Pick up some Skyline Chili, make a few friendship bracelets and grab your buds as Midwest Friends Fest is returning to the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area for its sophomore year. Midwest Friends Fest is once again taking over the Southgate House Revival in Newport, KY.
The 2-day festival with multiple stages and amazing national and local acts like Signals Midwest, Cinema Stare, The 1984 Draft and Tooth Lures A Fang will take place from 30 & 31 May with tickets available here.
Today Mike Adams of Mike Adams At His Honest Weight has joined TGEFM to discuss this year’s festival for this installment of our MWFF interview series. Check it out below and we’ll see you at the bonfire in the woods!
Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! What should our readers know about Mike Adams At His Honest Weight; your history, your mission, your sound?
Our history is that we’re all lifers who came to music at an early age, and we’ve all been playing in all kinds of bands, and involved in all kinds of musical endeavors, for a long long time. We have a compulsion, and we couldn’t quit even if we wanted to (Otherwise, we lose our collateral. Which is; the souls we traded to Satan in exchange for all this boundless success.) I think our mission is; if being involved in music is the hand that life dealt us; then let’s do it well; creatively, socially, interpersonally, professionally, for fun. Recently, a Canadian Irishman called our sound, not only very “American”, but very “midwestern”, and I accept that (even if I don’t know exactly what it means haha). I’ve been here my whole life, it feels like a success that it shows in the music.
You are gearing up for Midwest Friends Fest in the coming months, what does the festival circuit mean to artists like yourselves?
A Festival Circuit isn’t really a place that we’ve ever found much opportunity. But, we’ve played a few festivals over the years, and always had a really good time. It’s fun to be steeped in so much music and excitement from people who are posting up to enjoy that much immersion. It’s like the escape of a “normal show” on performance enhancing drugs; which is something we would never do. We’d hate to have an asterisk next to our plaque at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame!
What does Mike Adams At His Honest Weight have planned for us beyond MWFF?
We’re always working on new music, and playing shows whenever we can. Hoping to do a little more of both of those things this year than we did last year.
What have been some of the most memorable moments or experiences with the band so far? What’s been the most unexpected? The weirdest?
Oh, boy. Weird moments abound in this life. Most of them have been distorted into odd characters and inside-joke catchphrases between us. But, we witnessed a hit-and-run recently in Nashville. We’ve had a few opportunities to be on some great radio and television shows that allowed us to hobnob with musicians and comedians that we’re fans of. One time, our bandmate, Mark, forgot to bring anything with him on tour, so he had to use his jeans like a Snuggie® to sleep in. Its a whole spectrum of memorable excitement and weirdness.
Regarding live sets, what are you most excited to bring to the Midwest Friends Fest audience? What do you want the attendees to say about your set when they tell their friends about you?
I hope people walk away from our sets feeling delighted and a little confused. I hope we present ourselves in a way that feels relatable and alien at the same time. I hope it’s fun and deep with feeling all at once.
We’ve all got a few, what is your biggest regret? A gig you turned down, advice you didn’t take, what one thing do you wish you handled differently as a musician?
I wish I was a better businessman, ha!
The punk, ska and indie scenes have almost always been at the forefront of inclusion and diversity within the music scenes. The flipside of course is that the gatekeeping in the scene is also very prevalent? Why
do you think the genre brings in such a welcoming community and is so happy to let everyone in and also seems to shut the doors so quickly behind themselves?
I think genre is mostly smoke and mirrors. Sometimes it’s useful for finding a community, and that’s good. But, scenes and genres usually just feel like microcosms of humanity to me. I’ve met lots of deeply caring, kind, considerate, open, welcoming, respectful people in all kinds of places, whether that’s in a particular music scene, bowling league, at school, at work, at bars, at the dog park, etc etc, literally any place. I’ve also met abusive, awful, predatory, sadistic people in all of those places, too. But, I reckon more people in the world relate to being kind than being sadistic. I think if you’re in a position of any kind of leadership or privilege (formally, socially, anything), then it’s your responsibility to help foster an environment where people feel safe, included, valuable, and loved whenever that’s possible.
This festival is all about friendships and music. What do you value most in friendships amongst yourself and your stagemates?
I know my name is all over this band, so perhaps take this with a grain of salt until you speak to one of my bandmates – but, I find our bands’ lack of destructive ego to be a huge perk of being a part of this group. There’s no reason for any of us to be in this particular band except, “I like these guys, and this is fun and rewarding”. Each of the guys in this band has been there for me in various times where I’ve needed support over the years. Creative encouragement and cheerleading, grief, excitement, depression, calamity, fun, all of it. These are my friends. Our love of music and willingness to make it an obsessive hobby and lifelong pursuit has brought us together, but I’m glad it’s not everything.
Mike Adams at His Honest Weight is one of the most well traveled performers on MWFF. What advice do you have for the younger acts coming up in the scene? What has been the biggest change you’ve had to adapt to since starting out 15+ years ago? When will the Tan Van podcast return?
Ha! I hope Tan Van will make a comeback soon if we can hit the road a little more. I’m always cautiously hesitant to answer, “here’s how the world has changed” questions because I’m getting older every minute, so I have also been changing this whole time! It’s hard to tell what’s-what sometimes. Longevity and creative satisfaction have always been important to me, and I’ve had the most success there when I am honest with myself and try to be as vulnerable as I can in giving and receiving. Feels like technology has evolved very rapidly in the last 15+ years, and it was already ramping up and shifting for 50+ years before that. That stuff can be hard to keep a grip on. I think my only “advice” would be to keep your heart open, meet as many interesting people as possible wherever you find yourself, and make stuff more than you talk about making stuff.
The world has been going through some shit over the last few days, weeks, hell, decade. What impact, if any, have the cultural and political landscapes of the last few years had on your music or the live scene in general?
My lyrics have certainly become more politically informed in recent years. I’ve also felt, personally, like I’m standing at more crossroads than I used to. Having to choose sides more definitively. I feel a more urgent responsibility to keep my eyes open for vulnerable people around me. There’s also that constant nagging sense of dread now, thanks to the evolving media landscape in addition to all of the very real political concerns. Musically, I’ve felt challenged by ideas like; “what am I making this music *for*?” Escape, expression, soothing, fun, rallying, dancing, introspection, it’s all legitimate, but right now I feel like purpose and intent are mattering to me in new ways, thanks in part to the cultural climate.
What album or band or significant singles made you go “Yeah, this is what I want to do” Not just an influence but who or what was the catalyst? On the flipside to that one… Who are some non-MWFF bands on your radar that TGEFM readers may not know about, but you think they should?
Starflyer 59 is the band that set my mind free.
I don’t know if you’ve heard about this newcomer by the name of Taylor Swift. Her growing fanbase trades friendship bracelets. If you made a bracelet for MWFF, what word or phrase word you put on it?
Our bracelet would say, “Text “YES” to AD”.
Post show jam session in a large, empty field. What song are you singing around the bonfire? (Pardon my playful biases, but everything I know about the Midwest comes from shitty movies and songs by the Kinsella Bros. so I assume everyone playing here has spent some time at bonfire parties in the fields off some lonely county road)?
One time, we played at an outdoor festival in Yellow Springs, OH. We overloaded the generator twice during our set, and all of the power on stage went out. There was a small bonfire in the middle of the audience, so I jumped off stage, borrowed an acoustic guitar from someone and finished the set out there. I don’t remember what songs I played, though!
Midwest Friends Fest is a smorgasbord of fantastic acts. Which bands are you most excited to see?
I’m most excited to be introduced to, and surprised by, bands that I’m not familiar with, and meeting some great people.
Was there anything I missed that you’d like to share or dive deeper into with our readers?
Excited for the show(s), thanks for all the great questions.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/