Mike Miz Outgrows Asbury

Anyone who has frequented the bustling bar scene of the Jersey Shore must’ve seen Mike Miz open for Southside Johnny, Jason Isbell, Lukas Nelson or a host of other headliners in and around Asbury Park. But it took leaving to find himself, once he saw Asbury in his rear-view window as he drove south. Ending up in Tennessee, Miz, with some help from Nashville bigwigs with good ears, has made his career statement. Only Human (Blackbird Record Label) takes the jam-band professional and puts him squarely in a rockin’ Americana mode, complete with his searing electric lead guitar, with one main proviso. He had to sever the umbilical cord between his artistry and himself. He wrote all 11 Only Human songs, digging, scratching and cutting at his history of drug abuse, failed relationships and run-ins with the law.

Who knew?

Fifteen years of using. Fifteen years of disappointing the people who loved him. The title track—musically influenced by Mark Knopfler—is a harrowing true story of someone helplessly aware that they lack the ability to prevent the dissolution of a love. “Less Than Paper Thin” has him in the hospital, longing for that love which he believes will never return, and existing in the netherworld between life and death:  “the great unknown before me/I’ve got nothing left to fear/No more holding on…and it’s less than paper thin/the veil between there and here.”

“Hometown” has him wondering where things went wrong.

“Tail Lights” is about getting the hell out of town.

Miz:  “during the writing of this album, I was going through a bit of a personal renaissance. A lot of things in my life’s journey didn’t turn out the way I thought they would, but I began to accept and grow through it. Instead of running away from my career, or even myself, I chose to lean in a little harder and let go all at the same time.”