INTERVIEW: MITCH MALLOY – June 2023

According to a recent press release: “Mitch Malloy continues to rock the night away burning the midnight oil! After several years as the frontman for the iconic rock band Great White, Mitch returned to the studio writing and recording his new album, ‘THE LAST SONG.’ The album will launch with an exclusive, limited release collector’s edition vinyl through a partnership with SING. Pre-sales for the vinyl release will go on sale May 3, 2023. An international release will follow in June.” We get Mitch to discuss new music and much more…

Toddstar: Mitch, thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule.

Mitch: Thanks for asking.

Toddstar: You have a disc dropping on us all. I think there’s some pre-orders out there now, and there’s rumors of a proper release coming soon of The Last Song. What can you tell us about this album, Mitch, when your fans are listening that they might not pick up the first or second time they run through these tracks?

Mitch: Well, first, it’s not a rumor. Right now there’s a presale at mitchmalloy.com. You can get it if you’re a vinyl guy. It’s my first ever time doing vinyl, but that’s on presale right now. It’s a large bundle you get with the vinyl… you get a live concert. There’s a golden ticket being drawn, and you get a live Zoom concert with me where you can ask me questions and I’ll sing you songs. There’s a couple of acoustic live video versions that only those people get of two of the songs. There’s a signed poster, a signed picture, guitar picks, and a signed CD. You get the downloads digitally immediately of the album when you buy the bundle. If you want the record right now, you can go buy it. On July 7th, the CD comes out. That will be the official release, and everything will be out, will be off presale, and will be in the regular market. All that info first, right? I got that out of the way.  So, what about it that if people miss that I want them to know? That’s a personal question, isn’t it? I’m not sure I can impart that information to somebody, because music is so personal, right? People listen to things, and they get things that I would never get, and I get things that they would never get. They should just know that I had a blast making the record. I make my records all by myself, which is an insanely insane process. It’s something that people don’t generally do, and there’s a reason for that. It’s a lot of fun. I had a blast doing it, and if I ever do it again, I think that’s the way I’ll do it.

Toddstar: Well, and you mentioned you do this all yourself, and this isn’t your first foray. Your last solo disc was Making Noise. How different was the process now, not only with the changes in technology that there’s been in the last six or seven years, but some of the restrictions and changes in the whole process after the last couple years of everything just being canceled and shut down? What were some of your hurdles this time around?

Mitch: Everything was better this time. I have upgraded the studio. Every five to ten years, I upgrade things and change things around a bit, and the technology gets a little bit better. I’ve been doing this for 47 years. I’ve had a home studio for 47 years and things have changed a lot. I’ve had pretty much every kind of scenario that was available in all that time. I’m constantly upgrading and things have gotten smaller and more efficient. I’m doing things the same. I still have to sing the song. I still have to play the guitar. I have to play the bass, the keyboards, the drum, everything. That’s one thing that annoys me, when people find out that I made records by myself, they’re like, “Oh yeah, technology now, you can do that.” I’m like, “Excuse me? What do you mean by that?” Because I still have to write the song, I have to perform the song on every instrument, and then I have to mix it. I still have the same amount of work. It’s just more efficient now. It doesn’t take as long to get a guitar sound, a drum sound, or a keyboard sound because they’re there at my fingertips now. That part is way better. The Making Noise record was the first time I ever jumped off the ledge there, went crazy, and made a record by myself. I never thought I would do that; it was out of necessity that I did it. I didn’t have time to book the players that I wanted, and they weren’t available. I was in a hurry. I had a tour coming up and the promoter told me I had to have a new record. I had just produced three bands. I was exhausted. I had been writing and playing various instruments on their records, and I just didn’t think I had it in me. “How am I going to come up with an entire record by myself, record it myself, and have it done by the tour? That’s insane.” But I did it. Sometimes you can do things you don’t think you can do, and it feels good when you do that. It’s like climbing a mountain. So, I knew I could do it again. I had a lot more peace in entering this process and just knowing that I’d be fine and that I could do it. It was easier this time because I have a little bit better gear, better guitars, everything. It was a blast.

Toddstar: I’ve been able to listen to it top to bottom for some time now, and in listening through it, there’s some songs… there’s rock and roll on there. It’s how you responded when I asked how you were doing. “Rock and roll.” I love the album and that it kicks off with “I’m Living In Paradise.” It sets the mood for the album, not only sonically but lyrically. Going through the tracklist, there are also songs that you can tell are very personal. What’s it like for you as a songwriter to really strip things down and put yourself out there in a raw state for your fans?

Mitch: Well, that’s part of being an artist and a songwriter. I occasionally hear somebody young on social media, and I’ll send them a nice note and say things to them that I wish somebody had said to me, because why not? You can do that with social media. I like doing that. What I tell them is, “Stay vulnerable, be brave, be real, and be honest. Don’t be afraid to show yourself because that’s what people want. What people want in art is they want to hear something insanely personal. They want to be moved. People want to emote. They want to feel something. That’s why they’re listening to the music. So, you better jam pack emotion into that music for them.” It’s therapeutic, honestly, to be able to do that. Even if it’s a bass part, make it emotional, make them feel something with that bass part right down to the lyric, the melody, and everything. It’s all about being vulnerable, being real, and being honest. I can hear and feel and everything when people aren’t, and it drives me nuts. When people make records, when people make music, it’s like, “Okay, this is the egotistical record.” It’s like, “.”Just because you can play that, does that mean that it’s best for the song, just because it’s impressive to hear.” It’s a good question. For me, music is all about that vulnerability and that emotion.

Toddstar: The rawness… that’s what struck me about this album. Even the rockers like the opening song, and then you’ve got my favorite, which is “My Pleasure,” there’s still a rawness to the lyrics, even though it’s not a slowed down acoustic piece. That’s what I really appreciate about the record, Mitch.

Mitch: Thank you.

Toddstar: Releases used to be followed by tour cycles. That has changed over time. With you eyeing a tour and looking at things like that, what are the song or two from this release that you really want to get out there and play? Is there a specific song or two that still strikes you as hard as it did when you wrote or recorded it?

Mitch: I did a private acoustic show about two years ago during the lockdown. I had just written “Using This Song,” which is the first ballad on the record. I sang it at the end of the show. Actually, I ended with, “Twice Shy,” and everybody went crazy. Then I said, “I have one more song and it’s a whole different vibe.” I sang “Using This Song,” and you could hear a pin drop. And people asked me after that, “What was that last song you did?” So that’s one of them in the ballad sense. The other one is “One of a Kind,” which I put out as the first single. There’s something about that riff, that swagger, and that vibe that I love, and I think is really going to work live. I’m not going to be able to do a lot of the new stuff live because people haven’t heard it. If I had to choose one or two songs, those would be it. I also agree, I love “My Pleasure.” I love “Building A Bridge.” I love “Living in Paradise,” which I think it going to be the second single. We’re going to shoot a video for that.

Toddstar: There aren’t any sleepers on this disc, but that one – “Living In Paradise” – like I said earlier, it just sets the mood and sets the bar for me. The minute I hear that, I’m ready to roll through the next nine tracks without thinking twice. It’s a cool setup. You’ve done a lot in your career. As you said, you’ve been doing this over 40 years now. You alluded to a question I normally hit and that’s what advice would you give yourself if you had the chance to go back and talk to Mitch 40 years ago? You said to “Stay vulnerable.” With that same focus in mind, if you could go back, Mitch, and take on one or two instances in your professional career and take another stab at them, even if it didn’t change the end result, is there anything you’d like to go back and revisit?

Mitch: It’s impossible now, but I would love to be with Ed (Van Halen) again in a room and writing. I loved him so much and he loved me. We were pals, and he was amazing, which everybody knows. But they didn’t know him. I got to be his friend. That would be special for me to be able to take another whack at that. I know it would work. I do. He said that very thing to me later. He said, “Mitch, I know it would have worked if we had done it.” I said, “I appreciate you saying that.” That would be the one. I’m not a would have, should have, or could have kind of guy. I’m in this moment, and I don’t really think back about things, mistakes I made, except for as a father, because I have a 15-year-old girl, so sometimes I think back and think, “Did I do this right? Did I do that right?” as it pertains to her. As things pertain to me, I don’t really do that because I think it’s a negative energy, waste of time.

Toddstar: I love the sentiment that you had in there that you didn’t say, “Yes, I’d love to go back and redo a whole scenario.” You specifically went to, “I’d have liked to have been in a room and done some songwriting and just be in the moment.” To me that means so much more than, “Oh, I wish I could have played on that album or done that tour.” It lends to who you are as a performer, as a songwriter, as an artist, not just as, to use your term from earlier, the ego stroke type situation. I like the fact that throughout this album you can hear some of your influences. You brought up Ed and the Van Halen thing. To me, “One Of A Kind” has that vibe in it. You’ve got “Sometimes Love” and “I’ll Find A Way” that for me go back to your debut solo disc from a sonic vibe. How important is it to you to link those certain points throughout your career while showing the growth at the same time? Because we all know artists that found their sound and they stick with that. With this release, you know it’s Mitch Malloy, but there’s growth How important is it for you to show that, “This is who I was. This is who I am, and it’s okay to be both”?

Mitch: You’re making me really feel good, to be honest. I really appreciate you saying that because for me, I’m always confused by some of my heroes putting out new music that isn’t even close to as good as their old music. I don’t get it. There are probably people who are going to say that about me, and they have. People say, “Your first album was your best.” That always hurts a little bit when I hear that because for me, it’s all about the growth. So, I appreciate you saying that. I feel like this record is a huge leap forward in growth as an artist. You’re going to hear elements of my first album, because… guess what? That first album was me. That’s what I like. I’m sitting there going, “No, I don’t like that. I like this.” I co-produced that record. I didn’t get credit for it, but I was sitting there, I didn’t even know what producing was at the time. I’m going, “No, here, play this guitar.” That’s why with my music, there’s a thread from there to here, because it’s all me. You like what you like. I think that when you’re 61, you still like the same things you liked when you were 20, at least hopefully. I still like the same guitar sound I like. In fact, on this record, I was finally able to achieve as good of guitar sounds as we got on my first album. It’s the first time ever that that’s happened. I’ve been trying like hell at this, and I feel like I got there.

Toddstar: It’s cool to get that insight because, as you mentioned and as I mentioned, there’s just some albums that should have been rethought before they were dropped.

Mitch: There’s a lot of those albums.

Toddstar: I’ve been listening to music since the ’70s, and I can tell you the same thing regarding certain artists and first albums or impressions. I understand when people tell you, “Oh, your first album is your best one,” because to me, music is a stamp in time.

Mitch: Well, yeah.

Toddstar: It’s part of my fabric. So, I might like a certain song from a certain place, but it doesn’t mean that I can’t absolutely love something that came after it. I know you’re a busy man and I want to let you go so you can do what you have to do, hopefully get the word out about this great album.

Mitch: Yeah, that’s what we’re doing now. I’ve probably done thirty interviews, honestly.

Toddstar: I asked you to pick out a couple tracks from this one that you really want to play live. Going back through your catalog, at the end of the day if one song title of yours was to be your epitaph, what would it be?

Mitch: “One Of A Kind.” I’ve had close, close friends tell me, musician friends, “I think this is the best record you’ve ever made, but I don’t think it’s the best song you’ve ever written.” And I’m like, “Well, okay, that’s fine. That’s your opinion.” For me, the record is the song and the production, and it’s everything all at once. For me, that’s my favorite one. It’s my favorite. When it comes out of the speakers, I’m like, “Yes!” I don’t ever do that. I’m so picky. I’ll hear things, records, I hate some of the records that I made. I just listen to them, I cringe, and I’m like, “Oh, why did I put that out? Oh, I had to. That’s why.” When “One Of A Kind” pumps through the speakers, even in my phone, I just start to giggle and fist pumping. So, I’d have to say that one.

Toddstar: I look forward to seeing what happens when this thing hits the masses and everybody can wrap their hands and ears around it. Even more than that, I really hope this will lead to some tour dates. Up here in Detroit, we’d love to see you, Mitch. I would love to finally see a Mitch Malloy live show. I’ve never had the honor, even though I’ve been listening to you since the early ’90s. We wish you well with this album and the presale. I hope that on July 7th, this thing just goes crazy, and we get another chance to talk to you once you’re out on the road.

Mitch: Stay in touch and maybe we can make some live synergy happen there.

Toddstar: Sounds good to me, Mitch.

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Category: Interviews