♪♪​
-I'm still kind of getting my standing
and figuring out how to be a front person in a band.
I've, you know, always played in bands as more of a sideman.
♪ Felt like it took awhile ♪​♪​
Challenge of being a front man for me
is just getting over my nerves, and it's pretty wild, you know,
I mean, you could rehearse as much as you want
and get so comfortable in your practice space.
And then there is just something about walking
out in front of people and the dynamic changes.
♪♪​
I knew I wanted to play music since I was a little kid.
Certainly.
I mean, it started as thinking I just was --
wanted to be a singer and performer,
and then I got a guitar.
It was just a lousy little gremlin guitar that,
like the fret board was cut your fingers, you know?
♪ Boy, what didi they do to you? ♪​♪​
And at the time I was growing up, you know,
like Seattle had already exploded
into this international scene.
These five teenage boys first started playing
loud music together two years ago
when they were all freshmen in high school.
I was in a band when I was a teenager
that kind of like blew up,
and then it turned into all these like
major label demo deals,
so I moved up here in order to like fulfill that dream.
That whole Seattle scene and explosion,
as progressive as a city as it is,
did not seem accessible or designed to be for me.
And I think that created a lot of conflict
because, you know, you want to be inside a club,
but you know that you don't get a membership, yeah.
♪ Hold my hand ♪​
♪ Don’t be afraid ♪​
♪♪​
♪ To lose your place in line ♪​♪​
When I was a kid,
I was kind of like locked into this really closed-down world
that made you conform.
♪ And like a storm ♪​♪​
Just the knowledge of knowing that I was queer
made it instantly clear that the world was not designed
for me to roam freely within.
When you spend your life hiding for so long
and then you realize, oh, it doesn't have to be this way,
you know, once you kick that door open,
then that is going to just become
like a really important part about who you are
and how you want to express who you are to other people.
♪ Every day is like ♪​
♪ An echo in the hall ♪​
♪ And I can’t listen to it anymore ♪​
♪ Maybe you are enough to keep us warm ♪​♪​
I feel like I only really found my footing with music
and my comfort with myself in the last like 10 years.
I've been out for a really long time now,
but really leaning into that as part of my identity
and the actual music.
♪♪​
You know, I mean, I'm still kind of figuring that out right now,
like I don't know what queer music necessarily is
in the first place. It's not really a genre.
♪ Lover, picking out all the parts that make it work ♪​♪​
But I feel that it is a pillar
of what I'm trying to communicate.
♪♪​
Mikey Moo; I've kind of taken into calling it queer psych pop
and I don't know if that's, you know, I mean,
trying to come up with words that can best label a sound.
I mean, to me it's pop music.
It's psych. It's rock and roll.
The lyrics deal with queer matters,
but definitely like bringing in different genres for sure,
and I like to dance all over wherever I can.
♪ I am drunk on your innocence lately♪​♪​
This is the first time I've ever written a full-length
and been like, okay, this is a statement of sorts.
Here is Mikey Moo's "Fresh Idiot" on vinyl.
I wrote the record on my own
and then workshopped it with some other friends,
but now I finally have a band with Scotty and Nicki.
So I'm really excited to collaborate and write with them.
It's the first time we played that.
♪♪​
I'm learning that Mikey Moo is not just about me now,
it's about trusting the other two in the band -- --
because they're really truly two of the best musicians
in the town and dear friends. Seattle is --
♪ Why does everyone report to me? ♪​♪​
it's always been about not being a sellout
and all that kind of thing.
And I feel like the city is wanting for marketing, jingles,
those kind of things that like don't take itself so seriously.
♪ I need a V-I-T-A morning and night♪​♪​
Heavy Metal Marching Band is a project that Troy Nelson
and I started during the pandemic
because everything kind of shut down.
There were no more shows -- --
♪ I need a Vita ♪​♪​
So we were just kind of goofing around. We were making some jingles,
and then we did some for Saint John's, for my bar.
♪ St. John’s takeout ♪​
♪ The answer to your prayers is finally here ♪​
♪ St. John’s takeout ♪​♪​
The process is really collaborative.
Generally, we share a brain, and like,
I mean like, we have a really,
really good time creating this stuff.
We're just going to see where we can take it.
-Hey, what are you doing today?
-Well, I’ll tell ya.
♪ I’m gonna walk out to the Clock-Out, baby ♪​
♪ They got everything you want and need ♪​♪​
I feel like Seattle's
music scene is the coolest it's ever been.
It's people who have just gotten so creative with what art is.
There's so many new projects and collaborations,
so there's just all sorts of music
kind of going around all the time
and all sorts of different kind of music.
So I'm really excited to see what the next chapter is,
and I'm like, wow, Seattle is where it's at.
Thanks, everybody. Good night, we're Mikey Moo.
Love you. Thanks. -We love you, Mikey.
-"Fresh Idiot",
Mikey Moo's new release on Killroom Records
is available on vinyl as well as a digital download,
and catch the band's live and free
in-store performance at Easy Street Records
happening Saturday, May 3rd at 7:00 sharp.
♪♪​
-Catch Art Zone Friday night’s at 8
and anytime onine at SeattleChannel.org/ArtZone
♪♪​