Mike MacDonald

Story

I'm a self taught musician and audio engineer (with still much to learn). I've been playing and writing music my entire life and am always experimenting to improve my sound and my skills in the studio. I hope you enjoy what you find here, feel free to leave me comments and critique if you feel so inclined. You can also find more of my projects Here As Heroes and my untitled side project on Soundcloud. soundcloud.com/hereasheroes and soundcloud.com/mike-macdonald-812019582

Profile

Instruments

Genres

Influences

Equipment

Languages

What is music to you? What does it give you?

Music has been and always will be my true passion. Writing and creating music is the most involving and rewarding process, there's no better feeling.

What is your music dream?

Already living the dream, just being able to write and create music whenever I want. Having people listen and enjoy it is a huge bonus and means a lot.

If you could change the world - what would you start with?

A guitar

Which is the most memorable song from your childhood?

Embody The Invisible by In Flames. Heard it on Tony Hawks Underground when I was younger, that song and that band changed how I viewed music and got me much more involved and serious about being a musician.

Who are your favorite musical artists or bands?

In Flames, Soilwork, Logical Terror, Dark Tranquillity, Dream Theater, SyBreed, At The Gates... The list goes on.

What inspires you to make music?

Music inspires me, I hear it all the time everywhere I go whether I'm listening to something or not. I'm always in a songwriting mood.

What is the message you want to send with your music?

I don't have any intentional message in my music, I have a message for myself on a more personal level. But I don't try and make an obvious message to send, listeners will hear their interpretation, and I think that's perfectly fine.

How do you feel when you perform in front of an audience?

Playing in front of an audience is an incredible feeling, as is any time you are able to share your passion with others. It's incredibly fun and rewarding.

How do you see the musicians’ reality nowadays? What could be improved?

I think it's a difficult task today to really stand out as a musician, truly unique acts are few and far between. I think most musicians already realize this. I'm not sure how this could be improved short of trying to make yourself as unique as possible, but I also think musicians should be playing what they enjoy first and foremost. Don't try and change your image or style to try and fit some perception or status quo. Always be true to yourself, because if you're not enjoying it or not playing what you really want than is it really worth doing?

What do you think of Drooble?

Drooble seems like a good place to explore music and meet other musicians. It makes it easy to interact and show your love for music.

What frustrates you most as a musician?

The most frustrating thing for me are those who take musical talent for granted. I respect musicians who write and play their own music, I have little respect for those who try to make a name off of other peoples efforts.

Do you support your local scene as a fan? How?

Go to shows, listen to other peoples music. Like, comment, share other musicians work on Facebook. The easiest thing you can do is spread the word on social media, and it means the world to other artists trying to make a name for themselves, and if you're also a musician, you can be sure that they will do the same for you (or they should).

What qualities should a musician nowadays have in order to get their music heard by a larger audience?

I don't think I have a good answer for this question. The best advice I can give is network as much as you can, be modest, invest in other peoples music as much as your own, play shows as much as you can and engage with your fans. Be a person they think is worth liking and... Just make the best music you can.

Share some awesome artists that we’ve never heard of.

Lionsault, Shades of Sorrow, Aftersurf, Dillon Ryan and The Dream Romantic, The Follow Ups. These are all local artists that I know and support, and they are all incredibly talented artists from all different genres and walks of life.