Today’s Spotlight is with California-based artist Drainbows. We recently had the opportunity to fire off a few questions to lead singer Mickey to chat about their most recent release 14 Virgins. Listen to the record on Spotify and read on for the interview below.
Let’s start with the basics. Where are you from?
I’m originally from Washington DC [but] I moved to Cali. I learned about punk from Orange County; Sacrificed my life for it to learn it.
When did you start creating music?
I started writing when I was a kid. Usually poetry and I got published around 10 and began making Hip Hop music at 12. Started my own studio and produced sort of Southern experimental rap from the New Orleans and Houston areas.
Your most recent release came in 2022 with 14 Virgins, which has an industrial/electro feel throughout, can you tell us a bit about how you went about putting that together? Is it self-produced?
I put [my first album] together in 6- 12 days of writing. I felt pressured because our first record did so well for us. At the beginning of the band we started an Anonymous project. Sort of pre-ANTIFA days. And while I started recording the record, [I felt] the brainwashing of the military in the presence of me. The music immediately started to become more political. We started our first record as a psyche/pop act. It was produced by myself and a crew members of a band that was called the Uglysuit from OKC. It was cool to write. It was about our experiences with the people that listened to our music and became inspirational as a sort of tame impala-ey type of music. I started writing and it feel together after 3 months. Life was free then, so I wrote it.
What’s 1 piece of gear you can’t write/produce without?
One piece of gear that I love is my Squire Starcaster. I purchased off my wife’s tax money and loved it. It’s like a balance between my previous Jazzmaster and my 335. I love it.
What are some things you were thinking about when you wrote these songs?
The music from the second is based off of mass shooters and Darkling is specially about a guy I read about that joined ISIS. That was pretty heavy then to me. What was ISIS gonna do? Then they attacked Paris and holy shit did I go insane about them. But they are less aggressive than the military fucking flying over your house.
Why name it “14 Virgins” ?
The guy’s Muslim and he joined, so I named the album 14 Virgins; The amount of Virgins I’d receive in heaven to Islam instead of 72.
If you could have written the theme or a featured track in any film, which would it be?
I think it’d be dope to be in Batman. He’s fucking awesome and dies a man. The truth of Batman.
What’s one producer on your dream collaboration list? What about them or their body of work stands out to you?
Brian Eno is my dreamy guy in music. Here come the warm jets and Roxy music. He’s like poetic on another green world and very experimental and derivative of like working with Bowie in his earlier stuff. Dope guy.
You mentioned to me that you have manga series coming out. Can you tell us a little about it? What’s it about?
The manga series is a loose story about the band I’m creating. Kinda the album that will accompany [it] with [talking] about things that literally happened to me and bestowed as a curse, like a cultists brainwashed vet that’s a scientific genius and a leader in secret for most of his life. But he cant hide this. If the real world calls Mickey is there. Mickey destroys governments and conspires against global corruption, human trafficking. Malicious plots of murder. Sacrifice for his ultimate reality.
What are some manga’s that you enjoy in your free time?
Reading Orochi, Vegabond, Black Clover. And one of my all time favs is Deathnote.
On that note, if you’re not creating music or working on other art projects, how are you normally spending that time?
I am usually spending time at home with my wife and daughter. My wife works for a talent agency and I kind of just be a dad all day. My kid’s 7 and she’s growing up fast.
What’s one thing about your hometown that you think makes it worth visiting?
Washington DC isn’t worth visiting for tourist. Just politics and crime. I mean if Bernie would have got elected we wouldn’t be in this mess. I do love the globe at the library of congress.
Is there anything else you have coming up that fans should keep an eye out for or anything you’d like to add?
Please come to our shows in Cali and stuff. I think you people are amazing.
Thank you Mickey!
Keep up with Drainbows on social media at the links below.
Crooked Forest 