Rocky Michaels discusses his record, Music For My Soul.
🎙️ Episode Summary
In this episode, host Tim sits down with California-based singer-songwriter Rocky Michaels. From his early days as a classically trained pianist to becoming a finalist for the US Male Rising Star of the Year, Rocky shares his journey of self-discovery through songwriting. They dive deep into his latest project, Music For My Soul, his unique “single-by-single” release strategy, and how a global pandemic became a catalyst for creative growth.
Rocky Michaels isn’t your typical country-folk artist. Eschewing cowboy boots for beanies and flip-flops, Rocky crafts “indie folk/soft rock” that serves as both a therapeutic outlet and a legacy for his children. This conversation explores the stories behind his most popular tracks, his transition from piano-led compositions to guitar-driven melodies, and his commitment to spreading hope and positivity through his music.
🎧 Key Takeaways
- Songwriting as Therapy: Rocky views songwriting as a way to process complex emotions and topics (like parenting and social inclusion) that are often difficult to communicate in the moment.
- The “Cross-Training” Benefit: Growing up on the piano provided a foundation that allows Rocky to “cross-train” on the guitar, using each instrument to unlock different creative doors.
- Strategic Release Growth: Rather than dropping an album all at once, Rocky releases singles followed by music videos to build sustained momentum and a deeper connection with his audience.
- Community over Numbers: Whether it’s 4 people or 40, Rocky emphasizes the importance of consistency through his “Thursday Threes” Instagram live streams.
- Brand Identity: Rocky’s “California Country” vibe is reflected in his unconventional merchandise, including his signature beanies and winery-ready wine sleeves.
⏱️ Timestamps
- [0:00] Introduction to Rocky Michaels and his early accolades.
- [0:50] Pre-show vibes: Performing at Moseley Family Cellars in Northern California.
- [1:21] Reflecting on the debut album The Great American Dream and music as a legacy.
- [3:06] Rocky’s personal approach to songwriting: “I’m not trying to fabricate anything.”
- [4:01] The story behind the hit song “Eagle” and a challenge for Eagles fans.
- [6:45] Musical foundations: From age five on the piano to picking up the guitar.
- [8:12] Inside the new record: Music For My Soul and the track “Glory Days.”
- [11:06] Deep dive into “Chase the Morning Sun” and its message for Rocky’s sons.
- [12:59] How the pandemic shifted his creative output toward hope and optimism.
- [14:04] Building community through “Thursday Threes” Instagram live streams.
- [15:22] Why the single-by-single release strategy works for indie artists.
- [17:12] Merchandise: Why beanies and wine sleeves define the Rocky Michaels brand.
- [19:34] Closing thoughts and where to find Rocky’s music.
🔗 Links
- Rocky Michaels’ website: rockymichaelsmusic.com
- Instagram: @rockymichaelsmusic
- YouTube: @rockymichaels
📃 Transcript
Tim Smal [host]: Hey everyone, and welcome to the show today. My name is Tim Smal, and my guest today is Rocky Michaels, a California born acoustic singer songwriter. He began playing piano at age five and crafted his skills into songwriting throughout high school. His debut album, The Great American Dream, was released in August of 2020 and in May of 2021, Rocky was named as a finalist for the US Male Rising Star of the Year by the International Singer Songwriters Association. Rocky, welcome to the show.
Rocky Michaels [guest]: Hey, Tim. Thanks so much, so happy to be here.
Tim [0:41]: Great to have you on the show today, and I believe that you’re actually in Northern California today, getting ready to play a show at a winery – tell me more.
Rocky [0:50]: Yeah, I am. I am in Northern California in Redding, which is about three hours north of San Francisco, and I’ve got a show a couple hours from now at Moseley Family Cellars. I think winery venues seem to be a good fit for me as a solo act, with my acoustic guitar and I’ve got a portable piano, and I’m looking forward to it. It may rain towards the end, so I’m watching the weather closely, but I think we can get a two hour set in just in time.
Tim [01:21]: Fantastic. Alright, Rocky. So I’m really excited to speak to you today about your latest album that you’re currently releasing, should I say, which is called Music For My Soul. But before we get into that, perhaps you can tell me a little bit more about your debut album, because that came out in August, 2020, called The Great American Dream, and this was obviously a really big moment for you in your life, releasing your very first debut album.
Rocky [01:47]: It was. I had been writing for years and really, my songs – while it was satisfying, they were just sort of collecting dust on the shelf. And I thought a few years ago, I should just put it out there into the world. And, if nothing else, I’ll leave a lasting legacy for my kids if I were to get hit by the proverbial truck and they could have something to remember me by. But it’s turned out to be really surprisingly, just a very therapeutic process. I mean, topics and emotions that I might not be able to effectively communicate on the spot… with songwriting, I’ve found this process really kind of forces me to take a step back and assess what I’m feeling and put those down in the form of lyrics. So the feedback’s been wonderful – it’s actually motivated me to continue to write and I’m constantly writing and just really enjoying the process.
Tim: [02:44]: Yeah, and as I mentioned earlier, you were named as a finalist for the US Male Rising Star of the Year by the International Singer Songwriters Association, so that’s certainly quite an accolade, and they have recognized your songwriting ability. So would you like to tell us a little bit more about your approach to songwriting, specifically on The Great American Dream and what kind of topics you looked at?
Rocky [03:06]: Sure. I think songwriting is a very personal process. I mean, there are certainly ways and guidelines to go about it, but just speaking for myself, I’m not trying to make up stuff or fabricate it – it’s whatever is going on in my life. You know, whether it’s topics about parenting or perspective, since I’m perhaps a few years older. I talk about inclusion and building bridges in our society, and these are just topics that are circulating in my brain and that are meaningful to me. And so I put it out there and again, somewhat selfishly, it’s a way for me to kind of share my thoughts out there. And, I found just… there’s always an audience for every type of music and well, you can’t expect to reach everybody, the feedback that I’ve been receiving has been really, really gratifying.
Tim [04:01]: I believe the song on your album that has done the best, should I say, is a track called Eagle. Can you tell me more about that particular song?
Rocky [04:10]: Yeah, absolutely. I’m glad you asked. You know, it’s funny, just like as a parent, you’re not supposed to name who your favorite child is. So with that being said, I love all my songs equally, with my ear quotes here. But some songs I love a little more equally than others. And so Eagle was a song… so it is sort of – it’s a metaphor basically. I’ve always been fascinated with flying, which I remember having dreams as a kid about flying. So it’s a song about just wanting to rise above the fray, you know, with all the craziness going on in the world right now. So wanting to rise above the fray, both figuratively and literally. But it also doubles as a tribute to one of my favorite bands growing up, and that was, of course, The Eagles with Don Henley and Glenn Fry. And I will put a challenge out there to your podcast listeners: For those of you who are true Eagles fans, I do drop a couple of iconic references to some of their iconic lyrics in the second half of my song Eagle, so let’s see how many you can pick out. But that’s been a really fun song for me.
Tim [05:16]: Great. Yeah, well, I’m glad you told me more about that because I wouldn’t have necessarily known that had I listened to the song and now when I go back and listen to that track, I can essentially listen to it with that in mind because it’s always very helpful to know the stories behind songs. I guess I can kind of see why that particular one is very popular, because of course The Eagles are a fantastic band, and so if you’re, as you say, bringing in ideas and references to the band, as well as your own ideas for your song, then you’re bringing a lot of The Eagles fans into your music, right?
Rocky [05:52]: Hopefully, and it’s also a piano based ballad. It kicks in a little bit on the chorus, but some of my songs are acoustic guitar led – this one happens to be a piano song, and it’s just… you know, I intentionally just wanted piano to start the song with no initial percussion. So it’s a way to sort of kick off the song and set the mood and it’s a fun song to play out as well.
Tim [06:17]: Let’s talk about that for a moment, because you started playing piano quite young at the age of five, and so I imagine that was your main instrument for a very long time. And at some point you would’ve picked up the guitar, I imagine, as a secondary instrument, if you will. And so I guess you’re writing songs on both piano and guitar and playing both. So can you tell me a little bit more about what your journey has been like starting on the piano, moving over to guitar, and I guess how you are using these two instruments to write your songs?
Rocky [06:45]: Yeah, thank you. No, great question. You’re right – I started… you know, my parents forced piano on me when I was five and I joke now, but I’m glad that they did. And we just grew up with a piano in the house. So back then we didn’t have the internet or anything like that. So, the hobbies are either go down to the creek or play ball or you play piano. And so I would always go back to the piano and that just formed a foundation for me. And then really after college, I mentioned I formed a rock band with some buddies and they were all the guitarists. I was the lone piano guy, but just hanging around them sort of by osmosis, I learned a few chords and I found that it’s very good cross training if I’m trying to learn something on guitar and I get stuck, and I’m not sure what that note is, I just go to the piano and I’ll say, “Oh, okay, yeah, that’s a e minor seven or whatever.” So it’s been great, like I said, cross training learning guitar, and it’s really opened up even more so the songwriting process. I’ll hear in my head, sometimes there might be a nice acoustic picking melody or other times might be a piano and it’s just sort of expanded my opportunities.
Tim [08:03]: Tell me more about the songs on this new record that you’re currently releasing called Music For My Soul. Are there a lot of piano based songs on that record?
Rocky [08:12]: There are… so a total of 10 songs – most are guitar, but there are a couple of piano songs. In fact, the one I just released last week, it’s called Glory Days, and that’s sort of a tribute to my old band. We actually got together a few months back for a reunion where we were all together for the first time in 10 years. So it’s an upbeat piano, sort of a rock song, but I’d say maybe 6 of the 10 songs are guitar based, 4 are piano based. I do have a… I think I have one or two ballads in there, so I don’t start out trying to say, “I need to write a ballad, or I need to write an upbeat song.” Again, I’m not sure how others do it, but for me, it’s sort of whatever inspires me at the moment. Even if it’s, you know, three in the morning, I’ll wake up and I’ll put a note on my phone so I don’t forget it, or I’ll run downstairs into the bathroom and sing a little verse just so I don’t forget it when I wake up the next morning. I’ve been fortunate to have a kind of a stockpile of ideas, and then when I’m shaping the album, I do wanna have some variety, kind of a mix. So that’s sort of been my process.
Tim [09:29]: Fantastic. So in terms of this new record that you are currently releasing song by song, how would you say it differs from your debut album? I imagine that your songwriting skills have developed over time and you’re pretty excited about some of these new tracks that you’ve been working on. But if you were to describe this new record, how would you describe it to the listeners?
Rocky [09:53]: Ooh, how would I describe it? It’s hard to box myself into a specific category, but I’d say if I have to, it’s sort of an indie folk, kind of a soft rock type of genre. I’m finding just as a songwriter and even as a singer, as a guitarist, that from my first song on my first album to my most recent song, I feel like I’m growing in those areas. I don’t know if I’ll ever truly be satisfied, which I suppose is a good thing, it keeps me hungry to want to continue to improve my trade. But I’m a big sucker for lyrics – I just… I love good lyrics and, you know, I grew up with Simon and Garfunkel, of course, The Eagles, Jackson Brownw, you know, I just admired them. So I’ve been really trying to focus on the lyrical content and not just settle for the first thing that comes out of my mind, and I’ll set it aside, I’ll go back to it, I’ll look at it at different angles. So I feel like I’m spending more time on the content and we’ll see how it goes. But so far I’m very happy with what’s being put out there.
Tim [11:06]: Yeah, and if the listeners want to check out your website, it’s rockymichaelsmusic.com. And I love the fact that you have the lyrics for each of your songs on your website. So I’m looking at it right now, and I’ve chosen the song Chase the Morning Sun, which is obviously from your new record, Music For My Soul, and I’ve pulled up the lyrics here. So why don’t you tell me a little bit more about this song in particular.
Rocky [11:30]: Yeah, thank you. So that one… again, as a parent, I’ve got two children, two boys. And I think I was putting on my parental cap when that song came to mind, trying to offer whatever pearls of wisdom I can as a parent. The song Chase the Morning Sun simply is about following one’s dreams, regardless of how unattainable it might seem. I think the message, the important thing is to just keep moving, keep on going forward regardless of whether you hit it or not, the important thing is to just, you know, as the title, you wake up and you keep chasing the morning sun, whether you, whether you can catch it or not, the key is to just keep moving forward. So that’s the essence of that song.
Tim [12:15]: Yeah and that’s certainly a great idea, should I say for this time and space that we’re in in the world right now, because I’m sure in the last year or two with all the challenges that the pandemic has presented to us, that’s a message that everyone has needed to hear, right? Because it’s been a little bit tough – we’ve kind of had setbacks and disappointments and whatnot. So how has your experience been as a musician during the last two years of the pandemic, have you had time to write songs and find some inspiration with some time off or, has it been a little bit of a struggle? I’m just really interested in terms of the context of Chase the Morning Sun, if that perhaps came out during this challenging time of the last two years. Can you tell us more about your feelings around that topic?
Rocky [12:59]: Sure. Yeah, I think probably of 10 songs, maybe 8 or 9 of them have all been written really in the past year and a half. So the pandemic, as horrible as it is out there, selfishly, it’s actually given me even more time to dive into my music and songwriting. And I think part of it – certainly that song and some other songs – yeah, I’m trying to write about hope and optimism and positivity and… not to be a Pollyanna out there, I mean, I know there are some major challenges going on in the world, but you know, I am a firm believer that hope begets hope and positivity brings about more positivity. So the more I can share these things out there on the airwaves, by golly, a better world it’ll be for all of us.
Tim [13:53]: Great. Well, yeah, thanks for sharing that. And I see that you’re also doing some live streams, is that correct? Can you tell us more about these live streams that you’re involved in?
Rocky [14:04]: Sure. Yeah, so when the pandemic started, I actually had a few gigs lined up and I had to… they were canceled and I wasn’t quite sure what to do. This was March or April of 2020, and I saw others were performing live streams as a way to fill the void. So I experimented, started on Facebook and then moved over to Instagram and I sort of settled into, I call it my “Thursday Threes”. So every Thursday, seven o’clock Pacific time, I stream live on Instagram, three songs, I try to mix it up – I’ll include a cover and maybe throw in an original. And I’ve decided to continue with it – well, for a couple of reasons – I enjoy it, first and foremost, it’s always good practice to play live, even if it’s not in front of a physical setting, a physical audience. And I guess I just wanna show those who are following me – I’ve got a small but steadily growing following – I just wanna show them that I’m still active, I’m dedicated, I’m putting myself out there, whether there’s 4 people who show up or 40, it’s just something I foresee myself continuing to do every Thursday night on Instagram live.
Tim [15:22]: Yeah, and that’s a great way to build community – I’m sure your following enjoys those live streams and it’s a great way for them to kind of connect with you and here’s some new music and so forth. So with this new record that you are releasing song by song, of course the listeners can go and listen to that on Spotify or YouTube music. Can you tell me more about this approach of releasing a song at a time? I mean, I guess there are other artists that have done that too, but I was just interested in finding out more about this approach that you’re taking, of course, to release a song one at a time, I imagine – let’s say once every month or so, as opposed to releasing the album all at once. Can you tell me more about that?
Rocky [16:02]: Sure, yeah, you bet. And thanks for mentioning YouTube. Most of my songs that I have out there, I have a YouTube video – not all, but most of them – so that’s free if you’re not signed up with Spotify, you can always go to my YouTube channel, Rocky Michael’s Music, and you can see my music videos of my release songs. But to answer your question: again, I’m not sure what the quote correct way is, it just seems like if I spread out my releases, my hope, my intent is to sort of build upon each one and just hopefully increase my following over time instead of throwing it all out there at once, and this way I can spread it out. I think my last scheduled release is gonna be in January, and I’ll regroup and assess and figure out from there. But with each release I’m throwing out the single, and then a week later I’m putting out the music video. And then at that point, a few weeks later, I’m onto my next single. So I’m just trying to fill the pipeline with content over the course of time.
Tim [17:12]: Yeah, and it’s great to see that you’re so busy with creating content and merchandise. I see that you have some incredible products for sale on your website, including wine bottle sleeves and beanies, which are somewhat unconventional. Can you tell me more about your merchandise store for Rocky Michaels?
Rocky [17:31]: Right, and you may be the only one who’s deemed it as incredible, but I’ll take it – thank you. Yeah, so I wasn’t sure what merchandise to put out there. Like I said, I’m still trying to increase my following and since I play at wineries a lot, that’s sort of a very compatible venue for me, it seemed like having those wine sleeves would be a good fit. As far as the beanies, you’re right, they’re not conventional, but for those who see my videos or see me, you know my post, I’m a hat guy – whether it’s a baseball cap or a beanie. I didn’t start out intentionally wanting it to be that way, but it’s kind of become my thing. And so, especially as we get into the winter months, I just put up those beanies on my website store and I’ll have it today on my merchandise table. We’ll see… You know, you throw a couple of ideas out there and you see which ones stick – but I am definitely a beanie guy.
Tim [18:30]: Absolutely. I remember back in the days when I used to play in bands, a chap came to me once and said, “Hey, I’ve got a great idea for a merchandise product: You should have these sweatbands” and I was like, “Oh, cool – sweatbands.” And yeah, so they printed our logo on the sweatband and I used to wear it on stage and yeah, I thought it was pretty novel. So I’m always very interested in all the ideas for merchandise these days. There’s so many different ideas, novel ideas, and so I’m looking forward to seeing how the Rocky Michaels merchandising line grows over time, right?
Rocky [19:04]: Yeah, yeah. And also part of it is just sort of my, I guess my identity. There’s a lot of my songs that are… have a country vibe to it, you know, indie folk songwriter country. But I’ll joke, if somebody asks me for my 32nd elevator pitch, I’ll say, “Well, you know, I like to write songs that might have country, but instead of wearing cowboy hats and cowboy boots, I’m wearing baseball caps, beanies, and flip flops from California.” So that’s kind of been my identifier.
Tim [19:34]: Great. Well, I’m really looking forward to hearing music for my soul in its entirety. So I imagine that the final song will be released in, I guess, a couple of months time, and then the folks can listen to your album from start to finish. But in the meantime, as I mentioned, you can go ahead and listen to Rocky Michaels’ latest record Music for My Soul, or should I say the songs that have been released on Spotify or YouTube Music. Rocky, thanks so much for spending time with me today, I really appreciate it, and I’m sure the listeners have enjoyed getting to know you too. They’re welcome to reach out to you, they can visit your websit at rockymichaelsmusic.com and have a chat with you there and perhaps buy a beanie or two. So Rocky, thanks so much for joining us today. Any last words for the fans out there?
Rocky [20:20]: Oh gosh. No, thank you Tim, I appreciate it, man. It’s always a joy to talk and share my music and what I’m trying to do. So yeah, anyone’s welcome to reach out to me. I do my best to try to respond to all shout outs and love to hear from you. But again, Tim, really appreciate your time and certainly best of success to you going forward.
Tim [20:42]: Thanks so much, Rocky. Appreciate it and good luck with the release of Music for My Soul and the work that follows after that. So have a great day and enjoy the the gig at Moseley Family Cellars.