BACKFIRESIDE CHAT

Hirsute Hyways front man Mike Giacolino made some time to sit down with us to share some drinks and shoot the shit.

Q: Ok, let’s start with some icebreakers and get to know you better. Any strange family traditions?
A: Everyday was a strange family tradition.

Q: Best advice you ever received?
A: You are in charge of your own happiness.

Q: What’s the craziest thing on your bucket list?
A: Not really a bucket list dude. You got to fucking live that shit. Fuck your bucket list.

Q: Do you have any strange talents?
A: A lot of people think it’s weird that I’m a hair dresser. That’s my livelihood.

Q: Beer or Whiskey?
A: Whiskey. Fuck Beer.

Q: Which artist would you have play at your Funeral?
A: Townes Van Zandt

Q: Let’s say you become a professional wrestler. What’s your entrance theme song?
A: It’d probably be “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC. One time in my late 20’s I stripped at my first wife’s best friend bachelorette party to that song. I was wearing a crushed velvet thong. I just got my first Harley, so I dressed up at the time in my motorcycle clothes with a bandana and helmet on and stripped down to my bare ass. That’s the song I stripped to, so I should probably wrestle to it.

Q: Alright. How many bikes have you owned?
 A: I’m on my fifth motorcycle. They were all important. My first bike I got when I was 23 years old. It was a Honda Rebel 250. After that I got a VStar 1100 Yamaha. One of my favorite bikes. Traded that and bought a 1999 Heritage soft tail. I rode the shit out of that. After I quit my construction job, I sold everything and didn’t have anything for about 10 years. A couple years ago I bought an XS650 Yamaha. It was the first bike that I could work on myself. I really cut my teeth on DIY repairs on that.  And then I got the bike I have now the 1974 Ironhead Sportster Chopper. I loved them all for what they were.   One thing I realized about myself…I enjoy working on a motorcycle as much as I enjoy riding a motorcycle otherwise you would never buy a '74 Ironhead Harley Davidson. The working on it is as enjoyable as the riding it. A lot  of people think is fucking stupid, but fuck them. 

Q: Where has this bike taken you?
A: It’s taken me to the hospital. That’s about it thus far. It’s a long story.

Q: Best day ever on a motorcycle?
A: The day after my first bachelor party, my dad and I went on a ride together just hungover as shit, throwing up on the ferry boat. We did a small portion of the Cascade loop. It was a magical ride with my Dad. Motorcycling at that time was something we really bonded over. He had his Harley and I got mine. All of my friends that rode at that time were really old. I was 25 and everybody my age rode sport bikes and were into fucking wheelies and shit. I was already riding an old man’s Heritage.

Q: So what have you been up to lately?
A: I have a new band called Hyways. It’s a reworking of my last band Ole Tinder. It’s less alt country and more experimental and psychedelic country rock. We’ve all been making music together for a few years. We took some time off and when we got back together we decided to take a whole new approach make the band more collaborative. We just released our self titled debut on Union Zero records. 

Q: Where’d the name of the band come from?
A: The name of the band came as a nod to the Byrds. We like that Hyways both involved the openness of the road and the weed aspect of it… getting high and figuring your thing out. 

Q:You sing a lot about the road. What’s that all about? 
A: I think the road is a perfect symbol of life and how you live. It symbolizes time to me and how you spend it. It’s a good metaphor. It’s fucking hard, man.