Canadian singer-songwriter Mike Frolick has just released his debut album under the Birthday Squirrel moniker. Higher, Warmer is an impressive blend of alt-rock, folk, and psychedelia, perfect for fans of Guided By Voices, Tom Petty, 90’s Hayden, or any of the best of the best in CanRock. He’s also released the focus track, “Marc Maron” (yes, it’s an ode to that Marc Maron), an insanely catchy earworm song accompanied by a must-watch video. We caught up with Mike to chat about the new music, his dream festival, and where the Birthday Squirrel name came from.
From The Strait: Tell us about the new album, Higher, Warmer
Mike Frolick: At the time I started writing the album, I had just come out of a pretty bad period where I wasn’t sleeping and was caught in a terrible anxiety cycle. A combination of things (including meds, full disclosure) had started to make me feel much better. I started to recognize myself again and became hyper aware of how good making music made me feel. After writing ‘Better Than I Was,’ I felt like I was onto something and the album just took off from there. I didn’t have a particular concept — I just wanted to make a good record. I’ve struggled with anxiety my entire life — something it took me forever to really acknowledge — and like a lot of people, I had pushed so many feelings down so far, I just had no idea what was at the root of it all. To me, this album is about unearthing hidden monsters and trying to be as honest as possible. There’s a line in the BTIW that goes, “I’m trying hard to make love to bad habits.” That’s basically me, inviting the monsters in and giving them a hug.
The title is nicked from one of the settings on a mastering plugin I was playing around with at the time. I think the actual setting was actually called ‘High/Warmer’ which sounded to me like how I was feeling, so I stole it.
From The Strait: What can you tell us about the album’s focus track, “Marc Maron”?
Mike Frolick: I discovered the WTF podcast during the pandemic and immediately fell in love with it. MM is a great interviewer and because he’s so honest about his myriad of personal issues, he has the rare ability to get people to open up about theirs. He doesn’t pretend to be perfect and he’s funny to boot. That honesty is what hooked me — you just feel like he’s giving you everything, warts and all which is such a beautiful thing. In a world where ’empathy’ has become a bit of a dirty word, Maron is a champion of the underdog. I listened to a lot of episodes while out for “pandemic walks” and after a while, it just felt like he was a pal I hung out with a couple times a week. When the podcast ended, I needed to do something to express my gratitude.
From The Strait: Where did the name Birthday Squirrel come from?
Mike Frolick: When my daughter was young, she had this habit of inviting squirrels to her birthday party. I thought it was so funny and it always just stuck with me.
From The Strait: What made you first want to be a musician?
Mike Frolick: I always loved music but didn’t think about being a musician until I was in my early twenties. My mom was really sick and I picked up the guitar and started writing immediately with whatever chords I knew. It was my way of coping and still is, I guess.
From The Strait: Who were your biggest musical influences growing up, and how do they differ from your current ones?
Mike Frolick: The Beatles were big. I used to listen to them in my friends’ basement down the street when we were kids. He had a gerbil he named Ringo. We made him a tiny drum kit out of toilet paper rolls. I had older brothers, so when I was young I just listened to what they listened to — Rush, AC/DC, Queen, Triumph, Zeppelin…but when I was 11 or 12 I became friends with a kid from Toronto who introduced me to stuff like The Specials, The Clash, Generation X…this was HUGE. From there I got into The Smiths, The Cure, U2…I had no idea there were all of these other kinds of bands and the music just sounded a little more honest or something. I still love me some Zeppelin.
From The Strait: What are some of your non-musical hobbies?
Mike Frolick: Still love to play beer-league hockey and to be out on the water whenever possible. If you have a cottage, please let me be your friend. Please??? Brunch is my favourite meal — I think that could be a hobby.
From The Strait: If you could curate a festival (with you headlining, of course), who would you want on the bill and what would it be called?
Mike Frolick: It’d be called “Mike Fest.” Anyone named Mike or Michelle gets into Mike-Fest free (We’d also accept Mikhails and Michels). All the performing bands must include at least one Mike.
The lineup would look something like this:
7pm – Loverboy (Mike Reno)
8pm – Pearl Jam (Mike McCready)
9pm – Beastie Boys (Mike D) (I’ll fill in for MCA)
10pm – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Mike Campbell) (I’ll fill in for Tom)
11pm – Michel Goulet
11:05pm – Birthday Squirrel
Check out Higher Warmer, the debut album from Birthday Squirrel, featuring the focus track, “Marc Maron”.
