Mike Farris has walked a long and winding road that, on September 22, will bring the Nashville-based musician to the University of Victoria’s Farquhar Auditorium in support of his latest solo effort, Silver & Stone.
“This is our first trip to Victoria,” says Farris. “There has been great support for us all over Canada. To kind of watch it grow and take off up there has been great.”
The former Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies and Double Trouble frontman is entering uncharted territory as a solo artist. His time with the Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies was a success, but it led to a stay in rehab. Farris says that after the band broke up, he had to figure out how to live clean and sober for the first time since he was a teenager.
“It can be a grind,” says Farris. “It’s funny, because people see me on stage, and they’re thinking that everything is rosy, and that’s because that’s really my refuge. That’s the one place where everything is pure bliss. Performing, recording, and writing… Music is my refuge.”
Farris says that he found God, and he found a new home as a gospel singer, which brought success and accolades (he took home the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album for Shine for the People).
“Now we’re moving away from where we’ve been,” says Farris, “which has been the gospel world for the past ten years—kind of living in that old black spiritual well for the last decade. After we won the Grammy, I felt like it was a good point to pivot. It’s kind of what I’ve done for my whole career. I delved into a certain style of music, and now it’s time to start on a new adventure. The new record, Silver & Stone, is really the first installment of this new world I’m entering into.”
Now that the storm has calmed, Farris says that life has stabilized, but he admits that it can be tough to find enthusiasm on a day-to-day basis.
“You know, as far as enthusiasm for life in general, for me it’s a daily grind sometimes,” says Farris. “I’m a recovering drug addict, an alcoholic, I suffer from depression… I was actually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Finding enthusiasm in life, especially in sobriety, can be a challenge, because I spent all of those years medicating when I lacked enthusiasm. There is no self-medicating now, so I have to face it, and I find that this journey is way more rewarding. There has been so much positive stuff come into my life because of my sobriety. It is a difficult challenge, but life is difficult. I’m making the best music that I’ve ever made in my career. You know, when things like that continue to happen in sobriety, I tend to get pretty enthusiastic about it. I can’t help but be happy about my direction. It’s vindication. It just lets me know that this is the right path.”
Farris says some things have changed, and as a musician he has had to evolve in order to maintain his health and sobriety. For example, he doesn’t live on the road anymore.
“We don’t go out for months at a time,” he says. “That’s not quality life. I’ve done that years ago. The way we tour now is to go out and play maybe 10 shows at a time. We don’t take breaks. If we have 10 shows on the books, we play 10 shows in a row, and then we come home. Luckily, my voice holds out. I sing hard, but it holds out. I couldn’t do that when I was using. It’s kind of like a weekend thing. A lot of musicians are doing that these days. It’s more oriented to quality of life.”
The relaxed pace allows Farris to bring an incredible amount of energy to the stage, and he says locals should expect a great show when the band rolls into Victoria.
“When we take a break and we come back, we are fresher,” he says. “We don’t get worn out. We get to come home and charge the batteries. We are always ready when we hit the stage. The band is sounding incredible right now. There’s a lot of good stuff going on.”
Mike Farris
8 pm Saturday, September 22
$38-$53, UVic Farquhar Auditorium
uvic.ca/farquhar