Being a musician can be lonely.
Being a musician living with depression and mental illness can be even lonelier.
My first guest today, Michael Wright, knows that reality firsthand — and instead of staying silent, he’s dedicated his career to breaking the stigma and opening up in an industry that has long discouraged people from doing exactly that.
With the bass and guitar in hand, he is one of the smoothest players in the UK jazz scene, and in the classroom, he is an incredibly thoughtful and caring teacher. But away from the music, he’s had his fair share of mental health struggles which, he talks about very candidly in our chat.
At the time of recording this, Mike, kind of like me, was in a crossroads in his career, where he’d gone through a prolonged period of heavy burnout.But even though things haven’t gone his way recently, personally and professionally, he’s done some incredible work when it comes to mental health awareness, not just for musicians, but for men’s mental health, and I just admire Mike’s willingness to keep going, take the mickey out of himself, even when things have been tough.
So I hope you enjoy my conversation with Mike, there’s going to be laughs, some deep and emotional moments, and a bit of hope in the end. If you did, please leave a 5 star rating and review, as that'll help us not only grow, but help build more mental health awareness for artists are around the world.
Chapters
(00:00) Introduction
(5:40) Michael's early childhood and music influences
(20:22) Realising love for music
(32:12) Deciding to go professional
(37:51) Noticing mental health struggles
(1:05:16) Breaking traditional advice and norms
(1:20:18) Setting an example for the next generation
(1:39:48) Rapid fire questions "spanking the plank"
You can follow Mike on his handles and website below:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwrightmusic/
https://mwrightmusic-education.com/
https://www.instagram.com/mwrightmusic_ed/
https://www.youtube.com/user/mikewrightbass
And if you want to follow me:
🎗️ You can subscribe to my newsletter, where I share stories about my mental health journey to encourage artists, musicians and creators to talk about their struggles without being judged along with exclusive subscriber-only content→ https://thementalmusician.beehiiv.com/
More content on YouTube:
→ https://www.youtube.com/@BrianZhangMusic
Reach out to me:
→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianzhangmusic/
→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-zhang-a14806146/
→ Substack: https://thementalmusician.substack.com/
