KickActs interveiws Tony of “Big Engine”!

Welcome to Kick Acts. Tell us a little about yourself and were you can be found
online.

My name is Tony Mikus and I am the lead singer and one of the guitarist of the rock band Big Engine based out of Jacksonville, Florida. We are on Facebook and Reverbnation and we have our website www.bigengine.com

Who are your musical heroes and influences? Why?

I personally have too many heros to list. Being from Jacksonville, the home of Southern Rock where the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, and others hailed from, I definitely have been influenced by that broad genre. Tom Petty is from near by Gainesville too and you mix those together and throw in AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and KISS and you start to get an idea of where my music stems from.

Do you have any advice for someone just getting started in the music business?

I have a lot of advice. Runaway! lol. This is a tough business so try to keep it fun. Enjoy other bands and don’t be a hater. Get band members that get along and enjoy each others company. If you have any
success it means you will be spending more time with them than anybody else in your life so you better like them. Write all the time.

What piece of advice did you ignore that you wish you hadn’t?

I don’t think I ignored any advice. Some things you have to learn on your own and you later say to yourself, “Oh that’s what they were talking about!’

Do you have a greatest gig story or worst gig horror story you’d like to share?

Wow doing about 200 shows a year for many years means I have a lot of both. More good than bad for sure. One in particular was playing in Sturgis, South Dakota and looking in the audience and seeing Patrick Simmons of The Doobie Brothers watching me. Another great one was opening for Motorhead. That was surreal. Being backstage and seeing Lemmy was like something out of a movie. Then on the opposite side, we played a show in South Carolina to a handful of people and after the show the club owner apologized for the lack of crowd. He said it was his fault for booking us the same time as the Gopher Festival.

Do you have any other hobbies other than playing music? Collect stamps? Collect hats from off the side of the road? Draw pictures of peckers or boobs?  Make sock puppets? Sit in the dark and eat Cheetos?

I do all the fun family things with my kids. I love to travel and sightsee. I really enjoy sports, hot rods, motorcycles, and I collect Hotwheels.

What do you think about the current music scene or lack of? Care to address that?

There is all kinds of great music out there. The scene is never what you want it to be but griping about it does nothing. It would be nice if people went to see live music on a more regular basis. It depresses
me that DJs are more valued by the masses than musicians are.

Do you think reality shows like American Idol, X factor and The Voice have helped or hurt the music industry as a whole?

I don’t know if it has done either. I think it shows that singing talent is abundant but writing talent has always been what impresses me the most.

What is your opinion of unauthorized music downloads?

Well I think some people discover music that they wouldn’t have because of it but there is no question that it has taken away some of the incentive for bands to create new music. It might mean the end of
bands spending a year in the studio creating a masterpiece. I hope not! It is a reality for any business that you have to be smart and try to recoup your investment. Most people don’t want to pay for
anything they can get for free. Whether that be a sandwich or a song. I don’t know if anything will change in the future to make people care about the music creators. What I don’t mind though is when people tell
me they bought our cds and made copies for their friends.

Tell us something about each of your band members that we wouldn’t expect to hear.

I will start with myself. I have a degree in accounting. Want me to do your taxes? lol. Hans our guitarist is a clean freak. Charlie our drummer has an incredible knack of falling asleep within two minutes
of hitting the road in the van after a show. Matt our bassist is a really good bass fisherman.

Hypothetical situation. You’re on Gilligan’s island and you get to hook up with
only one of the survivors… Which one and why?

Here’s what I would do. I would play matchmaker and get the professor and MaryAnne together. Maybe she would spark something in him so he would come up with a way to get us off the island.

Do you know what a vinyl album is and have your ever purchased one? If so, what was it?

Click to buy this CD!

Man I even have a picture disc by The Cars. I love albums. I miss the artwork and liner notes. I used to go through record stores and look at every release in alphabetical order. That was a cool Friday night
when I was a kid.

You’re marooned on an island with Justin Bieber. Do you choke him out the first night in his sleep or what?

No I hope somebody is looking for him so I get rescued. Maybe then he could finance my next album.

What is your opinion of Miley Cyrus?

Hey she’s doing her thing I guess.

Which would you rather hear in concert?  Lip synching or real vocals?

Real vocals. Even if they aren’t perfect I want to hear the real emotion in the singers voice.

Who, or what, is the next big thing?

I wish I knew. I have been surprised by some of the latest trends.

One artist you can’t get enough of and can’t live without is…

AC/DC. I honestly haven’t heard a song by them that I didn’t like.

Confession time. Share a secret about yourself.

I like Neil Diamond.

Favorite movie of all time and why.

Spinal Tap for obvious reasons

Our last question is called “Shout It Out Loud”. It’s were you get to talk about whatever you want to talk about. So go ahead and “SHOUT IT OUT LOUD”!

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE ANGRY TO ROCK! EVERY SONG DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ABOUT HOW MISERABLE YOU ARE OR HOW SOMEBODY DID YOU WRONG.YOU CAN ROCK WITH A SMILE ON YOUR FACE! I like all kinds of rock. I have diverse interest in all things including music. Some people are scared to have a good time. Not me.

CHECK OUT “BIG ENGINE” ON THE FOLLOWING DATES!

Sept      11     OCEAN CITY BIKEFEST          OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND
Sept      12     OCEAN CITY BIKEFEST          OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND
Sept      13     OCEAN CITY BIKEFEST          OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND

Sept 19     BAINBRIDGE BIKEFEST          BAINBRIDE, GA
(Opening for Jackyl)

Sept 20     BOBAROSSA SALOON            DEL RIO, TN

Oct          1     SANDPIPER BEACON             PANAMA CITY BEACH,FL
Oct          2     SANDPIPER BEACON             PANAMA CITY BEACH,FL
Oct          3     SANDPIPER BEACON             PANAMA CITY BEACH,FL
Oct          4     SANDPIPER BEACON             PANAMA CITY BEACH,FL