It's Michael's Day
Perth-based alt-folk singer/songwriter Michael Day has released a new single Psych or the Priest. An honest and reflective song about the depression and anxiety most of us have experienced at least once in our lives and this has never been as prevalent as it has been over the last few years. Psych or the Priest is accompanied by an equally emotive music video that sees Michael exploring the beautiful surroundings of the Mundaring Hills area of Perth to tell the story of overcoming life’s struggles. We caught up to chat with Michael to ask him about Psych or the Priest, the magic moments making the music video and his hopes to tour Australia’s East Coast soon.
For those that haven’t heard your music before, how do you describe your sound?
I currently describe my music as Indie/Alt Folk with hints of Indie Rock and Roots. I feel like I’m still finding our sound a little bit. Psych or the Priest has hit the vibe I’m aiming for most I think.
“I didn’t know if I had made the right decisions. This led to the concept of being unsure if I should see a psych to work out my trauma or see a priest to confess my si”
Michael, your latest release is 'Psych Or The Priest' Tell us about the song. What was the inspiration behind writing the track?
Gregory Alan Isakov was the sonic inspiration behind the track. I love his songs, specifically Amsterdam amongst others. I wanted to create a track like his. Jordy Maxwell is another inspiration and is a Perth artist who plays the harmonica. So, I wanted to add some harmonica to the track because of his music.
I wanted to create a slow chilled-out piece hence the 60 bpm. In my love of Gregory, I created a slow descending chord progression. I love finding a ‘normal’ space in creating chords and then finding a chord or two that is ‘not normal’ hence the non-diatonic chords within the progression.
Lyrically, I was going through a pretty rough time. I was reflecting on the last number of years of dealing with anxiety and depression and feeling like I didn’t know if I had made the right decisions. This led to the concept of being unsure if I should see a psych to work out my trauma or see a priest to confess my sin.
Were there any challenges that came up in the creation of the song and if so how did you overcome them?
To be honest, the hardest part was getting everyone to the studio. Once that happened, we were able to record everything pretty smoothly and Andy Lawson (our engineer) knew exactly what we were going for. We did come up with a cool synthy guitar part by playing a phone recording of Ben and I through the guitar pickups and into the Microcosm pedal by hologram. This created the cool synth in the background of Psych or the Priest.
“The image of a ship sinking in your chest feels tangible to me”
Which lines from the song resonate with you most?
For me, I think the opening line is what struck me the most. The image of a ship sinking in your chest feels tangible to me. The heaviness on my chest, the feeling of sinking, waiting for this weight to pass. It's been a tough few years for me. I hope it's not been hard for others but I’m doubtful. It's been a rough time.
'Psych Or The Priest' has an accompanying music video. Who came up with the concept for the video?
I didn’t want to release my next song without a music video. I want to start releasing music videos with all of my music, that just feels right. I sat down a month before shooting and brainstormed. I thought about the last number of years and just saw a trend of different challenges that I’ve faced that add this weight that I’m really still carrying and don’t know what to do with exactly, but it shapes you and changes you. Thus the sandbags being the image of weight and the change of clothes symbolises different life stages or changes or challenges.
I didn’t have it all written until a few days before shooting, I then remembered Yahava Coffee has these coffee bags that I could use, so asked if I could steal a bunch and they gave them to me. The night before I stayed up and made the bags.
Were there any memorable moments during the making of the video?
Yeah, so my original plan was to have 6 sandbags with an accompanying scene. However, the day before I went and bought sandbags. Now I don’t know if you’ve checked the weight on sandbags but, 1 sandbag was 20 kgs! I didn’t think about this for a moment, I got home and started making the sandbags only to realise if I was to do this, I would be carrying around 120 kgs of sand! So I had to make some changes. We ended up with fewer scenes, which was a good decision. I ended up buying some hay from the pet store. I then put a bit of sand into the bags and to puff them out a bit I added in hay! Haha So, by the end the bags were heavy, I was not acting very much when lifting the bags haha. But they were significantly lighter than 120 kgs!
The second memorable story was shooting at the lake. I always envisioned the opening scene with some fog, but there’s not often lots of fog around. But we got to the lake at 6 am, I did not realise it was the winter solstice, so when we arrived we just saw a huge wall of fog on the lake I have never seen there before. I was very grateful for it!
The third story is about my wife who came out with us. She was a great help in planning and helping me out. But towards the end of filming, she realised she could not find her phone or her car keys. We looked everywhere. Now we were out in the bush, and we were in one car, with the other cars parked elsewhere. We had two filming locations and we were at the 2nd location at the time of the missing phone. After we looked everywhere and couldn’t find it, we decided to drive back to the first location so we drove back, and miraculously, Ti (my wife) yelled stop there’s my keys! We stopped halfway between locations and there in the mud, on the ground, were the keys that she somehow, incredibly, was able to spot while we were driving! That was the first miracle.
We had the car keys. We didn’t have the phone. We couldn't find it by calling it. We hypothesized that maybe someone had stolen both the keys and phone, and then chucked the keys. It still didn’t make sense. We arrived at our first location. There was still no phone. We drove back to the cars and still no phone. Myself and Harry the Videographer decided to head to the lake to film the final shot before we lost the sun, and leave my wife and our friend Laura to search for the phone. As we left, Ti used Laura's phone to use ‘find my phone’, and she said it was close to the highway. Coincidentally, we were on the highway. We arrived at the lake, and as I hopped out of my car, I could hear the sound of the ‘find my phone’ going off outside of the car. I didn’t think much of it as I was on a mission to film the final scene. Harry and I were unloading our gear when Ti and Laura rocked up. Again we could hear the ‘find my phone’ going off, at which point we realised the phone was on the outside of my car! We searched my car and behold, the phone was on the bumper of my car! Thus, the second miracle.
Can we expect a full-length album out soon?
This piece was always planned to be the first song off our debut EP! However, after finishing this song, I’m unsure if the songs fit together contextually, so I will be reviewing a bunch of things, finishing off some more music, and then will reassess if I release it as an EP. But, we do have new music in the making. :)
You and your band have just finished touring around Western Australia, are there plans to bring the tour over to the East Coast in the future?
I would love to tour the east coast! Maybe when we release our debut EP. Also, I’m still trying to figure out the best way to tour so if anyone has any advice, I’m all ears. But yes, I’d love to tour over east soon!
“So our first official gig I can think of was the storm launch which was successful. We had 120 lovely humans rock up and we felt so loved”
Where was your first gig? Was it a success or a flop?
We played a bunch of open mics and things before anything else, so I can’t actually remember our first gig as a band. But our first single launch was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid. So our first official gig I can think of was the storm launch which was successful. We had 120 lovely humans rock up and we felt so loved.
What does the writing /creative process look like for you?
I have two main ways the writing process happens for me. The first way is the most common, I’ll write a riff or chord progression, sing gibberish over it and then write words. Often, I’ll write something on the guitar at the beach and then process that for like a year and then revisit it and use that progression and riff.
The second way is more rare. I will have a melody in my brain that I’ll have to sing and record and hold onto it for a while, or when I get home as I’m driving my car. I’ll then sit down and write a chord progression to it.
Do you play a part in the production side of your music?
Currently, I have let the professional engineers work their magic on our tracks because they are so good at what they do. We will give reference tracks and Ideas we’d like to see, or if we have specific things we will discuss that but then we let the professionals be professional. However, we are planning some self-recorded things in the future, as everyone in the band is some sort of engineer. Rhyan, is the Perth artist RHY who does all his own production and is himself a professional audio engineer.
“By year 7 I was playing fairly proficient classical guitar pieces and performing them at the school or to family”
Your bio says you have been "a Musician since an early age" so how young were you and how did you start your musical journey?
I never wanted to play music, I used to always turn my parents down at the chance to learn an instrument. But then in year 6 that changed and started learning guitar at school. By year 7 I was playing fairly proficient classical guitar pieces and performing them at the school or to family. From then on all through my school career I would be performing. So maybe not super young age but at least around 11 or 12.
If you weren’t a musician what other career path would you have taken?
I completed a degree in teaching because I thought I should finish it even though I hated it by the second year. So I do work as a relief teacher to be able to support my musical endeavours, but I don't know what else. Sometimes I’d love to be a builder and make houses for people. But like not just the same house a thousand times, like actually creating aesthetically pleasing houses. Acting would also be cool.
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout out but never gets one? And what is it they do that keeps your world turning?
Aw man, like everyone. My producers Andy Lawson and James Newhouse. These guys are actually incredible humans and have created so much amazing music!
My band is incredible! Rhyan is our bassist, and also puts time in working on different parts like the trumpet ideas for Psych or the Priest. He also took our film photos during the music video which became our album art. Dave is our drummer and percussionist and just is so good at what He does and has great ears. Ben is our guitarist and banjo player and puts in heaps of work working on electric guitar parts and solos. I could not do this without them!
Harry James Blyth is our videographer! And just did such a good job!
Pete Lyndon James did our photos.
My wife Tiara is always the biggest support and I would not be doing this without her support. Rhys' fiance Lauren is such a support, She is always at gigs and willing to give us a hand, as well as Ben’s Wife Mona. Those two are amazing!
A bunch of other people who have helped me out along the way, Anabel Cressie (graphic designer), Tashi Hall (Photographer), Dan and Grace Loughton (Graphic designer and ex-vocalist for Michael Day), and My parents.
“I’m currently brainstorming how to create spaces around Perth where people can chill out and listen to music in a relaxed way”
What can Michael Day fans look forward to in 2023?
In 2023, we will definitely be releasing new music, so get pumped for that. Maybe a debut EP, more tours and more merch. I’m currently brainstorming how to create spaces around Perth where people can chill out and listen to music in a relaxed way, so hopefully, there’s some good ideas that come from that.
ael Day | Photo Credit: Rhyan Lyndon-James
Interview by Michelle Symes
November 2022
