A Conversation with Drummer Mike Gonzales

If there’s one person I know who could challenge James Brown’s title of “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” it would be Michael Gonzales. Mike and I met while we were students in the jazz studies program at UT Austin, and during the four years I lived in Texas, we played countless gigs together all over Austin and around the country. 

Mike’s work ethic, drive, and passion for the music are inspiring, and these qualities have elevated him to impressive heights within the Austin music scene. Over the past several years, Mike has played with Gina Chavez, Gary Clark Jr., and is currently the house drummer for Tony Hinchcliffe’s live podcast and comedy showcase Kill Tony. 

I was excited to sit down (virtually) with Mike, to talk about his experiences playing during pandemic, weathering an unexpected snowstorm, and eating barbecue with his comedy idols. 

You can listen to our conversation here, but I’ll highlight a few gems of wisdom that Mike dropped during our conversation:

Lessons from the pandemic: 

“Now that I’m not playing, I have a shit ton of time, so what am I going to do? I’m not just going to stop! So now I’m taking lessons, I’m playing congas, doing all this stuff—learning Latin rhythms—consistently working and working and working. And it ended up paying off”

“From a musician’s point of view: Don’t take shit for granted, dude. You can’t! We don’t know if this shit’s going to be here or not going to be here… You can’t take shit for granted anymore. When you’re on that stage—be in it!”

Advice for musicians: 

“You’ve got to be able to speak the language, or the dialect, in each one of these genres… Even if you’re not fluent. You know some of the dialect, you can speak a little bit.” 

“People trust me because I’m a nice guy, I learn my music, I show up way before everybody does—I’m already set to go… and I hang out with people, way after everyone else leaves. There are just things that we can be responsible for that they don’t teach you in school.”

“You’ve got to be at 100 at all times. That’s the only reason why I work.”

“Just focus on some shit that you really want to do, and don’t let anyone tell you can’t. Put everything you have into it and don’t look back—just do it!”