I recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat award-winning, Detroit, singer-songwriter Mike Ward. A prolific writer, he has won acclaim across the U.S. with recognition from the Telluride Troubadour Songwriting Competition, the Detroit Music Awards, and has even found his music on the FAI Folk DJ charts.
Be sure to check out interview below. You can find more information about Mike and listen to his music on his website: https://www.psychosongs.com.
You can also find his music on our Songwriter's Seat playlists here: Songwriter's Seat Playlist
What inspired you to start making music?
I began singing at a very young age in church choirs but was also surrounded by music of my older siblings (I am the 7th of 8 kids) ---stuff like Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Odetta, Irish folk music of the Clancy Brother & Tommy Makem---and my parents both loved all kinds of music from jazz to show tunes to folk.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
Simon & Garfunkel, John Prine, Bruce Springsteen, Lori McKenna, Jason Isbell.
What was the first song you ever wrote, and what inspired it?
My first real song was “We Wonder” and it was based on all the questions I have about life, death and everything in between. (I wrote a ton of really silly songs before this but I don’t play them anymore.)
What’s your songwriting process like?
It varies. Most times I begin with written notes and letting it all bleed out on the page unedited and not trying to rhyme…lines by lines. Then I try to find a melody. When that happens, I play the lines again and again until I feel a cadence or a melody hits. Then I really begin to work it into a song. Other times I have a guitar melody that I play over and over again just riffing different lyric ideas. When an entire verse or chorus comes to the forefront, I try to fill the rest out.
Can you share the story behind one of your favorite songs you’ve written?
Recently I had pulled out a poem from ten years ago about the death of my older brother Paul. He died in a car accident the day after Christmas 1965. I was eleven. I struggled with it for my whole life as did the rest of my siblings and parents. I was going to a songwriting retreat in late October 2024. day before I had been on a walk with my wife and an opening line and motif hit me so I recorded it into my phone. The workshop was a five hour drive up north. During the drive I kept stopping and making more notes in my phone. I arrived at the workshop in the afternoon and immediately began working out the song. By 1am I had what I thought was a new song. I played it for a few of my friends and they assured me that I had a song. Upon returning to Detroit Sunday, one of the other songwriters came over and we each played our new songs for each other…something I don’t do a lot. We each helped polish each other’s songs. It will be on my next record. The title is just “Paul”
What’s your favorite song right now from another artist?
Right now, it is a tie between my friend Kyle Joe’s song “Michigan Man” and Justin Farren’s “Always a Little Less Time.”
How do you balance your personal life with your music career?
I am retired from a 40-year career in the creative side of advertising and I am a 30-year board member for a statewide disability agency. I do a lot of volunteer work and help out at the Trinity House Theater in Livonia. My wife and I love to travel. Sometimes it includes music, other times I take a break (but I always have a notebook or notes on my phone).
What’s been the most challenging part of being an indie artist?
Figuring out the best path for releasing finished music. Getting it heard and played on airways or on playlists is a huge challenge for me. That then helps with building an audience. Playing shows at listening rooms is my preferred style of venue. There are fewer and fewer options available. I am primarily a solo acoustic singer songwriter so house shows and small coffeehouses or small theaters have become my go to places. Libraries as well. My wife began helping me two years ago and that has been a huge help not feeling like I am doing it alone.
What’s a significant milestone in your music career so far?
This past year, I performed at Blissfest, three years ago I performed at Wheatland and in between I was a showcase artist at Folk Alliance Region Midwest and was invited to perform at WFMT’s Folkstage in Chicago. This past fall I had one song that reached number eight on the international Folk DJ charts for the month of November of 2024.
If you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, who would it be?
John Prine no doubt or Lori McKenna.
What does success mean to you as an artist?
The respect of other artists whom I admire. A full house at a live show is a close second.
Feel free to add any additional thoughts or insights you’d like to share. Thank you for letting us learn more about your journey!
I began this journey late in life (age 60ish) and am now age 70. That also means I have a lot of life experience to use as a resource. The past two years I was able to book more than 250 shows. It was an achievement I looked forward to trying but now I am looking to do less shows but to hone in on those that showcase what I do best. I am getting ready to release my sixth album since 2018 and hope it will be listened to.
I listen to tons of other music and I let if feed me.