The Irish musician Mike Stevens has been a noteworthy figure in the domestic music scene for decades now. When we asked him how he began, he responded, “When I was a kid, I got into music. I’m from the West of Ireland. So, I’m from a place called Cong in County Mayo. I just started playing in bands around the area, when I was a kid. There wasn’t really much going on in Mayo, and then I went to Galway and I was playing in bands in Galway. That would have been…gosh…that would have been in the ‘90s.”

“Galway, at the time, was pretty good,” Mike remembers of the scene, after the move. “I would have been in Galway throughout the ‘90s, really. At the time, there were bands playing. I think Róisín Dubh was just starting up at that time. So, Róisín Dubh had become kind of a go-to venue at the time.

“And Monroe’s Tavern, at the time, was a good place to play, a good place to see bands. There were bands like…I remember, at the time, the Saw Doctors were around; they were the big band. The Stunning were around. Toasted Heretic were heroes of mine [Laughs], you know? Toasted Heretic were a great band!

“And, because Galway is so small, you kind of get to know everybody very, very fast, so you get to know all these guys. But if you wanted to see anything bigger or anything further afield, there wasn’t much coming through Galway. People would just go to the really big gigs, like Radiohead or R.E.M., at the time, who’d be coming through to the big venues or maybe, occasionally, coming to Galway. But there wasn’t much.

“I remember Tindersticks played in Galway at one point and that was a big deal. […] If you wanted to check out live music – bearing in mind that this was before the boom in Ireland, so nobody had any money. I didn’t have any money! – so, if you wanted to hear any music…I went to a lot of trad sessions in Galway and I went to a load of local bands.”

Not long after getting his footing in the Galway music scene, Mike would move once more. “So, then I moved to Dublin in the late ‘90s/early 2000s, and then I started playing in bands in Dublin,” he recalls. “So, I played in a band called Settler, for a while. Then I was playing in a band called Groom, and that went on for about two years. Then I started getting involved with a collective called Popical Island, and that was a music collective that we formed between our band, Tieranniesaur, Squarehead, and bands like that.

“Popical Island is still going. It was a collective, but it kind of became an indie label, as well. It’s still going in a less-busy capacity. Then, after that, I was [Laughs] in more bands! I was in a band called Lie Ins, I was in a band called Skelocrats, and now I’m doing M Stevens & The Ghasts. I’m 51, now. I’ve been playing since I was 17. So, I’ve pretty much not stopped! I’ve been going for a while!”

When we asked him how M Stevens & The Ghasts differs from his other projects, Mike responded, “You start a new project for different reasons. Sometimes a band breaks up because people go away, or sometimes the band breaks up because you just get bored doing it. But, when I do start a new project, I do try to just start with completely a blank slate and rethink my way of songwriting.

“So, I tend to be the songwriter in many bands I’m in. So, that’s what I do. So, for example, Lie Ins was one band we were in – myself and the drummer – and that was acoustic-y punk, if you like. So, you can set rules for yourself as you form each band.

“So, for this band, there were certain kind of rules set down at the start. And, of course, you end up breaking all those rules, eventually! So, that’s kind of been a new thing with each band. But, for example, the first band that I was in in Dublin that was somewhat significant, was Settler.

“That was kind of an alt-country band, so you’re very much inspired by Will Oldham, and Lambchop, and Bill Callahan, and that American singer-songwriter thing and arty country, influenced by rock.

“Then, when we moved onto Groom, we were influenced by bands like The Flaming Lips; more proggy stuff. So, as you go along, you’re a listener and that influences your style of music. I actually think that 90% of making music is actually listening to music. The 10% is just the little bit you create when you’ve listened to loads and loads and music.

“And what I’ve done in the few years, with M Stevens & The Ghasts, I just got really back into listening to singer-songwriters, and that’s kind of what’s guided me for this project. I suppose because I’m getting a bit older, as well [Laughs], I got into more quieter music. got more into singer-songwriters, like Will Oldham, again. Bill Callahan, back into him, again. I’m really, really into Nick Drake. Townes Van Zandt. I got really back into those singer-songwriters, kind of contemplative singer-songwriting. And that’s really informed my songwriting for this project, so it’s been really fun.”

Another important element of The Ghasts’ music is its storytelling. When asked about his influences in such regards, Mike says,  “I don’t just listen to singer-songwriters, first of all. I do listen to a good chunk of singer-songwriters. I mentioned Townes Van Zandt there, earlier on. He’s a big deal for me. And Silver Jews. David Berman was a big deal for me. These guys are definitely inspirations for me.

“A band called Wave Pictures were a real inspiration for me; an English band with brilliant lyrics, and just a great band. A really great indie band. But, outside of music, I read an awful lot. I’m actually interested in writing fiction, as well, and I’ve written a decent amount of fiction.

“I really like a lot of literary writers. Richard Ford is a really brilliant writer and a favourite of mine. I love his writing. Cormac McCarthy, I’m a big fan of him. Also, there’s a lot of really good Irish writers. There’s a guy called Colin Barrett from Mayo. He’s a really good new Irish writer. I really like him. I really like Wendy Erskine from Belfast. There’s a lot of really, really good Irish writers around at the moment. Mike McCormack, as well, from Mayo.

“It’s really weird, actually. There’s a decent smattering of writers from Mayo and from the West. Kevin Barry, as well. I think he’s from Sligo, actually. [Editor’s Note: Apparently he’s from Limerick]. I’m a big fan of the Irish writing scene, if you like, at the moment. I’m actually reading a book by a guy called Mark O’Connell, called A Thread of Violence, and that’s non-fiction. So, that’s the first bit of non-fiction I’ve read in a while. [Laughs] I tend to gravitate towards a lot of Irish literary fiction or American literary fiction. They’re my two things, because I’m actually half-American. My father is American and he was into writing, himself.”

Mike notices how his fiction writing has influenced the lyrics of The Ghasts. “Since I started getting deeper into trying to write fiction, myself, that’s really influenced my songwriting,” he says. “Actually, that’s been the main influence of my songwriting for this project: Literature.”

When writing lyrics for The Ghasts, Mike starts with the instrumentation and then writes lyrics around them. This imposes a unique challenge to his storytelling chops. “One thing I like about the limitations that music imposes on words is that there is a limitation,” he explains. “You do have to limit yourself to the metre of the song, and that means you’ve got to find meaning within those boundaries, and, for me, that’s a challenge that never stops being interesting. I love it.”

In November 2022, M Stevens & The Ghasts released their debut album, Birds, to much critical acclaim. We asked Mike what he thinks of reviews of his work. “I love it,” he responds. “I know guys who read a review of something they’ve put out, and they kind of get annoyed by it. ‘Oh, they missed the point of that completely,’ or whatever. Even if it’s a positive review.

“My view is, any review is better than no review. And I don’t mean that in the sense of promoting your stuff; I mean that in the sense of, ‘Somebody actually listened to this, and they’ve put the effort in,’ and, if they’ve got a bad take, I don’t really mind. I just like that they’ve listened to it and they’ve made an effort.

“Because, when you’re writing music and you’re recording it, you’re putting in a lot of effort and you want somebody to listen to it. So, if somebody reviews it, I’m always just really thrilled by it. It’s a red-letter day for me when a review comes in. [Laughs] So, I’m hoping for some good reviews of this album, but even if I get some bad reviews, that’s good, too!”

The album Mike is referring to is The Ghasts’ latest, Sycamore Helicopters, which was released in October (and ultimately did end up getting positive reviews!). Unlike Birds, which was made during the lockdown, Sycamore Helicopters benefitted from the band being in one place, making the album together.

On the record, Mike says, “Birds just emerged organically. It emerged from the COVID times. We were stalled with COVID. So, we started the band just before COVID hit, so we were stalled for all that time. So, I just wrote songs.

“So, Birds is quite dense, song-wise. Whereas, for this one, it’s just a little bit more melodic than Birds. Birds is quite heavy-going. This one is a lot more light-hearted, more melodic, and there’s more stories in this one.

“For some reason – maybe it’s because of my writing – but, for some reason, I just got more into a narrative thing. The thing about narrative songwriting – and by that I mean, creating a little short story in a song – is it can go well or it can become really cheesy, as well. So, it’s a risk.

“But, for some reason, three or four songs on this album just ended up being that, so I said, ‘To hell with that; I’m just going to write a story song.’ And I just did that two or three, four times, you know? As opposed to songs that are inspiration songs or instructive songs, you know? Tell a story and let the story sit with the listener and they can make their own opinion on that.

“So, that was a big change for this album, and it was enjoyable for that reason. Another thing was, because we applied for an Agility Award with The Arts Council, we had to spend that within a certain timeframe. So, we were kind of under pressure to get this recorded.

“So, it meant that we had to book a studio, we had to get it in, and we had to record by a certain date, and that put a bit of pressure in getting the songwriting finished and getting the band to learn the stuff. So, it was a little bit more rushed than the previous album, where we had more time to cogitate, but that was really good because I was writing songs right up to the wire.

“Our last rehearsal, we were rehearsing a new song! [Laughs] So, the guys were like, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea, Mike!’ but we did it and, actually, it’s one of the best songs on the album!”

M Stevens and The Ghasts’ new record, Sycamore Helicopters, is on all streaming platforms now. You can find the band’s music, live dates, and social media accounts through their website.

Tune into POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews… tonight at 22:00 (IST) to hear this interview in full, where we expand on everything discussed, as well as working as a musician in the current economy, the Irish music scene and how it’s evolved in Mike’s lifetime, the difference between corporate and grassroots music in Ireland, working with the band, and much more. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music Podcasts.

Aaron Kavanagh

Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.