Mike Garrigan Podcast

This episode follows the creation of a new song built around the Stylophone, a small electronic instrument first introduced by Dubreq in 1968. The prompt led to an experiment with the instrument’s buzzy, unstable tone and its connection to retro electronic texture. The song was written during May 2026, while preparing full backing tracks for Porchfest. A halftime/doubletime drum feel helped shape...

www.mikegarrigan.com  In this episode, I take on a prompt that felt personal from the start: create a song featuring your grandfather’s handmade folk harp. That harp has been sitting quietly in the corner of my garage studio—Two Egrets—for years. It’s not just another instrument. My grandfather, James John Garrigan Jr., built it by hand while my grandmother Nell was nearing the end of her life. Be...

In this episode, we start with a familiar rock-and-roll question: are you a Beatles person or a Rolling Stones person? Inspired by a line from Pulp Fiction—where Mia Wallace suggests people fall into either the Beatles or Elvis camp—we explore a slightly different divide: the polished brilliance of The Beatles versus the raw, attitude-driven energy of The Rolling Stones. From there, the conversati...

www.mikegarrigan.com - In this episode, I trace a line from hearing Nevermind for the first time in 1991 to writing an original song inspired by its raw power and dynamic contrasts. Moving through memory, music history, and the nuts and bolts of recording, I explore how Nirvana’s quiet-loud architecture shaped not just a sound, but a way of seeing. The song “Diamonds in the Sky” becomes a vehicle...

www.mikegarrigan.com - Mike responds to the production prompt: "Create a song that is notated in its entirety before production begins." Hear a detailed behind-the-scenes account of "The Hollow Man," a new song. Topics include a commentary on John Dickson Carr's The Hollow Man and the pros and cons of notating music before recording it. Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Mike responds to the production prompt: "Create a song in the style of Pink Moon by Nick Drake." Hear a detailed behind-the-scenes account of "Revelations," a new song. Topics include how to select an alternate tuning, how to apply narrative structure to lyric writing, and how to apply specific production techniques to a given genre. Send me a Text Messag...

The production lab continues. In this episode, singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan describes the process of writing, producing, and recording a song in the style of Duran Duran's Rio . Hear the result, a new song called "The Girl at Table 13." www.mikegarrigan.com Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares his experience of being diagnosed with prostate cancer. "Mercury," a previously unreleased outtake from the "Satellites" sessions, is also featured. Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the eleventh experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Create a song using only the Waves SSL plugin on the channels" and a month in which to work, Mike produced "Change Your Mind." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative process. Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the tenth experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Create a song imagined as an outtake from The Downward Spiral " and a month in which to work, Mike produced "Black Echo." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative process. Notes: The featured song is inspired by the Michael Connel...

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the ninth experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Record a song where a Wurlitzer electric piano is the main instrument" and a month in which to work, Mike produced "Stupid Love." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative process. Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the eighth experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Record a song in the style of Superunknown by Soundgarden" and a month in which to work, Mike produced "Everlasting Love." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative process. Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the seventh experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Record a song using a late 80s approach (in the style of Bon Jovi's New Jersey)" and a month in which to work, Mike produced "Sister Mercy." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative process. Works mentioned and encouraged f...

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the sixth experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Record a song that is written on acoustic guitar but performed with piano as the main instrument" and a month in which to work, Mike produced "Everything Belongs." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative process. Send me a Text M...

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the fifth experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Record a song in the style of Def Leppard's Hysteria " and a month in which to work, Mike produced "I Am the Ocean." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative process. Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the fourth experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Record a song imagined as the lost outtake for 'Penny Lane' and 'Strawberry Fields Forever'" and a month in which to work, Mike produced "Space Invaders Champion." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative proc...

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the third experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Record a song where everything must pass through a Fat Head ribbon mic" and a month in which to work, Mike produced "No Bunker." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative process. Info on Eleanor Catton & Birnam Wood Info on Yu...

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the second experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Record a song where the hook is a sample" and a month in which to work, Mike produced "Jane's Played the Brewery Last Night." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative process. Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan shares the first experiment from his Production Lab.  Given the prompt "Record a song using a 2000s approach (LCD Soundsystem)" and a month in which to work, Mike produced "The Jugger." Hear the song and a detailed description of the entire creative process. Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan reflects upon growing a mustache. This episode features a piano/vocal version of the Collapsis song "I.O.L." Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan examines the media he consumed in 2023. This episode considers "the nature of evil" and "dystopia." A piano version of the Collapsis song, "Radio Friendly Girlfriend," is shared. For a complete list of media referenced in this episode, click here . Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Singer/songwriter reflects on his experience with sitting in with the Maxell 90 and paying tribute to R.E.M.  Mike interviews members of the Maxell 90 as well as a few guest singers just before their show at the Be Loud! Sophie concert at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC on August 25, 2023. Mike asked each interviewee "What has been your experience in covering R.E....

www.mikegarrigan.com - Mike Garrigan recalls the process of writing and recording a custom made song, reminisces over a successful baseball season, and insists that The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is the best mystery novel ever.  This episode features the following songs: "Bonfire" - previously unreleased  "Two Egrets" - piano version, previously unreleased Send me a Text Message.

www.mikegarrigan.com - Mike Garrigan interviews singer/songwriter Brent Mathews. This episode features the following songs: "7th Street" by podcast guest Brent Mathews "Wonderland" - piano version, previously unreleased "Satellites" - single version Check out Brent Mathews at  https://www.brentmathews.com/ Check out the "Satellites" video here . Send me a Te...

www.mikegarrigan.com - Mike Garrigan interviews fan, musician, and attorney J. Max Davis. The music contained in this episode is "Superhero" - piano version, previously unreleased "Jodie" by podcast guest J. Max Davis "Seminole Train" - live at the Flat Iron, Greensboro, NC, July 16, 2022 Send me a Text Message.