Mike Posner with Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins & Team Russia) in Sochi, Russia February 2014Examiner.com: With three platinum singles to his credit, Mike Posner is a busy man.
In between working on his upcoming album, writing/producing songs for other artists and traveling to the Olympics; he was still able to find some time to talk to Examiner.com.
Andrew Demo: Now that you’re back in the States, how did your Sochi trip go?
Mike Posner: Oh man…it was incredible. The food was great, the city was gorgeous and obviously the Olympics were very cool. It was awesome, I am very blessed.
AD: Did you have any problems during your stay? I know there were some concerns.
MP: No I didn’t have any problems. In addition to that the security at the Olympics was some of the best security I have ever seen at a sporting event, for sure.
AD: So how did this trip come about? How did you end up going to Sochi?
MP: I ended up going to Sochi because a friend of mine named Daniel Milstein, who’s a very prominent business man in Detroit, manages Pavel Datsyuk and he invited me to go. He’s from Russia and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
AD: Did you catch the Russia/US game?
MP: I Did.
AD: How was the atmosphere?
MP: It was intense man…The Russian people are incredibly proud; especially the young people. I was very struck by that. At this Olympics they had 25,000 volunteers. They didn’t get paid. They were just proud of Russia and they wanted the Olympics to be great; so they went and worked. I was impressed by that.
The American people…we’re also very proud. There were a lot of American fans in the crowd. People would try to start chants like “U-S-A” and the Russians would go “RUS-SI-A.” They would just do their chant over ours (laughs).
AD: What did you think of the game itself?
MP: That was one of the best games I have ever seen. It went to nine shootout rounds…it was great. For me…I was a bit torn because my friend was the captain of Team Russia and obviously I’m an American. I guess it worked out at the end, because Pats had two goals, but USA won.
AD: How is your relationship with the Red Wings?
MP: Everyone at that organization is so cool, so nice and so classy. People like Ken Holland and Mike Babcock are so nice when they see me at the games. I definitely really love the Red Wings. Sometimes you meet people you’re a fan of and it’s disappointing and it hasn’t been like that at all.
AD: What’s your relationship with Pavel Datsyuk like?
MP: I first met “Pats” this past summer. I was touring with Justin Bieber and I played at Joe Louis Arena (where the Red Wings play). That was a dream come true in and of itself, because I grew up going to games there with my father. They let me go in the Wings’ locker room, which was also a dream come true.
I immediately went and took a picture in front of Pats’ locker because he’s my favorite player. Even before I knew him, he was my favorite player. I tweeted it to him. I was like “look where I am.” He’s a very humble guy, so he tweeted back something funny. He was like: “Finally someone talented is at that locker.” (laughs)
So we exchanged numbers and we would text occasionally and when I was putting together the single for my new video “Top of the World” I asked if he wanted to be a part of it and he said “yes.” So we got to goof around and make that video in downtown Detroit.
It’s just been really fun and ever since I have been going to a lot of Wings games when I am home.
AD: How do Datsyuk’s acting chops measure up against his hockey skills?
MP: (Laughs) Well…He’s the best hockey player in the world. So that’s a pretty high bar to set. You’ve got to check out the video, it’s hilarious. We told Pats, just stand with your arms crossed and look real mean. So he did that and meanwhile, I was next to him like fooling around. We were foil characters for each other.
AD: Yeah…that video looked like a good time to make.
MP: It was incredible…it was so much fun.
AD: Turning to the song itself, can you describe the thought process that went into writing it?
MP: It’s a general attitude that I know both (Big) Sean and I have about our lives: To be grateful but not content. What I mean when I say that is that we are appreciative of the blessings that we have, because we live a dream life. I get to make music as a job and work with our heroes. But at the same time be bold enough to want more and to shoot for more. So walking that line is something I try to do every day. That’s what the song is about.
AD: The City of Detroit has been going through some tough times in recent years. What reasons do you think there are for optimism in Motown?
MP: Big Sean…Mike Posner… Those are a couple reasons (laughs).
In all seriousness, there are just a lot of magical things going on. We’ve all gone through tough times, but there’s a lot of opportunity there. With lower real estate prices come more artists. More people move to the city and they can get big warehouses and make their art. There are a lot of special things going on, a lot of people doing amazing projects. I am very proud of our city.
AD: Back to your upcoming album: Pages. You had the breakout success on your last album from your album 31 Minutes to Takeoff with your single “Cooler Than Me.” How have you evolved as an artist since that record?
MP: Well…I Think I’ve evolved a lot as a man since that record. I was someone that struggled with depression. When I was in college, I remember thinking naively that if I got a record deal and a hit song, it would solve all of the problems I had.
So I set about these things, and I was really successful acquiring them in a fairly short period of time. What I realized after I did amass these so-called “trophies” is that I felt the same. I didn’t feel any happier.
So I started thinking about why I was doing what I was doing and searching for some purpose in my life. At times, I felt like I was just doing music and touring; and I was getting more famous and making more money; but it still left me feeling empty.
With this new album (Pages), I was incredibly fortunate in being able to team up with the food bank of New York City. For every album that we sell, we serve a meal to a child one-for-one.
I guess I am being selfish. I wanted to find a way to use what I am good at which is music and that’s pretty much it…It ain’t hockey (laughs). Use what I’m good at to do something good.
AD: In what ways can people get involved with a food bank near them?
MP: They always accept volunteers. If people want to help out, they should they should check out their local food bank or local soup kitchen for more information.
Another way to help would be to pick up a copy his album Pages when it is released later this year.
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Miscellaneous > Misc. > The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics – Sochi, Russia February 2014
