NEPA Scene Podcast Episode 42 - Scranton folk rocker MiZ on his new album and outlook on life

NEPA Scene

In Episode 42, we sit down with Scranton folk rock singer/songwriter Mike Mizwinski, whose new solo album, “A Year Ago Today,” will be released on Friday, Jan. 26, kicking off an album release tour that stops locally at the River Street Jazz Cafe in Plains, Sarah Street Grill in Stroudsburg, the Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, The Cooperage Project, The Pines Eatery and Spirits in Hazleton, and Turkey Hill Brewing Company in Bloomsburg throughout January and February. Digital copies will be available on Feb. 14. Before and during the interview, we drink Beer Boys crowlers of Pumpkin Ale by Susquehanna Brewing Company in Pittston, Olly by Free Will Brewing in Perkasie, and Celebration Ale from a cask by Sierra Nevada Brewing. We talk with MiZ about growing up around artists and musicians in his family got him into music, listening to the Grateful Dead at a young age, the dedication of jam band fans, the current state of the rock music industry, building a musical community or family, how he gathered some of the area’s best musicians together to record an original song in a living room over the holiday break, what inspired the songs on this album and what he was going through at the time, his new outlook on life, the recording process with LogicPaws Soundlab in Hawley, the story behind the name of the record, what his song “Heroes” means to him and a fan who saw him play it, plans to tour across the country, how he ended up working with Grateful Dead publicist and music historian Dennis McNally, crazy gigs and memorable road stories, opening up honestly about his past drug addiction and lifestyle and turning things around now in recovery, and more. We also answer some questions and react to comments from live viewers, and Mike ends the show by playing an acoustic version of his new song “Heroes,” dedicated to the many great musicians we’ve lost over the last few years. The award-winning NEPA Scene Podcast covers arts, entertainment, and the issues that matter to Northeastern Pennsylvania. It airs as a live video stream every Wednesday at 7 p.m. on NEPA Scene’s Facebook page and is available afterward on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, YouTube, and nepascene.com. This episode and all previous episodes are available now on NEPA Scene, the award-winning independent arts and entertainment website that combines the accuracy and professionalism of a print magazine with the immediacy and convenience of a blog, offering a wide variety of content to readers in NEPA, Philadelphia, New York, and beyond. The show is made possible by local sponsors Beer Boys, The V-Spot, The Keys, Loyalty Barber Shop and Shave Parlor, Coal Creative, and viewers who tune in every week.