Mikus warms up for official Boxing Day release (8 photos)

Amid the shoes and hoodies and skateboards of the Rad Zone in the Wellington Square Mall, Mike Mikus hosted a special all-ages free performance Saturday afternoon. It was an acoustic warm-up of sorts to his upcoming CD release celebration scheduled for Boxing Day at Loplops. Joining him were Keegan Rosso on percussion and Pete Mozarowski on cello.

The former frontman of The Pixo Control told SooToday the switch from band to solo was something he felt needed to happen, although, he is often joined on stage by his old bandmates, the aforementioned Rosso and Dustin Goodall.

“The number one thing that I wanted to concentrate on was the art and I wanted the music to be good. I really wanted to have an experience that taught me something. I decided to just do the solo gig because I didn’t want to call it a cheesy band name, and I didn’t really have anything to call it,” he joked.

His forthcoming self-titled release is likely what a second Pixo album would have been, although more than half of which was written after the band split up, Mikus said. Goodall engineered and recorded the nine tracks for the record and the band had complete control over all aspects of the process.

“(Dustin and I) really see eye to eye, so it was a really easy recording experience,” Mikus told us.

“It was a cool experience because it happened on our free time. We were hanging out all the time and creating music anyway, so it just blended into what we do as we wanted to do it. At the same time, it was a major learning curve which I’m very grateful for. That’s the whole point of this – it teaches you something.”

Although Mikus relocated to Montreal earlier this year, he has not gigged much, but has instead been feeling his way through the city’s creative communities. He’s been busy creating, he said, and is already working on and looking forward to future releases.

Until then, fans and friends are invited to join Mike Mikus and guests – Dustin Goodall, Keegan Rosso and maybe a few surprises – at Loplops on Boxing Day, Dec. 26. Doors open at 9 p.m. Opening performances include those from All Us Others and Id Iota.

Admission at the door is $10 or $15 for admission plus a digital download of the new Mike Mikus album. You must be 19 or older to attend this show.

To preorder the Mike Mikus self-titled release, please click here.