Expect The Truth
DP: You called this new sound as your “take on country music” and that traveling with country singer Jake Owen helped you with being more truthful. How did this experience change your sound?
Mike Posner: I don’t make country music, but I’m certainly influenced by it. When I say country music, I mean real country music, not what they play on the radio now. Jake, John, and his legendary road manager Greg Fowler let me ride the tour bus for a few days. Every night after the shows, they would tell me stories about Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Hank Jr., and Willie Nelson.
Hearing “Mama Tried” for the first time is one of the fondest musical memories I have. I realized there was this lineage of real songwriters that frankly was in jeopardy of dying out because telling the truth is not fashionable. I feel if I don’t carry that on that lineage, no one will. Maybe that sounds narcissistic, but I really feel that way.
DP: Was it difficult to open yourself up more and sing these new, more honest songs?
Mike Posner: It was more difficult to only show the public what I thought were the pretty parts of myself and hide the rest. You can never really be at ease when you’re living that way. You always have to have a little bit of a guard up. It’s exhausting. It’s much easier this way.
I defecate, I masturbate, and if I’m lucky… I fornicate. Sometimes I wear the same shirt without washing it. Sometimes I worry I’m on the wrong path in life. Sometimes I’m lonely. Sometimes I get a pimple. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I feel amazing.
When I sing “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” with my guitar, sometimes the room becomes completely silent. With my music, I’m in essence saying to the audience, “I’ll take off my cool first. Really, I’ll stop pretending while I’m up here. And it’s okay if you’d like to do the same. Really it is. We don’t always have to keep up the act.”
DP: What can we expect from this next album?
Mike Posner: You can expect The Truth.
