Rising Stars: Meet Mike Bauer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Bauer.

Hi Mike, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
In terms of music/songwriting, I grew up in a family of musicians. My father was a big band singer, my grandfather tap danced and sang on The Lawrence Welk Show and had a hit song in the 1950s called “Pony Tail,” and my sister is a professional Cellist here in Los Angeles (Alisha Bauer). She’s played with Adele, Sting, Kayne, Miguel, and Keith Urban, was in the movie “The Soloist” in the Julliard Scenes (just to name a few of her accomplishments). She basically got all the talent, brains, and good looks in the family! As for me, I started out on trumpet, eventually picked up some basic keys and guitar, sang all my life in choirs, played in jazz bands, musicals, A cappella groups, and have been writing songs since a very early age.

When I am not dabbling in music, I serve as a Los Angeles County as a Deputy District Attorney, prosecuting mainly homicides and complex serious and violent crimes.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Most of my formative years, I grew up with a single mom raising two kids on only a high school education. She was the best and greatest mom anyone could ever ask for but when I was 13 years old, she was shot in the back by an ex-boyfriend who tried to kill her after she broke up with him. This eventually led to her passing 17 years later from the pain and shrapnel still in her spinal cord from the shooting. This was probably my greatest struggle I encountered along the way but also was a huge guiding post in both artistic expression and why I pursued the career path outside of music I have.

I don’t believe any of us truly have a smooth road. The more you love, live, grow, learn, the more you encounter loss and hardships. That’s just a basic law of probability. We all go through loss and hit our share of potholes throughout our lives. The question is, how do we respond? Do we become cynics or more empathetic in the process? Do we do the work to deal with our traumas, or engage in unhealthy coping mechanisms to cover our pain? I have certainly had my moments of grace under pressure and loss, but I have also caused my share of hurt when trying to cope with my own issues. I think that’s probably true of all of us to some degree. We are all just doing our best with the circumstances life throws at us.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I write songs! That’s my jam. I love the creative exercise of writing with others more than anything else. Sometimes I perform when my trial schedule allows. The music I write is very genre-bending. I grew up in a very colorful community and was often the sole “white boy” in my peer groups in my younger years. As a result, I have a SERIOUS love for neo-soul, R&B, old-school South Chicago sounds, jazz, but still have that big band crooner background in my family. This often results in very eclectic sounds that borrow from all those genres as well as pop.

In terms of what I am most proud of, it’s probably having had the opportunity to meet, play, and create with all the incredible musicians, producers, engineers, and creatives I’ve met along the way. People like Adam Berg, Juno Rada, Joel Van Dijk, Tristan Hurd, Cody Dear, Donnie Laudicina, Ichi Tanabe, Hugo Vera Solari, Daniel Kreiger, Deon Hairston, Don Houston, Melissa Polinar, Jeremey Passion, Gabe Bondoc, Nanea Miyata… I mean… I got to go to Prince’s house once when I first moved here and see him jam out to a small room of other incredible humans. Coming to Los Angeles from Colorado has given me so many experiences I could never even FATHOM having elsewhere. The relationships, friendships, and community I had the opportunity to be part of in the process is probably what I am most proud of. That, and playing the Troubadour a few times.

What sets me apart from others is really just the quirky combination of my other career as a prosecutor. I don’t know many musicians that can say they had a closing argument in a murder trial in the morning of the day they were headlining the Troubadour. It’s both weird and exhausting and probably can only happen in a place like Los Angeles.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Be fair. Be kind. Equitability is really important to me. Giving those you are creating with a stake in the project is important to me. No one cares how good you are at what you do if you’re an asshole in the process. Take pride in your work as well, put the practice time in (something I could be better at myself). Don’t be afraid to be the least talented person in the room and don’t shy away from your weaknesses. By being vocal about what you aren’t good at either the people you play with can cover those areas or help you along in your own development. Everyone truly can bring something to the table if they can get out of the way of their own ego. No one can accomplish anything alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6WVlhAlmeMEF5ItQOBijRC
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbauer27/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mbauermusic/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikebauermusic?lang=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MBauer/featured

Image Credits
Ken Kuwabara (Troubadour Photos) Nanea Miyata (Sugar/Is It Too Late Photos) Liz Reinhardt (Trial Photo)