Chart as well as a Billboard placement, It feels like destiny and that we were all meant to create together on the musical journey. I often refer to Lisa and Justin (both Boston natives also) as my deam-team. We are still climbing and aiming to reach our goals in the industry but I wouldn’t want to be on this ride with anyone else.
Please tell us about your art.
I compose and song-write using my two main instruments saxophone and piano. I also write top-line (lyrics/melody) either alone or with the singer I’m working with. I myself do not sing, but I LOVE songwriting and always trying to improve. When I co-write with singers, I aim to bring out the best parts of their voice/artistry and draw that out of them through the composition. That is how the Mob Music album was created. I knew Lisa and Justin so well from hundreds of shows together and I knew where the magic lied and how to activate it. I also knew when to fully hand it over to them and say ‘do your thing’.
The content of my songs is always based on my real life, whether my LGBT anthem, “Be Strong” or my love for bodybuilding “Go to the Gym”, every song is written based on personal experience. “Mob Music” was an overture the album and an introduction to what we do. “Trying” is about the love lost in my most significant relationship. The music is always made to help, heal, or relate.
Choosing a creative or artistic path comes with many financial challenges. Any advice for those struggling to focus on their artwork due to financial concerns?
Figure out a way to be happy with your day-to-day work/responsibilities while pursuing the dream. There will be highs that eventually come back down and so it’s important to have your daily life, while in pursuit of the dream, be one that you could live forever and be content.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
www.mikeflanaganmusic.com has links to everything. I find that sharing the work, even personally, is the best way to support it. The more movement the better. If you hear a song that hits you, text a friend that would love that son and have them listen and share it. It has such a huge impact and can change everything for an artist if it happens enough times. My music videos and live performances are also on www.youtube.com/mikeflanaganmusic
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mikeflanaganmusic.com
- Email: mikeflanaganmusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/mikemrf
- Facebook: Facebook.com/mrfmikeflanaganmusic
- Twitter: twitter.com/mrftheartist
- Other: iTunes/Spotify: MRF
Image Credit:
Jake Fink, Steve Osemwenkhae, Joshua DeWane, Mark Gallager
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