The Michigan indie-rocker has tasted some success while experiencing the joy — and grueling trials — of his trade. His house show tour makes a Grand Rapids stop this week as he eyes a new album.
THE BAND: Mike Mains & The BranchesTHE MUSIC: Indie-rock
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE BAND: The Living Room Tour stops Wednesday in Mount Pleasant, Thursday in Lansing and Friday in Grand Rapids. Details online here.
Support our coverage of
West Michigan's music scene
Mike Mains has an unbridled transparency about him.
It seems with every aspect of his creative persona – whether crafting lyrics that grapple with difficult truths or framing those sentiments with his signature style of indie-rock or pouring his heart and soul into countless live shows across the country – it’s evident that over the past eight years, a steadfast authenticity has defined his musical career.
Even his conversational words burn with honesty:
“I’ve learned how to become the one thing I never wanted to be, which is jaded and bitter,” the guitarist and singer says with striking conviction.
“The reminder that music gives me on a day-to-day basis is that it’s not sexy, it’s not romantic, it’s just a lot of labor. That sort of beats you down after a little while and you start wondering, ‘Why the hell am I still doing this?’ ”
He pauses, taking a brief contemplative sip from a bronze-colored beer as sunlight filters in through the large windows at Creston Brewery in Grand Rapids. A perfect summer evening unfolds outside: Cars amble by, couples stroll hand-in-hand down the sidewalk and the neighborhood’s old brick buildings turn the last remnants of daylight into shadows.
He sets the glass on the table and looks toward a window.
“But then there are slices, these moments where beautiful rays of sunlight show up out of nowhere,” Mains says with a radiant smile. “And I still love it.”
Mains – who has performed under the moniker Mike Mains & the Branches since 2009 with his wife and keyboardist, Shannon Briggs Mains, by his side – has risen to an impressive level of indie-rock success over the past eight years.
He’s released two full-length albums: “Home” and “Calm Down, Everything is Fine,” (the latter debuting at #15 on the Billboard Top New Artist Chart), toured with Relient K, headlined Cornerstone Music Festival, received moderate radio play, garnered a vast following of devoted fans and is making a living from music.
MOUNTING A HOUSE SHOW TOUR
Now on the back-end of his sophomore album, Mains is in the midst of a 34-date national living room tour, which includes a stopover in Grand Rapids on Friday, with Kalamazoo-based Michigander and The Burley Griffin opening the show. (Get tickets, $20, and details online here.) The Living Room Tour also has a stop Thursday in Lansing.
The intimate house shows will feature full-band sets of both old and new material and are “anything but stripped back.”
“We brought along a really killer sound system, we’ve all got wireless packs, everything is dialed in,” said Mains, a native of Texas who relocated to Owosso, Mich., in 2009. “This is a way to reconnect with the people who’ve been coming to my shows for the past eight years.”
The tour will also serve as a proving ground for new material that could appear on the Detroit-based band’s next album, which is in the early stages of writing and production.
“It’s adventurous. There are hip-hop elements, there’s this new musical terrain that I’ve never covered … which is exciting,” Mains said, referring to a track he already recorded with Detroit producer Ben West.
“Simultaneous to that, there’s a part of me that wants to capture grit and angst still as much as I’ve ever wanted to. But the honest answer is: I have no idea what the album will sound like.”
Mains plans to enter the studio in Detroit later this year to track the record, with hopes to finish recording by February, with a summer 2017 release. The band also plans to hit the road once more early next year for a West Coast living room tour, and upon returning, will begin campaigning for the album.
Although Mains, 29, has experienced some triumphs, he’s also endured many of the trials that come with the unpredictable journey of building a successful band. Mains and his wife, Shannon, remain the only two founding members of the group, with a handful of semi-permanent and touring members having joined and departed during the band’s lifetime.
In 2012, the indie-rockers also fell victim to the unfortunate and all-too-common touring occurrence of having their van stolen. The band was able to recover from the loss with the help of fans and friends on the road.
More recently, Mains has had to stave off the poisonous feelings of discontent.
“I think comparison is the thief of joy; the biggest obstacle is focusing too much on the negative and not enough on what’s been accomplished and being grateful for where I am. It’s easy for me to focus on what I don’t have,” Mains said.
“I’ve learned that I have to do art for the sake of doing art. The reward is writing music, the reward is going on tour, the reward is playing these songs.”
Although Mains’ chosen vocation comes riddled with obstacles and unknown outcomes, he is focused on “continuing to make it” and anchored by the reasons he started playing music to begin with.
“I still love it. I wrote a song today before I came here and it was great. Music was always medicinal for me. It was always therapy,” said Mains. “It was what kept me from an early exit. I write songs because it’s my way of making sense of my joy and my pain.”
Copyright 2016, Spins on Music LLC