Silverada Break Out Of The Box For Their Next Act

Formerly known as Mike and the Moonpies-the band performs at Waiting Room on Monday

Silverada have been recording and on the road for close to two decades now. The band was formerly known as Mike and The Moonpies, and they made the decision recently to change their name, and put out a self titled album as Silverada on June 28th. They will be performing at Waiting Room Lounge on Monday, August 12th, and you can get tickets HERE.

I have a lot of acquaintances in some of the smaller communities in Nebraska who get very deep into “red dirt” country and many who perform it. It is through them that I first heard of the band. They were always the 'oh, you like this, you will LOVE this’ suggestion. The band is known for their live performances and has a very loyal fan base. I got on the phone with Mike Harmeier and dug into the new album, the name change, recording at Abbey Road studios, and what it is currently like out on the road.

Omaha Buzz: The song that starts off the new album is called “Radio Wave,” and I am curious about that, especially the line that says “Americana is a myth.”. 

Mike Harmeier: That song was the first one that I wrote for that record. I think it is just me taking the temperature of where I currently am within the music industry and how I got there; mostly it is about me reevaluating my songwriting process and the evolution of my musical taste. I was kind of figuring out what the record was when I was writing that song. The “americana is a myth” thing can be taken however you want. It’s not really a negative thing. I am talking really about how I am writing songs, and that has frustrated me, and how I am trying to break out of my own boxes. That is what the record is about as a whole.

Omaha Buzz: Another song that stood out to me lyrically was “Eagle Rare."  Can you talk about that one? 

Mike: Yeah, that is the last song I wrote for the album. I wrote that one really quick, and I needed one more tune, and I really was chasing this Wilco thing production wise. They have this song called “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” off of Ghost Is Born, and I love musically how that song was arranged and how it exploded in the middle, and we wanted to do that, so I kept the song as straightforward as possible, and the demo is pretty much what became the song other than the jam; we just freewheeled that until I got something I liked, so that was a very collaborative song between the band. I just wrote that song about our fanbase and them sending me stuff and taking stock of where we are and how we got here. Kind of the theme of the record. 

Omaha Buzz: Is there a song on the record that stands out to you or has a special story that you would not want someone listening to the record to miss out on? 

Mike: I think that for longtime fans of the band, “Stubborn Son” is an important song for that. I have a song on every record that is kind of about my past and my relationship with my father and family, and that one continues to carry that tradition on, so that is a pretty important song on this record as they are on all of my records. It’s important to who I am and where I come from, so that is a major one for me. 

Omaha Buzz: You crowdfunded this album; how was that process? 

Mike: It’s great. I never really liked the idea of crowd-funding because we are out here working, then we realized there was a way to offer something. I don’t ever want to take something from someone without reciprocating that, and we offered some really cool things with this crowd funding thing and different versions of the record, and it helped us out. We got to make the record that we wanted to make, by having the support of the fan base. I think it helps the fans get involved in the record and feel a part of it. So, I think we all win. I wouldn't be surprised if we did something like that again next time. 

Omaha Buzz: I love listening to country and Americana shows in the UK, as they have this really unique fandom over there. I know you recorded at one point at Abbey Road Studios, so you must have some interaction with that fan base. 

Mike: We spent an entire month over there and had an incredible time. UK and London, we sold out our London show. We had quite a few sold-out shows. We have a deep connection over there, and I was surprised; it is just hard to do it all the time. Everyone over there loves the Americana and country thing, and they love the culture too. 

Omaha Buzz: What was it like recording at Abbey Road? (The band recorded at Abbey Road for the 2019 album Cheap Silver and Solid Country Gold)

Mike: It was exciting, there is a lot of weight in that room. It’s very palpable there, but for us we had to make that record in two days, so we were in and out. We were focused on the work. The great part about that is that you get to use all of the same instruments that all of those records have been made on. I got to use John Lennon’s microphone, and play on the Mrs Mills piano, and at every turn there is something cooler and cooler that you are doing while you are making a record. You have your nose to the grindstone, and then also you are like, ‘Wow, what is happening?’ 

Omaha Buzz: What is your process for writing a song? 

Mike: It evolves. Sometimes I just sit down and something falls right out. I did a lot of things on this record where I tried some new techniques and did a lot of free writing this time to get me started. It’s always a private thing for me; I am not a very good co-writer, so I kind of have to carve out some time, and I have this thing behind my house, a little studio, and usually I stay up all night. 

Omaha Buzz-Brent Cobb is on this record; was he a co-writer or did he just perform? 

Mike: He just performs on it. We are both fans of each others stuff, and he was in town. We recorded in Wimberley, Texas, and he was at Gruene Hall ten or fifteen minutes away. I hit him up; he had a sold out show at Gruene Hall, and he showed up with an entourage at 3 AM and laid down that vocal. He had never heard it before and just came in and killed it. I am just happy to have something together. 

Omaha Buzz: You see a lot of stories about it being harder on the road right now, do you feel that is the case for you? 

Mike: I feel like it is getting easier by the day; it is getting better by the day. There was a time getting started again that was tough. People are coming out, and we are back to full rooms. It feels good to us; it is our bread and butter and how we survive and what we are the best at, I think. We are just happy to be on the road no matter what; it could be going bad, and we would be happy. 

MarQ-: How difficult was it to change the name of the band. You have been sitting with it for about six months now.

Mike: It took us four of five months to get all of the pieces in order and organize everything and pull it off how we wanted to. We wanted to make a big splash. The difficult stuff was really the digital, analytics, Spotify's, Meta, and stuff like that. Really, it is just ripping off a band-aid. There is not really customer support for any of those things. It went how we expected it to. We haven’t seen any bad stuff, nothing negative from promoters; people are showing up at the shows, and there may be a keyboard warrior out there that may want to talk about it, but we are happy where we are and feel very confident in what the future holds for us. 

MarQ: What kind of music do you put on when you put on a record or a CD? 

Mike: I listen to a lot of different stuff. I am a Wilco fan, and like War on Drugs. I listen to traditional country every now and then, but I am expanding my horizons more than listening to traditional stuff. 

MarQ: What can people expect from a Silverada show in 2024? 

Mike: It’s our usual high energy show, but we are playing most of this record, and it feels a lot fresher to the band; we are having a really good time playing it. All of the songs on this record really translated to the live show; we are just happy we have a record that we can play every song off of. The crowd response has been incredible for the songs. It's a high-energy show; we never stop playing. We never have any dead air; we pride ourselves on transition in between songs and make sure that everyone is entertained.