2020
Every good band starts somewhere - and it's usually a pub. Let's rewind to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was a lot of things to people, some suffered immeasurably, others just got bored and in turn drank and ate too much and got fat, some found a new lease of life for things that they'd not done for years. For Mike Freeman, it was a smattering of all three, still working but in this new calmer environment without the normal release of going out on evenings and weekends, Mike picked up his guitar. He'd not really played it for years and definitely hadn't written a song, but in the darkness of the pandemic with a new lease of life, a budding love interest in Amber and a zest for positivity in the darkness, Mike wrote, and he wrote a lot. Fast forward to when you was allowed to go to the pub under whatever weird instructions there was about at the time, Mike and his house mate Dobbo went to their local, around 54 steps away from where they lived. The name of the boozer 'The Blundell" - nestled under the flood lights of the famous Blundell Park football ground, the pair got drunk. With alcohol, Mikes brain plans as fast as possible and as much as possible. He declared "I want a band, I want one that changes, where I can collaborate with loads of people and just make all these songs i've written over the past few months a reality" - Dobbo replied "Do it i'll help." "Sweet, yeah I wanna call it "Free Man and The Blundells, and anyone that that collabs will become a Blundell" - Their mate Jason Barwick, who just happened to be awesome on the guitar, joined for a few whiskeys, he agreed to help as and when he could, and the trio toddled off back to their Hart Street home and started jamming some songs. Over the next year or so, Mike continued to work on demos in his office, hitting the open mic scene and re-building a confidence to do what he had done all them years ago in Kismet Ryding, and front up a band again. Fast forward to the Spring of '22 and FREE MAN, was ready to put out his first release.
Release One - Shackled - April 2022
Mike's first recorded song for his collaborative project was a personal creation developed with a friend from Minnesota. He shared some chords and lyrics with Carly Green, giving her full creative freedom to craft a piano tune, which turned out to be perfect. Mike then took it to local producer Sam Carlton, who added vocals and flair. He enlisted local creative Zak Rashid, and together they rented a café with a piano, set the mood lighting, and filmed an impressive one-take video. Want to know a secret? Mike didn't actually play the piano; he mimed the entire performance for the video.
In early 2022, performing under the "Free-Man," Mike often found himself in his office, either stoned or drunk, relearning how to use Logic while gradually recording songs with minimal equipment. He sent these tracks to the talented Sam Simmons, who worked wonders on many of them. For his next release, Mike aimed to build on the vibe of "Shackled," calling on Zak once more, who excited by the idea of shooting a loop scene. Mike loved the idea, wearing the same tee from the "Shackled" shoot to create a seamless transition to the pub for the next video. With help of some of Zak's friends at the popular local brewery, Willy's, they produced a captivating video on an unexpectedly busy Monday night. Dobbo and Mikes friend Summer had left a poster she had created round at their house, which really captured Mikes internal thoughts "Will we ever be free?" Can be seen throughout this video, a nod to how everyone was feeling during those weird pandemic months and years. And we are still wondering that now!