Mike Tobey-Mckenzie Rocks…Literally.

How did you get into music?

I was like 10 years old and my step-dad played guitar, listened to classic rock, and it caught my attention. He got me a guitar, taught me a few chords, and I taught myself the rest.

So you have no formal musical training? How did you get into the band scene?

My senior year I joined a band called Soul Pierced, we played for a year and got some exposure.  We wrote our own songs, so that sort of wet my feet. Our band broke up after high school because we all went to different schools

So how did you get back into it?
When I came (to UAB), I didn’t think I’d ever be in a band again. A guy I had met, Drew Duvall asked me to join a band, I tried out, it was a perfect fit, and we started writing. This was the beginning of Embers in Ashes.

Where did the band’s name come from?
Embers in Ashes is inspired by Isaiah 61.

So what was your big break?
Summer 2010 we went to Hollywood, California and recorded with Tomas Costanza, who has produced Hoobastank, AFI, The All American Rejects, etc. We had some big-name influence on our music, and we produced our first EP, “Sorrow Scars”

Tell me a little about Sorrow Scars…
All of the songs are centered around redemption, how we’re constantly running from God and how He pursues us. It’s about someone who is suffering a lot and the sorrow in their heart is scarring them…sorrow, or any kind of heartbreak, we want them to know that there is hope for the broken and heartbroken. 

What inspires your music and songwriting?
God. 

What’s your songwriting process?
We pray before we write and then jump into it…things just all happen and fall together. Our philosophy is “Music first, words later. The music has to sound good by itself.”

What’s your proudest moment to date?
We are on the radio on over 100 stations, over 25 states, “This Change” is the first cut on our EP. This morning we were in the station with Jon Walden from revocation radio…we got to interview with him on air today, and we have a lot of stuff in the works.

What advice would you give someone who’s an aspiring musician?
The most important thing is that you practice…literally all the time, and branch out and listen to other genres and feed your creativity…I find inspiration in Indie, Folk, Alternative Rock, West-Coast Style, and even Flamenco. 

What do you have coming up in the future?
There are some major things in the works in the future for us. We have some new music coming out, but I can’t go into detail past that. 

Check out Embers in Ashes at facebook.com/embersinashes,  embersinashes.com, and check out their music video on youtube.com.