Interview with Mike Grubbs

If you do not know him from Wakey!Wakey! you definitely have fallen in love with his character Grubbs on "One Tree Hill". The really likeable Mike Grubbs talked to myFanbase about his music, his favourite musicians, how Mark Schwahn put him on the show and what he experienced on the set.

Foto: Copyright: Victoria Jacob
© Victoria Jacob

The interview is © myFanbase 2009. Please do not copy it to other websites or messageboards.

1. What is your favourite moment of your childhood?

I remember once we had a piano tuner come to the house. It wasn't too often the piano was tuned, so I was fascinated by this man and the crazy tuning devices he carried. Suddenly the piano was no longer a wooden beast in the living room that we all constantly circled around, and more like something that fell off of a spaceship. I remember when he finished tuning, we all watched while he played this crazy, exciting ragtime song. I can still picture it to this day, and the realization that the piano had some special magic in it that I really wanted to know.

2. Was there something like a light bulb moment when you were young, maybe a concert, a certain song or a record that made you dream about a career as a musician?

My family was all musicians, so I never really considered doing anything else. I've always had a connection to the piano that I've never really achieved with other people. Music and I were happily married from a very young age.

3. What is it like to work with musicians who already played for great artists like Arcade Fire, Beirut and Anthony & the Johnsons?

Pretty indescribable. The sessions with Kelly Pratt (Arcade Fire, Beirut), Maxim Moston (A&theJ), and Julia Kent (A&theJ) left me with chill bumps for days. I've had the experience with working with so many great people, though. Tarrah Reynolds (JayZ, Kanye West, Gorillas) and Sarab Singh (Pete & Jay) are two of my all time favourites as well.

4. What has been the best experience so far, as a musician?

No doubt our last tour was right up there. I had the luck to tour with the majority of my full time band, Anne Lieberwirth, Tanya Buziak, Max Tucker and Patrick Doane. Those guys are the best people to make music with ever. The first time I played Bowery Ballroom in NYC will always be with me as well. That was a major dream come true.

5. Your album "Wakey!Wakey! Wednesdays" includes interpretations of songs from Indie-Icons, but also from Alicia Keys, Cyndi Lauper and the Beach Boys. Does this selection cover your own taste in music?

It covers the tip of the iceberg perhaps. Certain musicians, like Harry Nilsson are way too scary for me to cover. There's a reverence there that's just too hard to overcome. Neutral Milk Hotel definitely falls into the "I respect this way too much to even try" category, but I just had to cover that song. Also, I really like dancy, fun pop music, and a lot of that is just too hard to pull off solo on the piano. On a random note, while it's far from pop, I REALLY wanted to do a cover of Waiting Room by Fugazi. For some reason, though, it was just too complicated. Someday!

6. What tempts you most in doing cover versions?

Great lyrics and stories. A lot of guilty pop pleasures have really great lyrics that go unnoticed because of amazing production, or just really fun beats and melodies. When I'm picking covers, I like to call attention to that aspect of the artwork. Of course, I can't be serious all the time. When I'm dancing, I like to dance.

7. Your releases are many live-gigs, cover-versions and EPs. Will we be able to hear some of your songs on a studio album?

Our upcoming album will be a full length studio project. It’s already completed, and I've never been more proud of anything in my life. Look for it in early 2010!

8. With whom would you like to go on tour?

Radiohead would be amazing. St Vincent. Regina Spektor. Arcade Fire. Where do I begin!!!

9. What record would we find in your CD-player right now?

The last album I bought was 50 Cent's latest. Bet you didn’t expect me to say that... haha.

10. You are now playing the lovely character Grubbs on "One Tree Hill". How did you get the part?

Mark Schwahn, the creator of the show, actually came to see me play at an open mic in Brooklyn, NY. A great little spot called Bar 4. (It's currently the best open mic in NYC, by the way. A lot of my friends and I got our starts playing there.) Schwahn actually came specifically for me and waited 3 hours to hear me play. He was really into what I do, chose to use our song on the season 6 finale, and it kind of grew from there. Most men in his position wouldn't even go to an open mic, but that's just the opening sentence to a book on what's wrong with the entertainment industry, and what's so incredibly right about Schwahn.

11. Did you always wanted to try out acting or is it something completely new for you?

I've been into Theatre for some time. Senior Year, I split my High School days between regular school, and the Henrico County Center for the Arts (in my hometown of Richmond, VA), learning about great teachers and theorists like Uta Hagen and Peter Brook. I studied Musical Theatre in College, and toured as a stage actor for a few years after college, before I focused on music. This is my first experience with the screen, however, and the learning curve has been massive. Luckily I have an amazing cast and crew to help me along.

12. Are there funny experiences you made on set of "One Tree Hill" that you can tell us about?

The cast is fairly professional, but there have been some very moving moments. I remember when we wrapped my first scene. I was overwhelmed by how massive the production was, a hundred crew members, and another hundred extras. I think I spent my entire first episode in shock. When we finished my last take, I wondered around for a minute, lost, dazed, wondering what was next. Then I suddenly heard a voice calling for everyone's attention. I still to this day don't know who it was, maybe Mark Schwahn or Sophia Bush (she was directing that day). They called for everyone to stop what they were doing, and announced that I'd just wrapped my first episode. 200 people burst into applause and cheers. I think it was at that moment that the shock broke and I knew it was all really happening. Then Wesley Verhoeve (my manager) and I went back to the hotel pool and just laughed for hours. It was the first of what have been many amazing days with the One Tree Hill cast.

13. The tomato fight between Grubbs, Nathan, Haley and Jamie looked like a lot of fun. Can you tell us something about shooting that scene?

We shot that scene in a loading dock at Tric set. They wrapped all the cameras in plastic, the crew all wore parkas, and we just had at it! There was some structure to the day, but there was also a lot of chasing each other around with tomatoes when the cameras were long off. The last shot when Jamie (Jackson Brundage) gets creamed by like 50 tomatoes was a set up as well. We all snuck in the back with the tomatoes while they prepped the shot. He was just expecting one tomato, but instead caught the whole barrage. He was a great sport about it, of course!

14. Regarding Grubbs gift for knowing what his customers want to drink before they order: What is your favourite drink?

That's a really unfair question. Why don't you ask Angelina Jolie which is her favourite child? Haha. If I was to be deserted on an island with just one, however, it would have to be Jamesons. I would like it if I could have some ice on the island to put in it as well!

15. Grubbs was always right about his customers, but he's a miserable failure when it comes to Miranda. Is there a love story on the horizon?

Only if I'm REALLY lucky. India De Beaufort is an angel.

16. Miranda noticed Grubbs singing and playing the piano in the last episode. Can we expect more performances from you and will Grubbs maybe become Miranda's next musical project after Haley's album is finished?

If I told you, I'd have to kill you. And I hear you have a lot of readers. I just can't take that on my conscience. In another words, no comment!

17. Is there anything you can tell us about what's coming up next?

The cast all goes on a flight, which crashes. Somehow we all survive, and end up on a magical island with smoke monsters and polar bears. We'll then find out that there are mysterious inhabitants on the island that are watching us, and want us all dead... Oh wait that's "Lost"... Nope. When it comes to "One Tree Hill", my lips are sealed!

18. Do you have any other new projects you can tell us about?

Between the upcoming Wakey!Wakey! album and "One Tree Hill", my plate is pretty full right now, but I can tell you there's a ton of great stuff coming out of our label, Family Records, and you should definitely get excited for that!

19. Since myFanbase is an online magazine about TV series, do you have a favourite one?

I love "Lost". We have viewing parties for each episode. I’m also addicted to "Battlestar Galactica". The best show ever, of course, was "Freaks and Geeks".

Annika Leichner - myFanbase