Indie Mixtape 20: Mike Huguenor Once Slept Underneath A Hammock On Tour

Mike Huguenor has been a constant presence in the DIY punk scene for the last several years, playing in Jeff Rosenstock’s band, Shinobu, Hard Girls, and more. Although he has released a string of solo music over the last few years, X’ed is his first proper release under his own name, and it was composed using nothing but guitars. You read that right: all of the instrumentals on X’ed were created using nothing more than two acoustic guitars and one electric guitar. Despite the limitations of its production, X’ed still manages to deliver a collection of impressive pop-rock tracks, making it one of the coolest and most unconventional albums of the year.

To celebrate the new album, Huguenor sat down to talk Chadwick Boseman, sleeping under a hammock, and the movie Zodiac in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Improvisatory all guitar pop.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

As the sound of the early days of revolution.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

Chicago.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

There are so many! But I will say PHAROAH Sanders, because once I started to really listen to him, the kind of music I wanted to make changed forever.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

If we’re being real, probably New Orleans.

What album do you know every word to?

Left And Leaving by The Weakerthans.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

The Ging Nang Boyz playing in Shinobu’s practice space

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

Full Goku outfit, so that everyone knows your power level is off the charts.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

Bree Newsome. If anyone is an American hero, it’s her.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

Probably “Castro Halloween” by Chuck Prophet. One of the great San Francisco melodies.

What’s the last thing you Googled?

Chadwick Boseman’s age :(

What album makes for the perfect gift?

Tacky Souvenirs of Pre-Revolutionary America by Culturcide.

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

UNDER a hammock.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

I had just read Alain Badiou’s Being & Event and thought, you know what? I’m gonna get the Void Set tattooed on me as a reminder of the ever-present “not-yet-arrived-possibility.” Typical American.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

These days? E-40, and that’s about it.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Once, a kid literally gave me the shirt off his back. I told him not to, but there was no stopping it. If it wasn’t the nicest, it was definitely the most ludicrously nice thing someone has done for me.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

Accept yourself!

What’s the last show you went to?

I think Flipper with David Yow??

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

Zodiac. If I catch Zodiac on TV, I’m like, “there goes the next four hours.”

What would you cook if Obama were coming to your house for dinner?

I can make a pretty nice lemon butter swai filet…

X’ed is out now on Lauren Records. Listen here.

×