Mike Dawes

Chewing the Gristle with Greg Koch

One of the world's best acoustic guitarists (just ask Total Guitar and Music Radar), Mike Dawes has made fans globally with his exciting and inviting brand of fingerstyle, percussive guitar. He first gained prominence on YouTube with millions of views for solo arrangements such as Metallica's "One", Gotye's "Someone That I Used to Know", Van Halen's "Jump", his own tune "The Impossible" and others. He has gone on to team up with players like Tommy Emmanuel, Periphery, Nick Johnston, Plini and more for collaborative, worldwide tours and videos. Greg and Mike took a break from both of their busy touring schedules for this episode of Gristle!
3:49 - Growing up Guildford
8:33 - The exhaustion only kicks in when the touring stops, days off
13:13 - Doing everything yourself vs hiring out control of your career, and the importance of touring / building an audience
23:58 - The Music Industry in a post-COVID world
25:04 - Ben Lacy, creative fingerstyle, and Mike’s own virtuosic chops
32:18 - How Mike works on timing as a solo player
37:44 - What inspired Mike to originally pick up the guitar
42:39 - The passing of the late, great EVH, and surviving COVID lockdown (mentally and fiscally)
49:50 - The digital age, guitar, AI, and how everything moves forward
64:14 - Being true to oneself as an artist and performer
Total Length: 76:30

Chapter

1. Mike Dawes (00:00:00)

2. Growing up Guildford (00:03:49)

3. The exhaustion only kicks in when the touring stops, days off (00:08:33)

4. Doing everything yourself vs hiring out control of your career, and the importance of touring / building an audience (00:13:13)

5. The Music Industry in a post-COVID world (00:23:58)

6. Ben Lacy, creative fingerstyle, and Mike’s own virtuosic chops (00:25:04)

7. How Mike works on timing as a solo player (00:32:18)

8. What inspired Mike to originally pick up the guitar (00:37:44)

9. The passing of the late, great EVH, and surviving COVID lockdown (mentally and fiscally) (00:42:39)

10. The digital age, guitar, AI, and how everything moves forward (00:49:50)

11. Being true to oneself as an artist and performer (01:04:14)