Mike Tramp’s long career spans bands whilst starting with pop band, Mabel, in the Seventies is better known for his role in rock bands during the eighties and nineties, White Lion and Freak of Nature. We speak to Mike Tramp before his acoustic gig at Matters on the
You indicated in an interview that your acoustic recordings are a truer reflection of you as an artist, what are the challenges inherent in making that transition from band to solo and and now acoustic act?
MT: Yes it is. I don’t just think, but I know. That it is about accepting who you are and where you come from. It is great that most people knows me from White Lion and Freak of Nature. But that fact is that I was raised and grew up on 60’s and 70’s folk music and I can’t escape that it is my musical foundation and it is where every song I have ever written comes and starts from.
I have no urge to try to be Mike Tramp from 1988, it is impossible, I simply can’t be that guy, both mentally and physically. Maybe others should think about that.
In a review written on a fan site you were described as “like a dinosaur in a world full of modern gadgets”, how do you feel about the comment and how fair a representation is it of your music?
MT: I am a fan and a admire of the great days of recording music and building vintage big ass engine cars. I can’t let go of that and I have no need, lust or drive to go into the modern way of making music or I should say writing or creating music.
How does your latest release ‘Museum’ fit in the story of Mike Tramp?
MT: It is current and it is where I am at this moment. We are watching a slow blooming flower or plant evolve, and I am following that process.
How do you feel about contemporary music and which acts stand out for you now?
MT: Obviously there is a lot of artist that I miss out on or don’t hear about. But I have no room left for anything modern. Therefore when I say I love the last album from Rival Sons, i don’t think they fit into the catagory of modern. They, like me are a continuation of the foundation of rock’n’roll and they also wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Zeppelin or The Doors.
Do you think you would return to being in a band on a full time basis? or does the engagement in solo work for so long and the acoustic work mark a complete end of that chapter?
MT: The door is open, but it would be a project for the love of music. There is no money for a band to go out and tour the world. So now we find space in between taking our kids to school and arguing with our wives, to create rock’n’roll. Not the way the manual said it as going to be, but we compromise.
In other interviews you have talked openly about mistakes that you have made, what are the most important lessons that you have learnt throughout your music career?
MT: Mistakes made because I didn’t know then what I know today. I am sure it happens for all. And I can’t say I would do it different if I did it over, cause it’s all based on what I knew back then and what I thought I wanted. But all that matters is that when you back from your journey to the top of the mountain. You return wiser, and that I am.
What do you seek from your music now?
MT: I only follow what I can do and what I am. I will not try to do something I am not good at or something that I only will do half ass.
You can follow Mike on Facebook.
Support for the evening comes from the new look ROADWAY playing an acoustic set. Tickets available in person from Eden Court Box Office and online from Ticketsource.
