WORDS: Olivia Proffit PHOTOS: Georgie de Mattos
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You may have seen a box truck driving around San Luis Obispo with the words “Wandering Madman” sprawled across its top. It cruises town through the week before parking downtown on Friday and Saturday nights.
That’s when the action starts.
Jeffery Michael, 32, opens the truck’s doors to reveal a collection of musical paraphernalia. He then begins performing music right out of his vehicle, hoping to touch the souls of all who listen.
Michael travels the country in his Wandering Madman truck, playing music for free and surviving off his listeners’ generous donations.
Mustang News sat down with Michael to find out more about what makes this madman so mad.
MN: Why did you choose this lifestyle?
JM: “Lots of different reasons honestly. I’ve always wanted to be involved with music because it’s a great platform to reach people, help people and maybe spread little bits of wisdom that I don’t even know that I have yet. It’s a platform to help people on a massive scale… There are some (celebrities) out there that really do care and really do help but I wanted to show what would happen if we gave that same kind of attention to somebody who wasn’t so focused on themselves.”
MN: What have you done in your musical career?
JM: “I worked behind the scenes as a roadie for 10 years so I got to see all the craziness that goes on. I was in bands for a couple years and they all kind of fell apart. It’s really hard to keep five people together especially when you’re not making money at it. So, I figured the only way I could continue with a musical career was if it didn’t really depend on anybody else. At the end of the day, if I want to keep doing it, it’s as easy as saying ‘yes’.”
MN: Why didn’t your bands work out?
JM: “When you get four or five people together working on something, then it’s automatically going to be better and open minded. But, I kind of had to set that aside because I knew, logistically, there was no chance of survival as a band. I thought if I could focus on a solo musical career, then I might stand a chance to keep doing what I love. That’s where the box truck came in. It’s a nightmare trying to book with clubs and venues so if I could take out the middle man, not only do I have to pay all those people, but it’s a lot less headache.”
MN: Where do you plan on traveling?
JM: “California is so laid back and I’m hoping to call it home for the next couple of years. I’m hoping to get to Europe; that’s kind of one of the big goals is to have a second truck over in Europe and do the same thing over there.”
MN: Where are some of the places you’ve traveled to in the truck?
JM: “The first year was in the Midwest so Missouri and Kansas. I went to Colorado; that’s one of my favorite places to go, in the summertime anyway. Since I live in the truck, I kind of have to travel with the weather. In the wintertime, I was going down to Florida to play for all the tours down there. But now that I’ve found California, it’s hard to leave. The weather is going to be great all around and I’m hoping to spend a couple of months in San Diego and then a couple months around the Central Coast and then a couple months in Santa Cruz/ San Francisco area. That’s where I’m headed next. I’m really excited to drive up the coast there. I hear it’s beautiful.”
MN: Do you ever get lonely traveling on your own?
“Yeah, very much every day. I’m not going to lie about that. You learn so much about yourself and human psychology in general. A lot of times, I think we build our psyche from the little bits we get around us so if we take that away, its really easy for your brain to turn against you and tell you bad things that aren’t even true. I get a lot of bad reactions in the truck and when you’re giving away your heart and soul for free, it hurts when somebody tells you to leave. It’s a daily battle but after three years, you kind of get used to it. It shows you want you miss out in life and what all those little reactions can do for your heart and soul. It is a balance.”
MN: What keeps you going?
“The people, without a doubt. It’s the most rewarding thing to see people just walking by and smile and stop dead in their tracks, not knowing what to think. I know I literally just helped reprogram their brain, one way or the other. They saw something they never expected. It’s always about the people.”
MN: Is there one thing you’ve learned about humanity from traveling?
JM: “Caring is contagious. When I’m set up in a new area, its really hard when people look and keep walking by and then one person stops and just decides to spend two minutes with me. It’s amazing how quickly everyone else will stop because someone has put value in it and has taken a few seconds out of their day to care. It goes to show that the things you care about, the people around you will care about too.”
MN: What’s the hardest thing about this lifestyle?
JM: “Probably what we touched on before- the solitude and not having any direct support to remind you to not take anything personally, to keep a smile on your face, this and that. Doing it all by yourself and not really having a support team behind you is one of the most challenging things. And, paying for gasoline. It a big chunk of change but once you find a spot that is welcoming to you, you just hang out for a little while and keep on rockin’.”
MN: Do you have a favorite memory from your travels thus far?
JM: “The first time I played here. I was singing “wonderful Tonight” by Eric Clapton and this lady comes up to me with tears in her eyes and tells me it was her husband and hers’ song. He passed away six months ago and she felt like he was right there with her and she thanked me. I’ll get someone like that every couple weeks or so. Anything I can do to help relive old memories is a blessing.”
MN: How many instruments do you play?
JM: “The instruments in my truck are more of an incentive to learn all of them. If you lock away instruments in cases, you’ll never pick them up but if they are hanging on the wall, it’s so easy to pick up and play. But as for playing well, piano, harmonica, guitar, kalimba are probably my top four. Violin is a close fifth.”
MN: How much longer can you see yourself doing this?
JM: “Honestly, I’m hoping until I am no longer alive. That’s kind of the message behind it. I want to keep doing this until I’m old and grey and hopefully I’ll make millions and millions of dollars by then but I want to show that I gave it all away and kept living in the truck because I’m happy just playing music for people. That’s all I need. It’s scary as hell thinking of a day when I could not sing or could not play piano.”
MN: What do you do when you’re not playing?
JM: “Looking for places to play and driving around. I spend a lot of time learning new songs because people request. I’ve been working on cover music for about two years now and I’ve got 430 songs that I’ve charted out but people always request songs I don’t know so I always write them down and I try to learn them. When I’m not doing that, I’m working on my original music. Exercise and work, work, work”
MN: Why do you call yourself the “Wandering Madman?”
JM: “I just kind of felt crazy and absurd in my own right. When I explained to my friends and my family what I was trying to do, it definitely helped reiterate that feeling because they didn’t really understand for the most part. My mom did, she’s always been very supportive but I was leaving a pretty lucrative career. I ended up getting picked up by Elton John and Leon Russell. Leaving that seems absurd to most people but to wait any longer seemed absurd to me because I don’t know how much longer I’ve got.”
MN: Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?
JM: “What I like to tell bands is enjoy the time you spend together because that’s as good as it gets. Everybody always strives for when they make it or when they make it big but they forget that the best times they’re going to have in is in that basement working together, smiling, laughing and dreaming of the stars. A lot of times, you don’t reach those stars. But, it doesn’t matter. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”