An Imaginary Superstar in the Flesh: Mingering Mike

MOST PEOPLE DON'T have a shot at making their childhood dreams come true. Especially if those dreams revolved around becoming a superstar soul singer.

The story of Mingering Mike — an imaginary soul superstar — has been chronicled worldwide, with lectures in Amsterdam, features by NPR and the New York Times, a 2007 book and accompanying reviews in the New Yorker and, of course, ample coverage in Express and The Washington Post.

It's a story that's a bit hard to wrap your head around when you first hear it. Between the years of 1968 and 1977, a lonesome kid who dreamed of making it big as a singer, songwriter and producer drew fake record covers, complete with fake song titles, in order to made a fake career for himself. Over the course of his "career," he recorded more than 50 albums, managed 35 record labels and wrote, produced and starred in nine movies. All imaginary, of course.

In 2003, record collector and DJ Dori Hadar found a collection of hand-drawn cardboard records at a flea market. Mingering Mike had all his work and tons of personal belongings in a storage locker, and after he missed a payment, the company put his stuff up for auction.

A private investigator by day, Hadar set out to track down the creator of these whimsical but intricate objects.

The once-unknown Washington, D.C., resident was suddenly thrust into the spotlight — and Mingering Mike was no longer an imaginary star. (Though he prefers to keep his real name concealed.)

While most of Mike's career existed only on cardboard, he did record some songs on a reel-to-reel recorder with his cousin, the Big "D." Last October, the Vanguard Squad released the original recording of "There's Nothing Wrong With You Baby" on vinyl and with original artwork.

More than 30 years after its original recording, Mingering Mike was finally a legitimate recording artist.

His artwork and story was gathered together and published as "Mingering Mike: The Amazing Career of an Imaginary Soul Superstar" (Princeton Architectural Press) and Hemphill Gallery in the District, had an exhibit of his original artwork and albums.

But even though Mingering dreamed of making it big in his youth, he is wary of the attention. He makes public appearances only in disguise, which can consist of wigs, facial hair, sunglasses and other accessories. Photos of him are hard to come by, and the ones that exist are of him in costume or with his face obscured.

Still, Mingering Mike is starting to appear out into the public more frequently — and in March, he made his live debut at the SXSW Music festival.

While Mingering Mike didn't perform — that's still a little too much limelight for him right now — he MC'd the showcase for Ubiquity Records. He roused the crowd throughout the night (in full getup, of course, and this time with a Jheri curl wig), but the evening's highlight was when kindred spirit Darondo took the stage, 30 years past his due, as well. Mike, standing offstage, was completely caught up in the moment as he watched Darondo — who opened for James Brown way back in the day — do his thing.

On the last day of SXSW Music, and a day after his debut, Express caught up with Mingering Mike. As we ate some Tex Mex, visited some record stores and drove around a now-desolate post-festival Austin, we chatted about SXSW, politics and disguises.

» EXPRESS: SXSW was your first public musical debut. How do you think it went?
» MIKE: I don't think it went too well.

» EXPRESS: Oh, really?
» MIKE: No.... Yeah, it was hilarious. I was just playin' with you [laughs].

» EXPRESS: Is it what you were expecting?
» MIKE: No, not really, but you get tied up in the moment and you just sail along — or try to sail along. You can dream of things and imagine it and stuff like that, but sometimes when reality hits, it doesn't seem to coincide. But [SXSW] was more than I could ever imagine.

» EXPRESS: Do you want to do it again?
» MIKE: It would be pretty nice. They seem to want me back here [laughs].

» EXPRESS: Why do you think people are so drawn to you and your story?
» MIKE: I guess it's because it's, in a sense, a good guy getting his just dues. Everybody appreciates something like that.
» EXPRESS: At your performance, someone said that your story is so inspiring. When you were much younger, did you think your work could be inspiring to people?
» MIKE: No, I didn't, because it was a personal matter at the time. Then for it to be exposed to the public like that. ... It's fantastic. It's like more than you could ever imagine.

» EXPRESS: So it's OK that something that was once personal is now out for the public to see?
» MIKE: Yeah, because when it's a one-on-one kind of thing, you appreciate it yourself. And you can show but so many family and friends before they get sick of it. For brand new eyes to see something every single day — that's insurmountable.

» EXPRESS: Do you have any desire to start making cardboard cutouts and drawings again?
» MIKE: If I could find the time and inspiration. As you get older, you get more things you have to concentrate on to get the job done. But if the mood hits me, it would be quite interesting to see what I could come up with.

» EXPRESS: When you were creating them, it was just for you and people you knew. You put in so much time and effort into being detail-oriented, even though you didn't have a real audience. Why did you put so much work into it?
» MIKE: Because I wanted it to be as close to authenticness as possible. Why would you want to have something that's not measured right? Then you want to show somebody and they say, "Well, could you fix that up?" I wanted to make sure everything was right.

» EXPRESS: If you were to make a new album today, what do you think the concept would be?
» MIKE: I would try to put a different take on something today.

» EXPRESS: What kind of take?
» MIKE: Everything is almost recycled. It's just that people are older and they went through it before. The younger people, it's the first time for them, so you try to have something that will blend in with both generations. That would have to be something I come up with overnight or walking down the street or anything — it happens at anytime, when you've got creativeness in you.

» EXPRESS: Do you see yourself becoming more focused on current events on future albums?
» MIKE: A lot of times, if you don't stay current, people don't want you. But the thing with me is if I were a musician in the past as if I were today, I would kind of go with my flow. If there is a certain thing I want to say, then I will say it, but I wouldn't necessarily just try to cash in on the popularity of a certain event. ... The stuff I did basically was "feel good" music — something that makes you feel good, not something that will make you think. But at times, you do need something that will make you think because in today's politics, a lot of times people just accept what's going on. They say, "What can [I] do, it ain't gonna change. It's gonna be the same regardless of who is in there." And you get kind of blase and accept everything that happens without any form of real protest. It would be quite a challenge to see what I could come up with today.

» EXPRESS: Why do you always insist on being in disguise when you're out in public?
» MIKE: I'm not quite ready to walk down the street and people noticing me all the time. And you get into a situation where [people say], 'Oh, you ain't all that good." When I feel I'm in the right frame of mind, I'll bust out.

» EXPRESS: Is it fun to dress up, too?
» MIKE: Oh, yeah. Shucks, it's fun trying to find something that will fit. I want something that wouldn't be too obvious and something that wouldn't be too outrageous at the same time.

» EXPRESS: When you got to see Darondo perform, did you see yourself as kindred spirits? You two have similar stories, both being rediscovered right now. [That's the two of them together, pictured right.]
» MIKE: It almost seems like two distant brothers — one is on one side of the world and the other's on the other side of the world, and all of a sudden, 20 or 30 years later, people discovering the person.... Then for people to notice you and then all of a sudden you're in the same venue with that person — it's fantastic. It's almost like you say, "Hey, we both did it. It's years later, but we both did it and we're being recognized."

» EXPRESS: Did you guys talk about this?
» MIKE: We didn't go into full length or anything, but he knew of me and he said, "Who don't know of Mingering Mike?"

Written by Express contributor Katherine Silkaitis
Photos by Dori Hadar