Mike Posner says Syracuse University can expect his show, ‘Wednesday in the Schine Underground,’ to be the ‘best party you’ve ever been to.’ The 21-year-old singer-songwriter is still attending classes at Duke University even while touring the country every weekend and will be coming to SU for the Bandersnatch concert series on Oct. 28. Days before he hits the SU campus, he tells The Daily Orange what it’s like to be a student-musician.

Are you currently still attending classes at Duke?

Of course.

What’s your major?

Sociology, with a business minor.

How do you fit in time to balance your music and your schoolwork?

It’s definitely not easy… being a recording artist on a major label, while being a senior at Duke University. I think I’m doing pretty well and I get to come perform at Syracuse University and stuff. I think I’m doing all right.

What is your favorite part of being a student-musician?

Wow, well I’m kind of living the dream. I go to class every week, and then every weekend I get paid to go party at other schools and have a great time, so I love every bit of it.

How did you get started?

I started off playing drums when I was in like fourth or fifth grade, and then by the time I was 13 or 14 I was producing and making beats. It wasn’t until about a year and a half ago I realized there was a huge void in the marketplace. I wasn’t hearing the kind of music I wanted to hear on the Internet, so I started my solo project and singing. I’ve really only been singing a year and a half. So that’s really exciting to me about my project. I’m still getting so much better. I have a new CD coming out on iTunes Thursday, and it’s so much better than my old one. It’s going to be free on iTunes. It’s called ‘One Foot Out the Door.’

What have been some of your best moments?

Two weeks ago we did a show at the Roxy in L.A. – it was unreal. I did a show in New Hampshire with Akon that was super insane, but there’s so many moments. Every weekend is like a new awesome bundle of experiences. It’s hard to put your finger on one.

Are you excited for your second mix tape release this week?

Well I’ve been pulling a lot of all-nighters. Last weekend I had a show in New York City on Thursday night and I got out of class at four, and the night before I had stayed up all night recording. So I’m just working, working, working. I went on the plane and kept working on the plane and then got off and go to the show.

Are you working on a CD currently?

Yes, that’s coming out next year. It doesn’t have a title yet, but it’s awesome and like halfway done. I feel so confident. I do write and produce myself. Over the summer I did three songs with producer Benny Blanco, who did ‘I Kissed A Girl.’ He’s a champion, we got along great. We are the same age; we made some straight hits together.

Do you write your own music?

Yeah, of course. I was writing before I was singing. So I was doing that for six to seven years before I started singing. I was writing things that no one else could really sing, and that’s when I realized there was this lane open. I thought if no one else can pull it off, I have to start singing.

How do you rehearse for a show like the one you are having at SU this week?

I mean, I do a lot of shows. I change up my show for every show, like as far as what songs I do and how I do them. So I don’t really need to sit down and practice. This is what I do, I’ve been practicing all year, so it will be dope. I’ve probably done like 30 shows this school year. I’m doing four shows this weekend. I’m going to Syracuse and then Colgate, then Purdue and then Arizona for Halloween. That’s like a normal weekend.

Do you feel tired?

Sometimes I definitely feel tired, but I mean I just feel lucky to have a job in today’s economy. Sometimes I feel guilty to get paid what I do, to do what I do. Especially coming from Michigan where they were hit really hard, but all I can do is make the most of the opportunity and become as big a star as I can be.

How did you get your break in the industry?

Well my break was very grassroots and it still is. March 1, 2009, so seven months ago, I put out my first CD on iTunes, ‘A Matter of Time.’ I told my friends about it and it just snowballed into the huge thing and before I knew it, people all over the country were knowing the words to all my songs. The last week of school my junior year, every label was calling me trying to get me to come to New York or L.A. The last week of school I went to New York on Monday and met with a bunch of labels, and then I went to class on Tuesday and Wednesday and had shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I came back to school, studied, had three finals on Tuesday, (then) did a show at Duke on Wednesday. I did a song collaboration on Thursday, and then I went back straight to school. And then after that I still had to take finals and write papers. It was an interesting moment in the library as I was sitting writing a 20-page paper and offers were coming in to my e-mail while I was sitting there. I was like 11 pages in, and I was like, do I really have to write like 10 more pages of this? But my mom convinced me to come back to school. I’m close with my mom.

Who inspires you?

It’s always new people, but Paul Simon, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Ryan Adams, Mos Def. I could keep going.

What can people look forward to at the show?

Well, I grew up going to a lot of concerts, and the thing I disliked the most was when I looked at my friends that I came with and realized I was the only one dancing and rocking out. So at my shows I create an environment that if you’re not having fun and rocking out you’re the odd man out. My shows are just the best party you’ve ever been to, and that’s what you can expect.

Do you think your lifestyle is better than the average college senior’s?

Definitely. I’m with my friends all week. They understand I have a job. I was very close to not coming back to school because I signed my record deal over the summer. I’m straight financially, I don’t really need to go to school, but I like to finish things that I start. Everyone understands, and I’m probably having the most fun of any senior across the nation.

rltoback@syr.edu

Published on October 26, 2009 at 12:00 pm