Wondering what this is all about? Well, on this page you'll be able to read interviews conducted by Liberty n' Justice with different artists and people who have been associated with us over the years. To read our previous interviews, just click here.
Mike Layne is the producer-genius behind "Soundtrack of a Soul." We took some time to chat with him, and he says exactly what is on his mind.
Mike thanks for doing this interview, but before we get started we need to get something out of the way. "Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?!"
Abstractly.
Mike besides hanging out with LNJ, what else have you been up to (since you don't return our calls)? Do you have a website, email or something?
My studio site is thenoisegate.com. I have been swamped trying to return Justin's phone calls. I need a pretty secretary like he has.
I've been writing, recording, producing, engineering, gigging - Anything I can do to keep the musical soul satisfied. I have been working on a couple projects of my own. stepdownrocks.com is one. Fun stuff there, but beware... Another side project is an all acoustic dealio of songs I have written over the years. It will be titled "Michael Loyd - In Trouble." I plan on releasing a full-length record soon for both projects. Each project will be two totally different styles of music. I have also just begun a new Liberty n' Justice project that will be acoustically-based as well, which will have an even more impressive list of guest singers. Might even be famous enough by then to put one of my own voices on the record ;) Justin's wife likes it.
As you know, LNJ is a melodic rock band. What styles of music are you really into?
I have so many influences that I am into for different reasons. When performing live in a full band context I prefer modern, heavy, and melodic music with a ton of energy and groove. Stuff like System of a Down, Slipknot, Trapt, Disturbed. But the acoustic side of me is a huge fan of music like the Eagles, Journey, the Goo Goo Dolls and the Little River Band. Songwriting and storytelling woven together. It's music that gives me goosebumps. I hate it when dudes give me goosebumps. 70's classic rock or southern-fried sounding stuff makes me change the station.
Before LNJ came into your life, you were best known for working with Mudvayne. How did that come about and what did you do for them?
They were originally from my home area. Played many gigs with them before they got signed. I had recorded other area bands at the studio I was working at back then. They heard my work and hired me to track the three-song demo that they later used to shop labels with, eventually landing Epic. They asked me to go out on tour with them and Anthrax as their sound man but it just didn't pay enough. To this day I haven't worked with a rhythm section that tight. For two days we didn't realize the kick drum track was turned off on one song because the bassist was hitting every note so tightly syncopated where the kick was. The drummer didn't even realize it was missing.
You just finished LNJ's new CD "Soundtrack of a Soul" and the reviews have been stellar. Has the reaction to the album suprised you?
The reviews have made it even more gratifying. A little surprised too.
LNJ's previous release, "Welcome To The Revolution," did NOT get stellar reviews. What is the biggest change between these records? Did you really make that much of a difference?
I have been known to be "picky" in most everything I do. Even outside of music. I have been blessed with an ear for this stuff. I also work very hard at being fluent on every instrument I can. I have been in many different groups singing, playing guitar, bass, drums, keys, etc. I have also been a gear and sound junkie most of my musical life. Live sound can be so intense, stuff that you'd never be able to capture in the studio. Yet producing and engineering in the studio is an instrument all of its own that combines my experience in all of those areas. Am I that good? Well, I try to be the best at all of it. I am not, but trying gets good results.
You're in a band called Stepdown now. How is that going? Tell us about the band.
Stepdown is a big release for me. It's a job but it's a fun gig and a big part of my social life. My bandmates are my friends. Gary Horrie (Another Nail) plays drums with me but he also plays guitar and bass and sings. He and I, along with Cody Barra, Dirk McCoy and Sean Rennau, are continually switching up what instruments we're playing. Everyone is quite good at most instruments. We should have called it musical chairs. It's like that. The music is pretty diverse too. We all have different writing styles and we all vary in age and influence. We will have a single out soon. It's getting tracked as soon as we gig it out enough to give it time to grow. The local radio station, www.99xrocks.com, has picked us up as their sponsored band. The single will be in rotation as soon as we get it to them. Keep an ear out for it: "Empty Faces"
Your partner in your studio (NoiseGate) is Kevin Grose of Stangeland (We don't know why we mentioned this but we like to name drop). If a band wanted to hire you to record/produce them, how do they get in touch? How much do you charge? What can they expect from you (besides not returning calls)?
Justin was stalking me. Once I swear I saw him on the neighbors roof. 309-253-4218 will get you to me (or my verizon secretary). Studio rates vary but you get more than you pay for with me. I have never had an unhappy client. Most are blown away by how good I can make them sound. The price is cheaper than most, except to clients who bounce checks... ahem.
Name the 3 highest points and the 3 lowest points of your musical career to date.
I have shared the stage with many bands: Kansas, Night Ranger, Blue Oyster Cult, Nazareth, Enuff z Nuff to drop a few names from back in the day. Good times. We'll count those as one. My gig last Saturday at SOPS in Peoria was pretty darn good. Getting the chance to work with so many of my musical influences when I was younger has been very rewarding as well. Guys like Oni Logan and Sebastian Bach were tops on my list of singers then. It's been nice to see how they do it for real.
Lowest point was playing in a cover band as a teenager at the Hole in the Wall saloon in Pekin, Ill. The lights fade up from black. The dry ice gets dropped into the fog machine and covers the floor perfectly. The opening song (and radio hit of the month) was "Here I go again" by Whitesnake. I begin to play the opening keyboard arrangement. The "crowd" starts to go nuts. I begin to sing as I play the keys. All is going as planned until the intricate three-note walk down. For some reason, my mind blanks. My fingers freeze. The rest of the band looks over at me like a deer in headlights. Sometimes the music is on autopilot and other times you fly by the seat of your pants. Sometimes you crash and burn. In this case it was a massive drop from the sky. I had to stop both singing and playing and start over, only to make the same mistake AGAIN! Well by now I decided it was too late to save face so I just pounded my face against the keyboard and began to shout "I'll never get! Never! Never!" Thank God for the muppet show. Guess we should have learned the other version of that song without the keyboard intro. It is hilarious to me now. Do you really want two more after that?
Okay, tell us the dirt: who was your favorite singer to work with and why? Your least favorite?
Why you gotta do that to me. I enjoyed working with them all. Oni Logan was thrilling for me because he's one of those guys who had the soul thing going. That's fun to work with because every take is different and good. Plus I got to hear some sweet George Lynch stories that involved guns and girls and stuff. Pete Loren was also a great guy. He and I are still in touch on a regular basis. We may collaborate on some of my own songs. He has found a different voice than that of Trixter days. He has got something new to offer that I hope to bring out of him. Tony Harnell was way cool. He contacted me later and asked me to mix the new TNT record. What a great compliment that was. He, too, was a vocal hero of mine. He can sing so high, yet he still sounds mean and strong. I'd love to write with him again. Plus, he knows how to handle rude Mexicans. Stephen Pearcy has such a distinct voice that it didn't matter what I did to it — you knew it was him. Unique for sure. He was a bit unsettled about the tune at first because he didn't get much time to make it his own before we tracked it and there were a few too many unfamiliar faces hanging at the studio that day. We had some rough moments but he grew to respect me out of it all and has even talked to me since about producing a Ratt tribute record he's got brewin'. I contributed to his 20 million records sold; "Out of the Cellar" was the second album I ever bought.
Steelhearts lead singer was going to be on "Soundtrack Of A Soul" but after talking to you he decided to go modern. Mike, what are you doing try to do — kill the mullet music?
Well my sister is a beautician; she made me do it. I'm not sure if he went modern. He was going to track the new Steelheart record at the Noisegate with me but after many conversations, emails, and critiques of his new material, he decided to focus totally on his own project rather than get too involved in LNJ. He said he wants to do a modern day version of Led Zeppelin. The stuff I heard was more Zep than modern so I pointed that out to him. He will have a good record if he takes my advice. He's got such a great voice in any range, not just the high stuff. At the time we spoke he was looking to sell a million records not just 250,000. Gotta go modern to sell a million in rock. Great guy. Very much wants to be back in the limelight and he should be. He fell into the one-hit-wonder category because the label made the mistake of pushing a ballad as the first single. Come on, everyone knows the ballad has to be the third single. Just ask Extreme or Mr. Big, their biggest hits were ballads. It can be a curse to a hard rock band. But hey, one hit is better than no hits I guess.
You co-wrote a lot of the songs on the new LNJ record plus wrote most of the music. What is your favorite song? Why did you cut up Justin's lyrics on "Flinch" so much?
My favorite song musically is Flinch. I love the guitar riff and the 6/8 time signature makes for a great groove. The chorus has a really strong hook too. Justin's can write some good lyrics. My job as a producer is to weed through the lyrics and construct a song out of the bests parts. The words "I will not Flinch" really summed up everything he said in the rest of the song. It needed to say more. Strong yet humble. The turn the other cheek thing gets misused so much. This song deals with that issue in a way that may not sit well with many traditional Christians. It will challenge their thinking. That's all I wanted to do with it. It's a modern-sounding song with a modern view of an age old topic. That's what we producers do. Connect the invisible dots on a subconscious level. That's my job description …
How involved are you in your local church? What do you believe?
I have been very involved in a couple different churches. Church politics and my "different" views of traditional churchy things has made it rather difficult for me to feel anywhere close to God at church. I think any organization that has to try and please everyone including God will have a hard time with it. I have not gone to organized church in a while. Church for me is one on one with fellow believers, sharing burdens, encouraging each other, even if God is never mentioned. Oh man, I hope I'm still a Christian.
The last of Mike Layne
Last CD you bought
Family Force 5
last LNJ song you worked on
Joyride - a new one for the next record
Last time you appeared on stage with 3 pony tails
Last Saturday
Last time you did not return a phone call
Today
Last time Justin got to sing in your studio
I think I heard him in the bathroom once
Last famous person you spoke to
Pete Loren (if you aren't counting Justin Murr)
What does 2006 and beyond hold for Mike Layne?
The best is yet to come. My life is continually improving. I may take a stab at signing a project of my own rather than helping everyone else get there. Butch Walker is a big inspiration to me. I'd like to be that diverse in how I satisfy my musical cravings. Live performance is my fave, though, so I'll probably try to do as much gigging as I can handle in 2006. Full band or acoustic is a blast.
"Justin Time." Tell us about the man, the myth, the legend: Mr. Murr. How did you get hooked up with him? What do you think of his songwriting? What are your honest thoughts on these LNJ albums?
Justin and I have had some growing pains but it has helped us to know what to expect from the other now. He knows I can't drop everything I'm doing three times a day to answer his calls :) So things are good. I met him through Scott Heberer. Scott is a great songwriting friend of mine. Scott was involved with "Welcome to the Revolution." He wrote the song Lou and others ruined. Scott's version had so much more passion and honesty. Anyway, Scott told Justin about me and played him some other tunes we had written. Justin found out that I write and record from every angle and decided to meet me in person to chat about working together. The rest is now history.
I think Justin is a very funny guy. I understand his humor better than most. I like it. Some people just don't get it though. Before I met him for myself I had a few people tell me he was a whack job! They were right.
My honest thoughts on this album are that it has some great songwriting and some great vocalists. I wasn't involved on every tune. My favorite that I wasn't involved in is probably the Ted Poley tune "Always Tomorrow." The production is great on it. Good job, Ted. There are a couple weak spots for me personally. Does "Hope and Pray" belong on this record? If you take off the distortion of the guitars a little it could be a country song. Songs like "State of Grace" are why Nirvana came along. "Grenade" is a good rocker but cliché lyrics can ruin any song for me. "Say what you mean, mean what you say" I believe I just did :) Sorry, Dale and Troy. I love you both, though. Although Jamie Rowe might have proved me wrong with the cliché lyrics thing with what he was able to do with Justin's lyrics on "Thy Will Be Done." Nice job dude! Pete and Mark came through with great vocals on it too. This song was the biggest surprise to me. Is that honest enough? I think the LNJ stuff is continually getting better with each record. Justin isn't too proud to ask for help with his musical vision. He seeks advice and usually follows it. Wonder where he learned that trick? Some book somewhere?
And finally, a Liberty n' Justice 4-ALL word association. We will mention a name or thing, and you give us your thoughts:
Stephen Pearcey (RATT)
Call me if you want to do the tribute record. Garth Brooks singing "Wanted man" would be sweet!
Oni Logan (Lynch Mob)
Has a new record coming out soon. Buy it. I have heard every track. Great songwriting. Great voice. Great guy.
Gary Manuel (producer)
Sorry, buddy. I hope you aren't mad at me. He and I have had some rough times in our personal lives and he helped me through some of mine by sharing his. (Kinda like what you're supposed to do at church)
Tim Gaines (Stryper)
Played my bass lines perfectly. That was flattering to say the least.
Wes Watson (Strangeland)
Brought 80 third graders on a field trip to my studio!
Tony Harnell (TNT)
"How rude! Turn the lights back on. I live in New York. People from New York aren't even this rude. Pass the taco sauce please."
Gary Horie (Stepdown)
He kicked my butt in a game of basketball today.
Pete Loran (Trixter)
Write them new tunes brother. Send 'em to me. Hey can I still stay with you if I come to Arizona? I'll help you out with your recording software. Seriously.
Lyndon Perry (Leaderdogs For The Blind)
LP baby. I miss you. Leaderdogs — Time for a reunion gig. You in? I'm in.
Leif Garrett (70s teen idol)
He once said he doesn't look good in an orange jump suit. I had a blast with this guy. One of the coolest. Sang much better when the girls showed up at the studio, though. "What can I say, I'm not used to singing to a room full of dudes." I hope he gets his stuff back on track. Wish him the best.
Shannon Woulfe and Bryan West
Two of the best drummers I've recorded. Keep them chops up fellas. Thanks for the tracks you guys laid.
Josh Kramer
What a professional singer. This guy can really transform himself. Would love to hear him do an album full of Eagles type stuff.
Napoleon Dynamite
Justin's twin brother