5 Q&A With DownTown Mystic
Punk Head: Mystic Highway sounds like a record made for the road. Do you write from memory, or from motion — that feeling of being between places?
DownTown Mystic: I never thought of it that way. The reality is I’m a Channeler. Some people channel spirits. I channel music. Is it memory? Motion? Probably both. I’m probably tuned into somebody’s memory from the other side. Music is a mystical experience in that way. Nobody knows where the ideas come from. I’m just tuning into some frequency or energy. I guess that’s where motion comes in. So when you say “being between places”, I would say between the material and spiritual planes. I’m physically here on this side, but mentally or vibrationally on the other side. Bet you weren’t expecting that for an answer! lol
Punk Head: You’ve joked about wanting to be “the worst player in a great band.” How has that mindset shaped your production style?
DownTown Mystic: Being the “worst player” allows me to think about other choices, like players who bring certain things to the table that I don’t. This way my ego doesn’t get in the way and that mindset allows me to let things flow production wise. I know what I would play on a particular track, but what would this person play? I can stop and try an idea because I have the benefit of the other talents of the people I’m working with.
Punk Head: There’s a real warmth and grit to this record. Were you chasing a particular era of sound, or just following the energy?
DownTown Mystic: It’s apropos that I’m being interviewed in Punk Head because there’s a punk energy infused to a “classic style” of songs on the Mystic Highway EP. I’m chasing some kind of authenticity in the sound because of the classic nature of the songs. Most of my songs are up-tempo and there’s an intensity to them. It’s high energy that’s intrinsic to me and I try to bring that to my playing so that the other musicians can plug into it. They’re trying to play my song the way I want it played, and being up-tempo, they really have to lock in and match me. Hopefully, when it works it creates a vibe. I like to take it right to the edge, where the groove could go off the tracks at any second. It keeps everybody on their toes. LOL
Punk Head: The guitars on Mystic Highway sound both vintage and cinematic. Was that tone built intentionally, or did it evolve in the studio?
DownTown Mystic: The guitar sound is vintage because to some degree, the guitars are vintage. They just sound like that! The tone is certainly intentional. I want a muscular sound that can be felt. The sound will evolve in the studio because I’m able to use certain guitars for certain sounds I’m looking for. It becomes more about the sound of what I’m playing than what I’m playing. It could be something simple, playing-wise, but it SOUNDS big and full. That’s what I’m after. It also helps to work with some great engineers because they know their studios and their boards and how to get the sounds you’re looking for. You listen to some of George Harrison’s solos on the early Beatles records and what he’s playing is simple, but it SOUNDS amazing, because George Martin knew how to get it to sound that way.
Punk Head: From FM radio to streaming algorithms, you’ve seen the industry change dramatically. What’s kept you excited about releasing new music in 2025?
DownTown Mystic: I think it’s wide open for new music. I don’t think I could be as successful as I’ve been at any other time. The internet changed everything for better or worse and it allowed artists like me to thrive. In my case, I can do what I want and release anything I want. There are something like 100,000 tracks released every day on Spotify? That obviously is not stopping people from recording and releasing their music, so why not be excited about releasing your own music. If you’re not excited, what’s the point, right?
Mystic Highway is coming out on November 7th,2025.