A Chat with Mike Shouse (11.10.25)
Interview with Karen Beishuizen (Guest contributor)
Mike Shouse is an American guitarist who has released three albums so far, with his latest in 2025. We talk about his career in teaching art, writing articles, his new album Jaded, and what’s next.
Did you always want to go into music growing up?
Shouse: I was in a band in grade school. Tried different instruments and settled on the saxophone. Played it through high school until I found the guitar in my senior year. My dad was an art teacher, and we had art and music around growing up, so it was always going to be one of the other. I almost majored in music in college, but decided on art because music was two more years of college, and I was itching to get to Hollywood and G.I.T.
You have a twin brother. Is he in music too?
Shouse: Yes, he was also in a band. Played the trumpet. In college, we tried to have a band. He sang, and I taught him how to play bass. He went into the direction of video production.
You taught art for a long time in Kentucky. What made you go back into music?
Shouse: I taught art for 28 years until I retired almost 4 years ago. Music was always there, on the weekends, evenings. It was my passion. I taught lessons, wrote and recorded on my off time. Later, I got into doing sound and music for my brother’s video productions.
Writing music articles or writing songs: what is easier? You did both.
Shouse: Articles are just teaching. Writing music is the hardest. Especially when the goal is to come up with totally original music. Trying to make instrumental music with many key changes sound pleasant to the ear and to not sound like anything else I’ve done before.
Are there any artists you would love to collaborate with and why?
Shouse: I’ve got Michael Angelo Batio, Ron Bumblefoot Thal and Tony MacAlpine on this album. On bass is James Pulli. I have Greg Howe in line to do a song on my next project, and hoping to get Stu Hamm on bass for a track. I’d love to get Paul Gilbert and Russ Parish(Satchel) on a song. I’d asked Paul for this album, but he was busy with Mr Big, so I’m hoping he’s got some time coming up. Of course, all the guys I listened to and followed in the magazines, and that inspired me. Satriani would be the top, as he was the one who made me want to make instrumental albums, but he’s on another level.
Your new album, Jaded, is your first release after 15 years: Why did it take this long?
Shouse: After my last release, Alone on the Sun, I was still teaching, and it was a passion project. I was working on learning the songs to play out, and I burned down my apartment with all my stuff, losing a lot of equipment. So, that was the end of that. I had to finish my Masters degree and night classes, and teaching full-time and guitar lessons took most of my time and paid the bills. Then I had a breakup that really messed me up. So I bought a lake house and poured all my free time into fixing it up. Then Covid hit, and that wasn’t easy teaching art from home. Had elderly parents who were starting to have issues with their health. So, I didn’t play much at all or give lessons. But, I would pick up the guitar and come up with a lick, melody, rhythm or theory idea. I’d record on my phone and forget about it, with no intention of doing anything with it.
What’s the album about?
Shouse: So, after retiring, I sold my lake house and moved home to help my brother take care of my parents. I had to do something. So I got out those recorded ideas and started recording to a click track. Then I got Charlie Zeleny, who played some songs on my last album, to play drums. I found Pulli was doing session work and got him involved. I’d been communicating with MAB and Bumblefoot for years on Messenger. They both heard my last album and liked it. So I got drunk and got the courage to ask them to play on it, and surprisingly, they said yes. Then I asked a couple of other artists, and Tony MacAlpine also agreed to play on a track. The music all came from those years of melancholy and depression. From sadness of losing love and loved ones. Seems like at this age, loss is a big part of life.
Do you have a favorite song on the album?
Shouse: Picking a favorite song is like asking who’s your favorite son or daughter. But I’m proudest of ‘Jaded’ because it has 70 key changes, and that was a challenge. How to change keys so often but not sound like it. Try to sound like a piece of music that holds together and has its own identity, while the theory is all over the place.
New album means touring? What’s next?
Shouse: Well, I’d like to play out to support the release, but I’m still a daily caretaker for my parents. So, I was lucky just to get support from my brother to give me the time I needed to create and record. It’d be a dream to get to open for another guitarist sometime. But, until the unfortunate inevitability happens, I’m here for them. I do have 5 tracks done toward a new release next year. So, I’m hoping to have a catalog of songs so when I do have time to perform, I’ll have a lot to choose from. So, right now, music is a needed and welcome distraction.
Thanks to Mike Shouse for speaking with us. Find out more about Mike Shouse on his official website, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, X, YouTube, and Spotify.
