Anybody else miss Mike his engagement with the fans, like the Christmas morning eastereggs or the twitter Q&A’s?
He used to be so invested in the fan base and it was a ton of fun to discover some of his insights or gain knowledge of what he’s up to.
Maybe I’m nostalgic, but I sure miss it
Mike was someone I considered a friend many moons ago. We actually spoke almost every day at one point and it was mutual. I understand people change and have their own lives BUT to do a total 180 is just sad. I know he had his demons and when his father passed it crushed him, they were VERY close. Life can be bittering but when you have legions of devoted fans courtesy shouldn't be that hard no matter what.
So... I really hesitate to write this, because I don't want to sound like I'm ungrateful or that I'm bashing him, because I'm not. All things are relative, because he's still reasonably open and welcoming, but I've met him twice now in the last, say, five years, and compared to hearing the stories and seeing some of the old videos... something seems different. I don't know if he's more guarded following the split - there was some online activity just following the split that I to this day maintain may have crossed the line to criminal - but he just doesn't seem to be as present. I'm sure some of it is age - we're the same age by a few months - and some of it is just that it's not new anymore; how many times can you look enthused to hear "Hey bro! When are the Winery Dogs coming back?!?", and some of it has to do with the fact that we're dealing with adult things now (his relationship to his ex-band members, etcetera). Or maybe, in fact, it's me, and I'm not being objective enough. Who knows? But it's something that crossed my mind...