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| Image Source: Warrington Pyramid & Parr Hall |
Provided By: Warrington Pyramid & Parr Hall
If you're unfamiliar with Mik Artistik's Ego Trip, you may want to check it out. A unique blend of comedy and music which caters to any and all audiences, the act has been prevalent for several years and with annual appearances at Glastonbury, it has built up a strong following. We recently spoke with Mik about their brand of entertainment, their career highlights thus far and their appearance in Warrington this weekend ...
Tell us: what is Mik Artistik's Ego Trip?
That's a good question ... that's the answer! (Laughs) It's rock 'n' roll, it's funk, it's poetry, it's performance art, it's children's entertainment ... and it's subversive, and it's funny.
What inspired the concept for the Ego Trip show?
Well, it's difficult to say. I started out as a stand-up (comedian) on my own doing poetry and surreal performance stuff. And then I realised that I used to have these open mic sessions for music nights and then do my stuff, and I found that a lot of the musicians really enjoyed what I was doing, and that my kind of poetry had a musical quality. So, I had a chat with a couple of guys about doing something together, and then the next thing we formed the band. It's basically me doing my stand-up to a musical background.
How long has your group been together?
Me, Benson Walker (on bass) and Johnny Fluxon (on guitar) have been together for around ten years now.
I understand that you recently performed at Glastonbury; can you tell us how that went?
That was fantastic. We turned up on the Wednesday to do a gig, although nothing happened because we got stuck in traffic, and the weather was awful so there were loads of people queuing up outside. We came on Thursday and we had hundreds of people turning up to see us. Our second gig was at a place called Gaz Mayo's Rocket Lounge, so we got backstage and were waiting to go on with about 15-20 minutes to go, and there was another band on stage, but the crowd start chanting "Mik! Mik! Mik!" during this other act's set, so by the time we walked on stage, it was hysteria! So, we had loads of crowds and lots of fun.
Glastonbury love us; next year, it'll be our tenth year performing at Glastonbury. We're definitely a festival band, we love the mayhem and the confusion and the dodgy camping and the mud and the wellies; I was walking out with wellies on and I used tape to make them look like Adidas Samba shoes, so I was wearing Samba wellies for a day! Glastonbury is just full of crazy people who just inspire you, and there's lots of crazy stuff going on that's not on the main stages, so you're just walking around giggling all of the time. And it feeds me, and it feeds the lads in the band. So yeah, we had a great time, and we got on BBC Radio 6 as well, they let us play on the Gideon Coe Show; plus, we were on a cabaret stage, a comedy stage and in front of big crowds; you know, there were 600,000 or 700,000 people over those few days to see us, so it was a glorious 11 gigs.
What are your other main achievements to date?
Well, we got to play our big song Plastic Fox on the Channel 4 show Random Acts, we were just filmed playing this song and we got a lot of press as a result. We've played the London Fashion Show, we've played in front of Janet Jackson and Vivian Westwood. We've played at Port Eliot Military Festival for the last five years, where there's always lots of weird and wonderful people. We've also done poetry stuff on Radio 4, we've had bits on there every now and then. I paint as well, and I've had one of my paintings in the National Portrait Gallery, and I've also got an exhibition on in Leeds at the moment for my paintings which have got a lot of press from up north, such as the Yorkshire Post. So, we've managed to get a fair bit of press about what we do because we're quite unusual; we play the Vortex Jazz Club in London, we've played poetry festivals, punk festivals, rock festivals, bluegrass festivals. And people say "Well, what are yous? Is this a sound check I'm listening to, or is it a radio performance that I'm listening to? Or are we children's entertainers?" So, people aren't really sure as every gig is different; sometimes, we can go on stage and start a song, and we're still doing the same song at the end of the gig. It just depends if I can interact with the crowd and have some fun with them.
Finally, you will be returning to Warrington this Saturday after performing at last year's Contemporary Arts Festival. What can new attendees expect from the Ego Trip this weekend in Warrington?
Well, they'll expect us, which means that we'll be unorthodox and awkward and edgy, and we'll have a laugh at their expense! (Laughs) And our expense too. And we get paid for it, so we get paid just to have a laugh. It's a great way to make a living.
Mik Artistik's Ego Trip play Warrington Pyramid & Parr Hall on Saturday July 9. To book your tickets, click here.
You can find out more about Mike Artistik's Ego Trip at www.mikartistik.com.
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