107.1 FM KZME radio is a proud sponsor of the My Voice Music 3rd anniversary party that is taking place on October 15. It will be a celebration of all the great stuff going on at the organization, including the release of its very first compilation CD. You can listen to that CD by clicking here as it was featured on Trixie Pop earlier this month.
Ian Mouser is the executive director for My Voice Music, and I recently caught up with him to find out a bit more about the man behind the music.
Meet....Ian Mouser!
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HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIVED IN THE PORTLAND AREA?
I moved to Portland in 1999 (wow, that was a really long time ago!) with my band at the time, American Hit List. We played a bunch of 70’s sounding rock tunes with big guitar solos, drum fills and lots of attitude (I still have the scars!). That band eventually broke up, but I continued to play in bands, most notably playing bass for the band, Another Cynthia. We made very little money so I had day jobs and all that. - Portland is such a great town. I can go out just about any night and see a friend, or a friend of a friend’s band play a small club and blow me away!
GIVE US A BRIEF HISTORY OF YOUR BAND/PROJECT:
I worked as Treatment Counselor and Skills Trainer in a residential treatment center for youth experiencing mental health and behavioral challenges. I brought in my guitar one morning and played it as the boys woke up. Typically, they would wake up yelling at each other and whoever was present. The first morning I played my guitar on the unit, the kids woke up, came out of their rooms and instead of yelling and fighting each other, sat down in front of me and quietly listened. It was like I had waved a magic wand across the room and chaos was replaced with calm - insecurity with a sense of place. That experience transformed my perception of what I was supposed to be doing with music.
I began teaching music to many of the youth in the treatment center, as well as, to youth living in foster care and attending therapeutic schools. I developed a curriculum that taught youth to play music, write songs, record them and perform as a band. Quickly, I began receiving letters from parents, therapists, teachers, and program directors telling me stories of how these music programs were having remarkably positive impacts on the youth attending them - leading to breakthroughs in therapy sessions, boosting school attendance, lowering violent outburst and aggression; fostering positive social interactions for the first time in a child’s life…stuff like that.
I decided to expand these programs so they could reach many more youth than I could ever work with on my own…but, I had no money, and little knowledge regarding how to form a business. Fortunately friends who heard me talk about the program and my vision for it volunteered to do everything from design logo’s, to buying a program van. One of my private student’s parents gave me their Dodge Durango and told me to sell it in order to found the organization. My friend/music attorney, Peter Shaver, helped me to prepare the mountains of paper work…and there you have it, My Voice Music was created – serving over 500 youth per year as of today!
WHAT IS THE FIRST SONG YOU EVER LEARNED TO PLAY?
What a great question! “I Could Have Lied”, by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, from the Blood, Sugar, Sex album. I haven’t listened to that song in years.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL VENUE TO PLAY? TO SEE OTHER BANDS?
I really enjoyed playing at the Doug Fir. Those shows were always packed and a blast. I think that is my favorite place to listen to a band too, but I have a weird unexplainable love for the White Eagle. I love that place like I love an old pair of wool socks. It’s a toss up.
SPEAKING OF OTHER BANDS, WHO DO YOU LIKE ON THE PORTLAND MUSIC SCENE?
I like so many bands on the Portland scene – oh my! This is a tough question. I will give this the Inego Montoya one-handed list of top six bands in my current playlist:
Tango Alpha Tango, Sara Jackson-Holeman, Mike Midlo and Pancake Breakfast, Jared Meese and the Grown Children, Mackintosh Braun, Ages and Ages
TELL US ABOUT A RECENT "ONLY IN PORTLAND" MOMENT YOU EXPERIENCED:
I was sitting at a stop light when a man with a twirled mustached man wearing suspenders and a bowtie passed by riding a unicycle. As he passed he looked over at me for a second and then winked. - I felt powerless and alive all at once.
Finish this sentence: “I cannot live without... dentists - I love me some healthy chompers!”
Check out this cool video that is an interview with Ian:
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