Make It with Mike and Kristen

A few weeks ago, Kristen woke up and had gone completely deaf in her left ear. Listen to her 12-year long experience with hearing loss, tinnitus, the medical system and how her disability has impacted her art. You can also guess what ghost is occupying her ear! You’ll see… Us on the web: www.mikeandkristen.ca Instagram: www.instagram.com/mike_and_kristen/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikeand...

Steph Joline is an award-winning filmmaker, though would probably never tell you that herself. She prefers to go against the grain and find success and celebration through storytelling and highlighting social issues. Her recent film “Night Blooms” pays tribute to the 90s and what it meant to grow up in a small town, exploring intimate relationships. She talks about how being in control of life can...

“Burry” shares their roadmap to becoming a musician in Halifax, how they sent blind emails to established artists and how they seem to only write songs during challenging times. We chat about how Ellis and their partner Sam road-tripped across Canada, discovering new cities and a few homophobic towns along the way. A proud Croc wearer, tattoo collector, arts advocate and talented performer, Ellis...

We spent a month in the middle of nowhere Colombia at a coffee plantation turned artist residency. Among the company of international creatives, Ric Dragon and the rescue doggos we chat about how sometimes a difficult experience is just what the soul needs. We evaluate whether or not we’re “too Canadian,” tell the story of how Mike’s band helped a 13-year old local boy whose life is in danger and...

The most candid interview we’ve ever done! The now sober Tony Ronalds opens up about his drug and alcohol addiction during the rise and fall of his band “Kilt” and how he didn’t recognise his own roommate at a show. Tony reflects on how age and life experience has led to a new appreciation of his musicianship and how being a new father after a reverse vasectomy has brought a new sense of presence....

Where it all started! This is the first podcast we ever recorded and thought we would take it from the beginning of Mike’s story and what led him to pursue a life and career as a professional musician. We hear about him playing in bars when he was 16, learn how an injury forced him to give up guitar and start singing for the first time, how his entire band dropped out of University and survived on...

We are joined today by two incredible creatives who specialise in capturing life’s genuine moments through the art of photography. Erin Bulger and Steph McNamara discuss their mentorship relationship, tips for aspiring photographers and how the photos that look like “the ones that your mom took” are always the most meaningful! We recollect the fortunate times we have had to work with this talented...

Have you ever had a first date go wrong?! In today’s episode we discuss how our first date went awry but we turned it around and used those embarrassing moments to our advantage. After Kristen almost sets her apartment on fire, rents the worst movie of all time, and Mike shows up in a Dole banana t-shirt (on our second date too…) we end up laughing about it all! Let us know if you have any first d...

In today’s episode we are joined by singer-songwriter, George Woodhouse who shares his story of moving to Nova Scotia at 19-years old, though thought he was moving to New Brunswick. He speaks of how he manages the work-life balance of civil service and leading a band and how making the decision to pursue a full-time life in the arts comes with a great deal of emotion. George talks about the loss o...

After a wild month, we take a moment to reflect on the wins and losses that we’ve experienced. Mike shares his heartbreak from being nominated for 5 ECMAs but winning only a free shuttle ride and how the night eventually ends up being a beautiful celebration. We talk about how we’ll be picked up by a stranger upon arrival in Colombia who will drive us for 3 hours into the middle of nowhere and our...

We sit down with Lindsay MacPhee to chat about her past, present and future as a community wellness advocate, corporate gigger turned entrepreneur and how her recent 40th birthday was celebrated with Conan O’Brian! In this episode we discuss the importance of following your true calling and how a good dance party offers the best re-set. Lindsay shares her honest feedback on managing a service-base...

We play chapters from our audiobook (that are not for the faint of heart) and then have a discussion on the embarrassing details of our worst travel poops. Kristen’s story will make you say, “not a chance in hell did she do that, right?!” and Mike’s story will basically make you lose consciousness. Kristen talks about using “Queen Anne’s Lace” as T.P. as a kid, and Mike tells a story about pooping...

Mike and Kristen dig into their individual ideas of what “making it” as artists looks like. Mike talks about how that vision has evolved since he started a career in music and how it’s the artist’s responsibility to teach and communicate back to the world. Kristen reflects on how feeling good day-to-day is a priority and how creating community is an important step in the journey to success. They t...

We sit down with photographer and author Lyndsay Doyle for a compelling chat about her life and journey from working as a government employee to making her living as a full-time creative. We talk about how people view artists (often in a negative light), rejection, inspiration from anger, her work as an advocate for women in sport — her book “Strong and Free” highlights amazing adult female athlet...

Mike and Kristen talk about growing up in small towns and how that shaped them to be the people and artists that they’ve become. Right off the bat, if you want to make this a drinking game (why not???) have a drink every time we say “dump”… it will all make sense later.  Kristen tells a story about helping deliver a cow that ended up being named after her — “Kristen the Cow”. Mike quits swimming l...

Kristen talks about planning to leave her six-figure government job to be a full time artist. Mike talks about his experiences over the past 20 years being a musician and how he’s made it work. We discuss how passions in life differ and that’s what makes the world run. Kristen wonders if the mic can pick up farts.  Mike tells a funny story about playing in London, Ontario and why it sucks. He also...

We read our chapter “Venezuela” from our book You and Me and talk about an encounter with a Venezuelan refugee family while we were in Colombia. We recorded this episode the day after the Russian invasion into Ukraine. We were initially going discuss “Pooping Our Pants While Travelling” stories, but the mood felt too sombre.  We talk about perspective in life, and although we might not be “wealthy...

An introduction to our podcast - "Mike and Kristen". First episode coming March 30th. Husband and wife artists Mike (musician) and Kristen (painter) discuss following dreams, living the life of a ”creative”, and all the ridiculous stories along the way.  Subscribe now!