Michael Tiernan: Leading by Example

Michael Tiernan

There’s an immediate thing you can feel happening.

Not just at En Fuego, the Del Mar eatery, whose cool and friendly outdoor patio has been hosted every Wednesday for 18 years by singer-songwriter Michael Tiernan, 14 of those years with partner/percussionist Jeff Stasny.

Seriously, it’s some kind of a bend in nature itself.

Somewhere in the molecules that whisper directly into our hearts, where euphoria, pain, love, and heartbreak all collide in this ugly, beautiful, and, yes, shared experience that we call life, Tiernan’s recent work has highlighted a key component within the artist/listener relationship. That place where the listener feels that this artist truly understands them, because it’s all being described so well, often in great detail.

It’s kind of like that Roberta Flack song, “Killing Me Softly,” where the songwriter is “singing my life with his words” only in many of these cases, he sorta is.

What started as a value-added service within his burgeoning wedding business (i.e., the Bride and Groom request a custom-written song, performed as part of their wedding festivities, etc.) eventually took several unpredictable turns, as Michael continued to reach outward for other stories in need of telling and finding many. Along the way, a lot of these stories seem to have found him.

“It’s always surprising when a song comes, right? It’s why we do it. You want that ‘stoke.’ Where did that come from and where are we going?”

“So, have you developed a particular method, then?” I ask. “Because it seems like you have to cover a lot of similar ground just researching each story.”

He shakes his head. “The method grows as you get older. I think when we start out, we feel that we’re waiting on that emotional charge. But as you go along, you come to realize that it’s work. And part of it is developing a method. ”

“It’s always the process of not letting your mind get in the way, because we start to write something and we’re like “Where are we going? It’s like, ‘No.’ Be with it. Don’t try to control what it is just yet. Follow it.”

It seems fairly ironic, the singer-songwriter about to sing a song that will be telling a personal story that is not his own, but perhaps it reveals an entire other set of possibilities.

I think it also gives Tiernan a place of wonder to speak from, because he has truly been in thrall as each of these stories unwound before him.

Here, the teller of tales has in essence been tasked with finding the words for someone else’s story and piqued our collective humanity along the way.

This is the part of the story that has most interested me as a peer, because so much of a performing songwriter’s existence is inward-looking and self-centric. This is not a jab, but more a nod toward the amount of time one must promote one’s self when hoping to play shows in front of actual audiences.

And so I found myself on two separate occasions hearing the songs and stories from his latest LP, the tellingly titled album For Others. The songs were all beautifully performed live by a dynamic ensemble and the actual stories were told by those in attendance who lived them.

Notably, Azim Khamisa, whose son Tariq was tragically murdered. Still, Khamisa was inspired into a life of service as a speaker, author, and advocate for restorative justice and youth services.

Or the tale of Michael’s Aunt Mary Jane, who after living a life of independence was facing the prospect of assisted living and a life filled with uncertainty.

Or the dance instructor who wanted to perform a Viennese waltz at her wedding with her husband to be (a decidedly non-dancing fellow), who surprised us all when he expertly danced with his wife in an amazing display of style and grace!

Michael gave voice to all these wildly different stories and more. These songs are their testimony.

Tiernan considers the distance from the start of his career to now with a deepened perspective.

“The game is in your head. All the things that you’re told you need in order to be successful, like merchandise and videos can sort of be distracting, because it’s all like a game inside your head. With these songs, some of which are having their message welcomed and subsumed by others is all a fruition in progress, of things I was hoping for before.”

Michael squints off into the distance as if he can’t make out the horizon.

“It’s like you start off and you want to be this recognized artist, you want to be playing full rooms, you want to be touring, you know, get your stuff on film and TV … you have all that game in your head and you’re told this is how you’ve gotta do it. Then you get exasperated, or you get angry. You get, you know, frustrated: ‘Poor me’… it’s great to be able to identify these other forms of service, you know?”

“Being of service to others with my music has been so encouraging to me and it’s reignited my path.

I just think in the world today, with everything so uncertain and messed up, we need to help each other in any way we can, you know? It’s great to be able to identify these other forms of service.

I mean all that stuff is great but it’s all focused around yourself. It’s hard to play that role.”

In summation, he repeats it: “The game is in your head.”

Tiernan’s latest album, For Others.

When I ask if he’s ever had difficulty with one of these songwriting assignments, Tiernan says, “No. That’s the magic part. I mean, I’m working on a sequel to the For Others album (read the Troubadour review of this album here: https://sandiegotroubadour.com/michael-tiernan-for-others/) and for one of the songs, a mother had lost her 21-year-old son in a motorcycle accident… and it’s a super happy song…but that’s what I got when I sat down to actually write it: It was a joyful song! For me, that’s magic.”

That’s like me being totally open to… and I really do think it is something else. I really feel like I’m tapping into something and I’m not gonna define or start channeling it…but I feel like there something there and I can sort it out. I’m not hearing some dude’s voice in my head, but I definitely feel that as artists and songwriters, part of our sensitivity is being able to gather something that is more ethereal for kind of like a scientific world. It’s coming from a place that we can’t quite explain and at the same time I’m excited because I’m gonna jump into that whole realm…I mean, this whole creation thing is freakin’ awesome!”

Michael Tiernan laughs a laugh from real joy. It is, in my opinion, a joy deserved.

Tiernan with Jeff Stasny at En Fuego.

I mean, not just the amount of wisdom it took to step outside of himself as an artist and give of his talents in service to these folks… He simultaneously discovered a whole other world for music to heal and inhabit. Many were strangers and some were close. To hear their stories is a wonderful and emotional experience. And they’re not strangers anymore.

I ask Michael for any parting thoughts.

“I think what I learned from all this was that a life in music doesn’t have to be as complicated as we make it for ourselves.” He says, as he turns to set up his guitar and PA.

“Just be an artist. Put it to service.”

It is part of what makes Michael Tiernan That Guy, that those words are exemplified by his own example. Bravo!

Sven-Erik Seaholm is a singer, songwriter, and record producer from San Diego, California