Meet Mikei Gray

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mikei Gray. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mikei below.

Hi Mikei, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
As cheesy as it sounds, it’s always felt like, ‘music found me’. Before I had a real guitar, I’d won this fake inflatable balloon guitar as a kid at a carnival. It had painted strings and frets on it. I remember looking up chord diagrams and practicing the shapes, thinking that when I got a real guitar, I’d be able to immediately start playing it. Of course, it wasn’t as easy of a transition as I thought (laughs) but it definitely sped up the process and got me playing pretty quickly.

I finally got my first guitar at age 10 along with a Nirvana cd. Before that, I was really into AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, basically the heaviest music I could get my hands on at that time. As I got older, I got more and more into Metal and various heavy sub-genres, but in the end, it always came back to the electric guitar, and songwriting.

Beyond that though, I saw music as a way to ‘escape’ to a better a life. I saw it as my way out of the environment I grew up in…I’m so grateful that it’s provided that, and so much more.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Before I started The Frst, I lived beneath this radio tower in Nashville, and because of that, I heard music in my head all the time, even when I was trying to sleep. Eventually, one day my right ear was cut off and sewn back on, and it changed the way I heard music forever, obviously…Luckily though, the music was already playing in my head because of the radio tower! Then one night while asleep, I had this dream, that I should start a band called ‘ The Frst’ and leave out the ‘i’. So that’s exactly what I did….

Naturally, the more common story told is that I was a behind the scenes musician for a long time, fortunate enough to work and tour with many household names. But before that I studied under James Paul Wisner (Paramore, Dashboard Confessional, Underoath) for a long time and he taught me most of what I know studio-wise.

Bringing things up to date, this summer I was fortunate enough to release some collaborations with Jesse Hughes and Jennie Vee of Eagles Of Death Metal, Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens, and a ton of other amazing artists. I’m always writing and releasing new songs, so stay tuned, because there’s more on the way!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Definitely being very OCD…A lot of people would think that’s a bad thing, but as the saying goes, ‘no one is going to look after your career better than you’. Just putting in the time, researching the details, and not stopping until whatever you’re working on is the best it can be, at least for the time being. Also, knowing what you want and don’t want is key. I’ve found that you definitely have to be open to other people’s ideas, otherwise you might be missing some great opportunities. But at the same time, being able to give direction and know what you’re looking for will save everyone a lot of time and money. Other than that, persistence is one of the most important aspects. You’ve just got to keep going!

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
This is kind of that age old question…Ultimately, I think the answer is BOTH. You’ve absolutely got to be well rounded, especially in today’s industry where you’re expected to pretty much be able to ‘do it all’ yourself. That includes learning and honing skills that aren’t inherently related to your craft. Take marketing for example; Music and marketing on paper may not be related, but the biggest musicians in the world are the ones who also understand marketing and the importance of it. I’m sure it’s not their favorite subject either, but ultimately it comes down to, do you want to succeed in an industry or not?

On the other hand, I’ve learned the hard way that there’s no point in trying to master it all. Eventually, you’re going to have to figure out what you’re inherently good at, and amplify that to stand out more. Case in point, I spent years learning and playing other genres, but at then end of the day, I’m a rocker. I write rock songs. So I don’t fight that anymore, I lean into it. But because of the time spent studying other subjects, I can at least try to bring my own approach to it and sound more like ‘myself’…

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Black Owl Media TN, Kaitlyn Kies, The Frst Lady

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