Mike Horn - Seawind Of Battery Interview
Are you originally from New York? What was your childhood like? When did you first begin to fall in love with music? Was this something that was relevant around your household growing up?
I grew up in Queens, NYC (specifically in a town called Bayside). I grew up in a music-obsessive household– everything from Jimi Hendrix to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Van Halen. In particular, I was really drawn to Michael Jackson (and still am). I immersed myself in his records throughout my childhood and those songs are tattooed on my soul. It altered the way I think and feel about all music. Because of it, I care deeply about melody in music whether that be portrayed through voice or via instrument. Although I was always passionate about music, I didn't pick up guitar until I was around 12 years old. I had no pressure to learn but I did always pass a little music store in town called The Music Zoo where I got my first knock-off Strat and I never looked back. I worked tirelessly on learning all of that late-90s pop rock radio stuff (again, music drenched in melogy). In NYC, all of that stuff was blasted 24/7 on a station called Z100. As many 80s kids can relate to, I would wait for the perfect time to record the song to a cassette and then play along to it to tighten up.
What is it about the pedal steel that fascinates you the most? Do you have any siblings? Who were some of your earliest influences in your more formative years?
I've always looked at pedal steel as an instrument that would help create texture within the 4 walls I'm in. I think of it like building a house. You can build the basics of a song with brick laying but once you're within the confines of it, you need an interior decorator. Pedal steel is the interior decorator within a song – adding the color and textures and feel to the house that felt empty until it got there. I'm not an expert player by any means and I steal ideas from many of the great players currently such as Barry Walker and J.R. Bohannon to help insert little phrases and character traits within my own music to bring it to life. I have one sister (Jackie) and she has been a tremendous influence on my musical tastes. I used to steal her tapes and CDs and copy her by putting patches on my Jansport growing up. She's on my level in terms of Michael Jackson fandom. We still go to concerts together all the time. My influences are all over the place and sometimes it's hard to figure out everything I'd want to say in response to a question like this one. Other than MJ, it's without a doubt all of the classic rock music I mentioned, Jeff Buckley (not only for his singing ability but for his guitar playing - extremely underrated), Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, etc. etc. I could keep you here awhile with this question alone.
When and where did you see your first show and when did it dawn on you that you wanted to be a musician yourself? Did you participate in groups, or groups before starting Seawind Of Battery? How did the name come about?
I saw Oasis at Jones Beach in 1995 on their Morning Glory Tour. I also saw Bon Jovi that same summer at Jones Beach, but I like to say I saw Oasis first because that's the cooler answer and I'm sticking to it. I think I knew pretty early on that I wanted to be playing music in some capacity and started writing songs pretty early on even if they were putrid to begin with. Need to start somewhere! I have been in several projects over the years. The most active project outside of Seawind is called 'Goldkey'. This leans more Indie/Folk and even had some tinges of Alt-Country at times. I have put that project on the shelf for awhile but whenever I get compelled to work on more traditional songs with vocals, I would revisit a release through this outlet. Not quite there yet though. Too much on my Seawind to-do list for 2023/2024. If I explain the nature of the name, it'll lose all of its mystique so I'll leave that one alone for now!
Tell me about writing and recording your debut album “Clockwatching” last year in 2022. How did the deal with Island House Recordings come about? What was the overall vision for the album and what did you want to achieve and express with this work?
Clockwatching was honestly an unplanned, completely experimental project in its entirety. In some cases, a couple of the songs had been living on my hard drive for months and they were just sketches I never meant to do anything with. When I started working on additional music, the end result felt cohesive and I thought the idea of it all could work really well for a record. Writing a thematic pandemic album was not necessarily the intent but it ended up resonating with me (and eventually the listeners) to have a soundtrack during a time of such uncertainty for us all. I think the pandemic birthed these feelings and altered our perception of our days where in many ways, time lost its original meaning. The pandemic certainly redefined time in terms of how we use it, shape it, and view it regularly. With Island House, everything came about with Tim McManus from a couple of phone conversations poking at the idea for a vision that Tim had for the label. Tim and I had met briefly on Twitter through the community and we really hit it off. It's been the perfect pairing. I think after that release, so many artists gravitated towards working with Tim and it's become such an incredible label that many people have gravitated towards over the past year, including myself. I'm super proud of Tim and what he's accomplished. I'm thrilled to have been his first release and eternally grateful to Tim for giving this project a real shot.
What have you been up to more recently? Any follow up to last year's release down the pike? Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
I have a lot in the works right now! Other than a bunch of shows in the Northeast over the next few months, I'm aiming to release a few records with a couple of different labels. Next up will be with WarHen Records and I'm super excited about it because I've been a fan of the label for quite some time. It's probably 50% completed and I'm hoping to get close to the finish line by the end of summer.
