November 24th, 2014 
Brian Leak 
“Somewhere along the line, it became uncool to like popular bands or artists. Fuck that. A good song is a good song. I like what I like.”
The impetus for the still-budding musical career of Arkansas’ Michael Leonard Witham is a unique one, but one that will undoubtedly make for an interesting opening in the book or film about his journey as a musician. Having just released his debut effort, A Scandal In The Violets, Witham already has plenty of material to keep his momentum strong.
We recently had the chance to speak with the singer-songwriter where he was gracious enough to take the time to discuss his new album and a bit of his history, both candidly and in depth. Read through the jump below to get acquainted with Michael Leonard Witham and learn about the events that led to his debut effort and future in music.
I’ve read that your music career really began with a fateful dumpster dive of sorts. Can you explain the story behind how that all began for you?
I get asked about it a lot, and it usually comes along with a skeptical, “Are you bullshitting me?” look on the face of the person asking about it. It’s absolutely true. I was in Shreveport, Louisiana. It’s a casino town in North Louisiana and it’s the closest place for people in my hometown of Little Rock to gamble on anything besides horse or dog races. At the time I was trying to quit drinking. I’d been hitting the bottle pretty hard every night for over a year and my body was starting to feel it. I had about three hundred dollars to my name and it was a terrible idea, but I guess I needed something to replace the booze so I decided it would be blackjack. I wasn’t thinking about the cocktail waitresses that would be walking by every ten seconds trying to shove a drink in my face. Of course I gave in to the drinks and got my ass handed to me at the blackjack table. It actually took me about five hours to lose everything. I was up and down the entire time but I tend to go for broke if you know what I mean. My risks aren’t usually very calculated.
I ended up trashed and broke and sleeping in my truck cab that night. I woke up the next morning and tried to find my way back to the interstate to make the depressing ride home. I have a pretty pitiful sense of direction. I blame it on one of the six hundred undiagnosed mental conditions I probably have. So I was kind of lost, and I pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall type of thing. The kind of place with a Domino’s next to a laundromat next to a Chinese take out place. Those are all over the South. At the time I was using a basic flip phone, so I was actually looking at a paper map. It seems funny now… Anyway, I spot a dumpster down on the end and there was a guitar neck poking out. I’m somewhat of a junk picker/flipper. I’ve always been sort of an opportunist when I see someone’s junk that might be worth something to someone else. I probably get it from my father. He made a living flipping shitty used cars; selling to poor folks. So I nabbed the guitar, thinking I could pawn it or something. I had just lost my ass at the casino so even if I could get forty bucks for it I could at least eat something besides noodles all week.
So I got the guitar home that night and checked in to it. It was an acoustic Yamaha. A beginner’s type of guitar. Not really worth much since it had pretty big ding in the body. The next day I got some strings from a friend. I got online and watched some videos. Figured out how to string it. Watched a few more videos on how to play chords. Fiddled with it and figured out a few simple chords. I couldn’t put it down. I was unemployed and had time to mess with it. It stayed in my hands for five or six hours a day. I eventually did end up pawning it after I’d saved up enough for a Martin.
It sounds like you picked it up pretty quickly. Did you have any musical background before that or any interest in becoming a musician at all?
I was always a fan of what I consider “good” music. I got in to John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, and classic country stuff like Willie and Waylon pretty early on as a kid. But I had never really considered picking up a guitar and trying my hand at it. It wasn’t anything I grew up around so I guess I just thought that it was something that other people do, you know? I’m most definitely a “late bloomer” type of person. Like a lot of folks, I think I was just living and trying to figure out my purpose. Some people don’t ever find it. Mine kind of walked up and slapped me in the face. So I feel very fortunate.
As far as picking it up quickly. I guess it just felt natural. Once I broke through the initial awkwardness of it, the writing and singing just felt like the next logical thing. I’m the type of person who dives in head first when something sparks my interest. I dove in, and started performing. I don’t pretend to be some sort of guitar ace. I’m certainly not, but it was never about playing an instrument to me. I like creating.
What would you say was the biggest challenge for you personally in learning to play guitar and getting a grasp on singing simultaneously and transitioning into writing and recording in such a short amount of time?
The biggest challenge has probably just been maintaining focus throughout the transition of becoming a professional. I’ve had to make a fair amount of sacrifices to take this chance. When you first start out, it’s typically not the greatest paying career choice in the world. People around you question your sanity. Friends come and go. People you thought would be behind you, aren’t. People you never thought would support you, come to the shows and become your biggest fans. It’s been a roller coaster ride of surprises in the transition from “Mike, the guy we get high and go to the bar with” and “Mike, the artist and performer.”
As much as I hate the cliche, I’ve had to “grow up” a little. Just a little though; make better decisions. Conduct myself professionally. I’m still myself, just maybe not so rough around the edges. I’m not out on the town until 4 a.m. as much. I’ve kicked some not so healthy habits. I’ve cleaned up my act a little. Sometimes I miss being a knucklehead and acting irresponsibly, but it doesn’t really help me on my journey.
Who would you say have been some of your most important influences that have inspired your sound and the way you write?
It’s hard to put my finger on any two or three influences. Like I mentioned earlier, I got in to John Prine, Townes Van Zandt, and what I consider good Country and Americana music early on. I love Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Johnny Cash, George Jones. The storytellers are my favorites. I like a lot of different styles and types of music but I love rootsy stuff the most I suppose. The steel guitar. The piano. The lyrics. Words to me are so important in a song. Townes Van Zandt’s album Flying Shoes is one of my favorite all time records. The simplicity and beautiful way he could phrase things is just unparalleled. Willie Nelson’s record Half Nelson is another favorite. It’s the one where it was all duets. It’s a killer record. You got Willie, Ray Charles, Neil Young, and of course Merle Haggard on Pancho & Lefty. Those are just some of the most fantastic country songs on that album. I’ve spun that one a lot. I have a lot of old country records. Hell, I could listen to Hank Williams Jr. all day long, because he truly believed in what he sang. Those old country guys with smoker’s voices. I could go on all day…
This is one of those questions that every time it’s asked, I end up just talking about the shit I like to listen to. I always leave people out because I listen to so much different stuff. And most of these artists I mention–I most certainly don’t sound like them, I just like them. It’s interesting to me that I’ve been compared to Bob Dylan a lot. If I had a hundred dollar bill for every time I’ve heard myself compared to him I’d be fairly wealthy. It’s funny to me, because truthfully, I’ve listened to very little Dylan. I’ve listened to him more since I’ve been hearing the comparisons over and over since I started performing. He’s obviously a really gifted songwriter, but his music never directly influenced what I do. Maybe every songwriter who plays an acoustic guitar hears that comparison at some point. It’s hard to say who my influences are, I just know what I like to listen to. It’s not all old school stuff. I listen to quite a bit of contemporary stuff as well. I really like what Justin Townes Earle and Sturgill Simpson are doing right now with Americana type music. Jonny Fritz, The Avett Brothers…and there are so many good songwriters out there that your everyday, ordinary folks haven’t even heard of. Hell there’s this guy from my home town, Adam Faucett. He’s a mega talent. Roots music is alive and well and I’m happy for that.
I actually listen to pop radio too sometimes just to check out what’s going on. I just like original sounding stuff, you know? With a good melody and good lyrics. It doesn’t matter to me if it sells 1,000 copies or 1 million. Hell, I can even get down with some Iggy Azalea or Lorde. Somewhere along the line, it became uncool to like popular bands or artists. Fuck that. A good song is a good song. I like what I like. My music collection is pretty much all over the place. When I find something new that I like, I tend to wear it out. Like play the hell out of it and not let anything else in. Lately I’ve been raping the repeat button on Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds In Country Music.
Let’s talk a bit about your new album, A Scandal in the Violets. First off, can you explain the meaning or story behind the title?
I don’t really know what “A Scandal In The Violets” means in detail. As a songwriter, things sometimes just kind of create themselves. I’ve heard numerous songwriters say that they’ve written songs in their sleep and I used to think it was bullshit. It’s totally not bullshit. I’ve done it. I’m not saying that I was sitting in a chair, unconscious, writing with a pen. I mean I woke up with a melody and words that I pretty much knew, that I didn’t know before I went to sleep. I guess I was dreaming or something. I don’t know. I carry thoughts and ideas around in my head non-stop. It’s almost like there’s a songwriting machine working in my head all the time. Sometimes stuff just comes out and you can’t pinpoint why or where it came from. Some of the best stuff I’ve written has come out in a 10-15 minute burst. I don’t ever really know when it’s going to come out of me but typically it comes in bursts. Like I’ll write three songs in four days and then nothing will happen for a month. It’s pretty weird. I think I just answered about six questions that you didn’t even ask…sorry. A Scandal In The Violets just kind of made sense to me for a title. Of course I sort of know by now where all the songs came from emotionally and mentally and why they made the album.
And lyrically, would you say there are any prominent themes throughout the record?
I think the theme that shows up the most throughout the record would be personal demons and dealing with them. We all have them. Some more than others I’m sure. I feel like I’ve exorcised quite a lot of bad shit out of my body and mind over the course of the last few years. I’ve got plenty more left to get out, too. When I listen to the record, I definitely hear the struggle. I don’t think it’s a gloomy record by any means though. I try to keep a lighthearted attitude. I don’t like super depressing music. I’m one of those people who kind of takes the energy of the person or people I’m interacting with. It can really suck at times, especially when I’m around a negative person or situation, but I think it helps me empathize to the point where I can turn it into a song from someone else’s perspective. I think I can see through other people’s eyes at times. I’m highly sensitive and I try to control it and turn it into something cool instead of letting it mess with my head. Some of the record is pure fiction, some of it came from things that I really experienced or witnessed. Track 8, “The Good Doctor’s Double Vodka Blues,” is a true life story about this guy I met at a bar and got to know well. I was working part time as a bartender and he came in every day. He was a 60-something-year-old dentist and serious alcoholic. He drank himself to death in about 3 weeks after one of the (much younger) waitresses at the bar moved into his house and then screwed him over and took off to another state to be with an ex-boyfriend. He was a good guy, he was a hardcore drunk and kinda weird but a nice dude. The waitress was a total fucking headcase bitch and I saw it coming from a mile away but he was so happy during that time. I didn’t want to piss on his parade and tell him that it wasn’t going to end well. So yeah, she took him for whatever she could and bounced to be with some piece of shit meth-head in Wisconsin. That was some sad shit to watch. It messed with my head and I had to write about it. His 80-something-year-old parents found him dead in his bathtub. Brutal.
When did you know that you were ready to jump into creating this album and getting it recorded? Was there a specific moment when you just knew that it was time to move forward with that?
I was playing in this dive in North Little Rock one night. There were probably ten people in the room. One of those gigs where I was trying to just get finished and get the fuck out of there. I don’t do well with empty rooms. I finished my set and this guy walked up to the stage and told me he loved my stuff. We talked for a second and he mentioned that he was from Little Rock and had played with the band Green Day. People in bars are almost always fucked up and are prone to saying crazy shit, especially the ones who walk up to the stage and shake your hand. I was pretty skeptical, but after talking to the dude for a minute I realized he was one of the two guys from Little Rock who had toured with Green Day. I’d heard of him, but it took a second to put two and two together. His name is Jeff Matika. Super funny and cool guy. He set up a meeting with myself and a guy named Jason Weinheimer. Weinheimer is one of these guys who has like every good album ever made on vinyl. A walking music encyclopedia. He’s got a studio in an old church in Little Rock. He’s produced and recorded most of the best shit to come out of Arkansas and has worked with a lot of professionals from all over the place. He’s got a ton of bad-ass gear and is well connected with good musicians. We went in the studio and he called up a few of his pals and we started working. It was a bit challenging at first because I knew what I wanted the record to sound like, but I didn’t have the music vocabulary or knowledge to verbalize it. He caught on quickly though. He was easy to work with in the studio and he just kind of knew what to do and where. He brought in this guy named Jesse Aycock from Tulsa for the third or fourth session. He’s a multi-instrumentalist who’s toured with The Secret Sisters and Todd Snider’s band, Hard Working Americans. He was ridiculously bad-ass on like pretty much anything and everything.
It worked out nicely. I recorded the record in about five or six sessions over about a year and a half. I would save a little money and then schedule studio time when I had enough. I also had to work around Jesse’s touring schedule so it took a little longer than I wanted it to. Once I had Jesse in the studio playing steel and whatever else, I was hooked. So basically if he wasn’t available, I didn’t go in the studio. I waited until he could come in.
So these were all guys you hadn’t previously known.
They were mostly friends of the producer, Jason Weinheimer. I did find this one guy on my own. Keith Destry. I met him at a restaurant bar one night. He was bat-shit. He was probably 60 or so. Jet black hair. Kinda reminded me of Keith Richards or something. He was like one of those “mad genius” types. Really kinda nutso. He used to tour with Tanya Tucker back in the ’70s and actually released a couple of albums on ABC Records back then as well under the name Doug Owen. He had written a couple of country tunes that Moe Bandy recorded back then. He came in for one session and played some killer bass stuff and some amazing country piano. He played on my favorite track on the record, “Defective Heart.” We didn’t have the luxury of having him for long. It was getting kinda late and I was getting ready to do some vocal stuff so I pulled out a bottle of whiskey to make myself a little braver. Keith asked for a shot of my whiskey. Within about twenty minutes, the whiskey bottle was close to empty and he was shit-faced and acting way off balance. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone react to alcohol the way he did. He stumbled out of the studio saying he had some “pussy to tend to.” [Laughs] I’m not bullshitting you. He was a character. I talked to him recently and he had changed his name again. I can’t remember exactly what it was but it was some sort of play on words. Similar to like Red Foxx or something. I’d like to have him in the studio again at some point. I’ll make sure I leave the whiskey at home.
Do you remember your first time playing in front of a crowd? How was that experience and how does it compare to playing live now?
I’ve always felt comfortable performing from the jump. It just felt natural. I mean I’ve had times where I’ve been nervous on stage, mostly when I wasn’t well rehearsed. But for the most part it’s a totally normal thing. It’s me. I was a class clown in school and always kind of a show-off as a kid. Probably one of those kids you wanted to slap the shit out of. I just feel comfortable on stage. It’s just one of those things that I was probably always supposed to be doing, I just didn’t know it.
The album’s been out for nearly a month now. Have you already got thoughts of your next release in your head or any material already worked on for that?
I’ve got probably three or four albums worth of material ready to go. I’ll be going back in to start work on the next one as soon as I possibly can. I like the studio. It’s fun watching the songs become something new. I’ve got a ton of material and I can’t get it recorded quickly enough. There’s really no telling what will end up on the next record. I tend to fall in and out of love with my songs, so I guess whatever I’m loving at the time will be what gets recorded. I mean I’ll obviously have to find a cohesive group of songs but, I’m pretty spontaneous about what I perform at shows and what I record. One of the studio sessions for A Scandal In The Violets was a complete waste because I was sick of the songs that I had previously planned to record. I went in and tried to record some stuff that I had written just days before and it turned out bad. Of course in the next session I was already back in love the old songs and ended up recording them anyway.
Overall, where would you like to see this project go in terms of success and longevity? Any specific goals you hope to obtain?
Well, I’d obviously like to sell some records. I’ve been really pleased with the positive critical response, and it’s starting to get some radio airplay on college radio across the country and in Europe. The word “timeless” seems to be a constant in the reviews the record has received and I’m thankful for that. It’s what I set out to do. I wanted to make a unique and fresh Americana type record without all the cliche shit. I think- I hope I’ve done that.
I’m going to tour after the first of 2015 and get the record out there as much as possible. That’s a goal for sure. I just actually went on my first little tour. It’s certainly rewarding. People will get on board if you believe in what you’re doing and lay it all out there every time you perform. It’s still the best way to get yourself heard. I’m recording a music video soon as well and I’m really excited about that. As proud as I am of the record, I think the next one will be even better. I’ve learned a lot more about how the game works throughout the whole experience and next time I’ll be even more prepared. I’m proud of this record though. I put a lot in to it. I just want to keep moving forward as an artist and carve out my spot. I have no doubt that this is the road I’m supposed to be on. I just want to keep driving on and growing as an artist.
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