We’re looking forward to introducing you to Michael Bolger. Check out our conversation below.
Michael, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: Would YOU hire you? Why or why not?
There couldn’t be a better question for self-promotion: Would YOU hire you? Why or why not?.
I’m passionate about jazz and strive to connect with the audience. I want to further the music by bringing joy through musical adventures. I prepare for shows by rehearsing, compiling charts, and putting together set-lists. I hate “dead-air” on stage and consider that a symptom of lack of preparation. I bring this work ethic to all my gigs- regardless of their budget.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Mike Bolger and I’m a musician. My website and social media are www.mikebolgermusic.com and @mikebolgermusic. I’m a composer, performer, and teacher of music. I’m a multi-instrumentalist and have spent my career in Los Angeles. I play trumpet, accordion, trombone, and keyboards. You can hear me on many recordings, albums, soundtracks, video games, and scores.
I released an album in 2025 called Bolger’s Crystals with my jazz band- Mike Bolger Ensemble. I’ve also released 2 previous albums with the original organ trio The Electones- AHA (2003) and Take Two (2007). I’m pursuing bookings for my various projects and continuing to record my originals and arrangements.
I’m also involved in first amendment activism as a busker (street performer). I’m working on a short documentary about those issuesl. I have an instagram account dedicated to busking: @buskingwithbolger
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
In November 2003 a band I played in- Brazzaville, had been invited to Russia. We had become popular thanks to CD piracy. Moscow DJ Artemi Troytsky bought our used CDs in a London music store and started playing them on Russian radio. Before too long, a million pirated CDs had been sold. He contacted us and said we had a lot of Russian fans. We arranged a trip to Russia to play Moscow and St Petersburg.
Upon arrival in Moscow I was immediately greeted with the nostalgic smell of unregulated smog- like LA in the 80s. It almost seemed they took the platinum out of the catalytic converters of the imported big vehicles. Either way, smog and pollution was not being regulated. There was trash and stray dogs everywhere… it was a bleak and grey place.
We stayed at the Hotel Ukraina- one of the “7 sisters” buildings built by Stalin. My room had a view of the Kremlin. Our handlers took us out and interpreted for us. We went to a Bath house, the kremlin, I visited the zoo, and we had fun nights on the town. We got to go to the first ever exhibit of Andy Warhol and Basquiat in Russia. One of the things that struck me was the complete lack of regulation regarding businesses- Need a taxi? You stand on the corner and anyone with a car could pick you up, arrange a price, and take you where you want to go. Stuck in traffic?, If you’re a mobster with a black mercedes- just put a fake siren on the roof! The subways were amazingly opulent, but don’t take any pictures in the marble and brass palatial stations hundreds of feet underground.
Our show in Moscow was a success, and we were shuttled off to St Petersburg on the night train. In St Petersburg- I saw a bear on a leash and a Russian girl on horseback who charged at us yelling “F…ing Americans”. We also had time to visit the Hermitage museum- a monument to tzarist greed. We returned to Moscow for our flights home. The day after our return trip, the night train was bombed by Chechnyan seperatists. A similar terrorist attack occurred the day after we visited red square.
During my last night at the Hotel Ukraina, weary from travels, work, and too much vodka, I decided to take a bath. Soon the bath water became cold and the phone rang. I picked it up…. “Would you like a massage?”
I’m still rattled by the experience of being spied on in a soviet-era hotel. To think every room had hidden cameras and the ability to turn off the hot water as well! This event made me appreciate the freedoms we Americans take for granted like free speech and privacy.
I have no doubt that Donald Trump is a Russian asset. There must be hours of footage of him in compromising positions from his various trips to Russia. As I like to say: MAGA= Moscow-American Governance Alliance. GOP= Giving Orders: PUTIN! TRUMP- Trump- Russia’s Ultimate Male Prostitute.
I used the Russia trip to kick off a 3 month long “Eurorailing” trip around Europe. I had a relatively simple life at the time: 28 years old, low expenses, cheap rent, no kids, and no real job(s) besides music. I found a subleaser for my apartment, signed over my old car, paid a positive balance onto my credit card, and had an extended ticket with a flight home in February out of Amsterdam. I busked all over Europe, stayed in hostels and with friends in Barcelona and Berlin. I actually kind of broke even- able to support myself with busking and cheap living… thankfully Europe is way cheaper in the “off season.”
This trip became a catalyst for my busking and first amendment activism. The first amendment guarantees the freedoms that makes us Americans, and I’m striving to make sure we still enjoy it the small way I can- through busking.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering channeled into music is the blues. I’m able to connect musically with my audiences because I can convey that emotion. The blues- when played with intent and meaning, can be a powerful source of emotionality in music. When played “mechanically,” it can sound like smooth jazz… which I consider to be a disingenuous form of musical phrasing.
Blues phrasing can be applied to more advanced musical song forms. It’s what separates soulful players from intellectual ones.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I graduated with a BFA in jazz trumpet in 1997 from Calarts. Around that time I thought of writing a book for would be prospective music majors called, “So, You Want to be a Professional Jazz Hobbyist?!” This book would have been about the many pitfalls of a music career. I was already jaded, and my musical journey was just beginning.
“So, You Want to be a Professional Jazz Hobbyist” could be a youtube page, vlog, or podcast these days since no one reads books anymore. In the years since I graduated I’ve seen the death of:
1. Record Stores
2. Pay Phones
3. Major Record Labels
4. Union protections for new media
5. Sheet Music Retailers
6. Instrument Retailers
7. Print Media
8. Arts and Music Reviews
Computers have only helped to further de-value music by inviting:
1. AI
2. Streaming
3. Home-studios
4. Better and better (or at least more ubiquitous) sample libraries
Composers have been replaced by music supervisors. Composers now have to compete with each other by sending in sample scores to said supervisors. It’s literally a race to the bottom.
Music contractors/events companies have stepped up their hold on the live music scene and keep a hefty cut of wages from private events, hotel, country clubs, restaurants, and club work.
Colleges are lying to current students about their prospects in this decaying industry. College costs more than ever, the work is drying up, and students are literally competing with faculty after they graduate for the same work.
I could go on and on…. perhaps it’s time for that youtube channel!
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I would stop being an employee and start being an employer. In jazz slang those terms are bandleader and sideman.
Bandleaders are calling the shots, producing the albums, selling the merch…. leaving a legacy. They pave a way forward and have agency over the direction they’re going as well as the legacy they leave.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mikebolgermusic.com
- Instagram: @mikebolgermusic
- Facebook: mikebolgermusic
- Youtube: mikebolgermusic
