"I felt like a hero, Joe."
Mike Waskey owns 42 bags. He can recite the model names from memory. And by the end of this conversation he can tell you exactly why — it goes back to a pair of pants that split open on his second day working at Starbucks.
This is Part 1 of a two-part swap: no guest, no format, just Mike and Joe interviewing each other. Joe takes the chair this week and asks Mike the questions. Next episode, Mike turns it around — with help from ChatGPT, since he's decided that's fair play.
Joe did zero preparation, and it shows in the best way. The first hour wanders through beef tallow hair product, a pair of $400 Randolph sunglasses, Project Hail Mary, Silo, and a dad joke that probably shouldn't have survived the edit.
Then it gets somewhere real. Mike's father grew up in the Plymouth Brethren — a religious group headquartered in Australia where children weren't allowed to listen to the radio, and where leaving meant your entire family stopped speaking to you. He got out by enlisting as a conscientious objector. Mike walks us through what he knows of it, why he thinks people are drawn to that kind of thing, and his own view that any organization worth joining should probably be a little bit cultish.
We trace the stages of Michael Steven Waskey: the soccer-and-karate kid, the skateboarding guitar player with the 90s haircut, the kid who quit the soccer team after fighting three teammates who were picking on someone smaller, the high schooler recording an album with Statue Spread, the heavy phase with Clockwork, and the college student who found out he could sing in an ear training class.
And the Heavy Fred years — which means the crab tater tots story. Joe walking off stage mid-song to eat by the handful, Mike hiding his keys, the band leaving without him, and the intervention that took another year and a half to work. Both of them tell it straight.
After the break Joe asks what Mike's morals and values actually are, and Mike takes it seriously: family as the basis of society, four adopted children, faith, and the parts he doesn't live up to. He's unusually honest about it — the word games he plays with pricing to make more money, jealousy, and a resistance to authority that runs from claiming cash tips all the way down to wearing a seatbelt.
Then the bags. Mike pulls one off camera and gives an unrequested tour, and it becomes the most revealing part of the episode: a wrench pulled out of a tire on vacation with paracord and a hitch, the ripped pants at Starbucks, and what it actually feels like to be the person who has what everyone needs.
We also get into what's next — pivoting from bar gigs to weddings, funerals, and corporate events, playing fewer but better shows, and the fact that he needs to go buy a suit.
What shift have you experienced in your life?
CHAPTERS
00:00 Wayfinders Testicular Health Fund
00:45 Welcome to Episode 40 — no guest this time
01:41 The plan: we interview each other
02:11 "Did you do any research on me?"
02:47 First question: beef tallow hair product
03:53 $400 sunglasses and the Randolph rabbit hole
07:15 The $40 glasses with magnetic clip-ons
08:26 Project Hail Mary
10:06 Silo, and drip-feeding a story
12:32 The jeans, the air conditioner, and "give me your login"
13:12 A dad joke that shouldn't have made the edit
13:46 Michael Steven Waskey — born Easton, raised Kent Island
14:39 Mike's dad grew up in a cult
16:44 The Plymouth Brethren, and leaving through the military
17:52 What draws people to cults?
18:30 "Any organization worth joining should be a little bit cultish"
20:47 Why Mike's dad got out
22:18 The Amish, the Mennonites, and friction as a feature
23:49 Raw milk, herd shares, and a solar-powered bathroom
26:06 The stages of Michael Waskey: soccer and karate
27:38 Skateboarding, guitar, and the 90s haircut
28:24 Quitting the soccer team over a fight
29:10 First bands, John Gunther, and Statue Spread
32:17 Recording in high school, and going heavy with Clockwork
33:48 College, learning to sing, and going solo
34:36 Trading time for money vs. writing songs
36:08 Musical influences — and the Heavy Fred years
36:57 The crab tater tot story
37:42 The intervention that took another year and a half
38:28 Singers you can't get past
42:21 How a band survives 40 years and two heroin addictions
46:12 What Mike actually listens to now
50:04 The Charles Ponzi series
51:36 How the Ponzi scheme actually worked
57:04 Letting AI invest your money
58:57 Sponsor — Wayfinders THF & Putts Fore! Nuts
1:00:26 What are your morals and values?
1:00:59 Family, faith, and four adopted children
1:02:32 Where morals come from
1:04:59 Following the Bible, and why people interpret it differently
1:07:19 Do you live up to your own values?
1:08:54 Being honest with yourself
1:10:28 Pricing, word games, and the urge to be dishonest
1:12:49 Authority, seatbelts, and claiming cash tips
1:14:28 Laziness, oversleeping, and the chicken coop
1:17:34 The bag segment begins
1:18:19 The Vertx Urban Ghost sling
1:20:37 Hero clips, rapid access tabs, and CCW compartments
1:22:56 Why bags? The doomsday prepper phase
1:24:32 The wrench in the tire
1:27:40 The ripped pants at Starbucks
1:28:25 "I felt like a hero, Joe"
1:29:12 Joe needs a bag
1:31:32 Does a sling look manly?
1:33:04 The Vanquest Katara, and knowing all the names
1:33:49 What's next: pivoting to private events
1:35:23 Weddings, funerals, and what to charge
1:38:28 Foster care, and MSW upside down
1:39:14 Mike's crowd work
1:41:33 Taking a break vs. working the room
1:43:51 Why private gigs feel different
1:44:37 Rating Joe's interview skills
1:44:54 Wayfinders Testicular Health Fund
THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY WAYFINDERS TESTICULAR HEALTH FUND
Be Bold. Be Brave. Be Aware.
Wayfinders THF is a Maryland-based 501(c)(3) dedicated to impacting the lives and health of young men by combating testicular cancer through awareness, education, fundraising, and community support — with a focus on men aged 14 to 35. A component fund of Chesapeake Charities.
Website: https://www.wayfindersthf.org
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wayfindersthf
Donate: https://ccharities.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=2419
PUTTS FORE! NUTS — 2nd Annual Charity Mini-Golf Tournament
Saturday, October 17, 2026 · 11:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Embers Island Mini-Golf, 2305 Philadelphia Ave Suite #4, Ocean City, MD 21842
Event info: https://www.wayfindersthf.org/putts-fore-nuts
Register / donate: https://ccharities.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list/event?event_date_id=2419
Sponsorships available at every level — team, tee box, prizes, t-shirts and more.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Randolph Engineering sunglasses · Zenni · Project Hail Mary · Silo · Plymouth Brethren
Statue Spread · Clockwork · Heavy Fred · John Gunther
Counting Crows · Third Eye Blind · Matchbox 20 · The Get Up Kids · Mineral · Bright Eyes · Deftones · Meshuggah · Radiohead · Red Hot Chili Peppers · Jason Isbell
Dead Drop · Theo Von · Joe Rogan · Diary of a CEO · Sean Ryan Show · Lex Fridman · The Gigging Musician Podcast · Blurry Creatures · Haunted Cosmos · Alex O'Connor
Vertx Urban Ghost sling · Vanquest Katara · HeroClip
SUPPORT THE SHIFT WITH MIKE & JOE
Website: https://www.theshiftwithmikeandjoe.com
Donate: https://www.theshiftwithmikeandjoe.com/giving-page-2-1
Email: info@theshiftwithmikeandjoe.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheShiftWithMikeAndJoe
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshiftwithmikeandjoe/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574975860350
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theshiftwithmikeandjoe
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-shift-with-mike-joe/id1813198065
Podbean: https://joer7.podbean.com
CONNECT WITH MIKE & JOE
Michael Waskey Music
Website: https://www.michaelwaskey.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelwaskeymusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelwaskeymusic
Kent Island Academy of Music (Mike)
Website: https://kentislandacademyofmusic.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KentIslandAcademyOfMusic/
Image & Sound Media (Joe)
Website: https://www.imagesoundmedia.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094021747690
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imageandsoundmedia
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@imagesoundmedia
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@imagesoundmedia
Joe Bryan Music
Website: https://www.joebryanmusic.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550810556745
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joebryanmusic
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joebryanmusic
PODCAST PRODUCTION GEAR (EPISODE 40)
Camera: Sony A7C II
Main Audio: Shure SM7B (Joe & Mike)
Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 18i18
Audio Software: Reaper
Video Editing: DaVinci Resolve Studio
Lighting: Amaran 100x & 200x softboxes + Amaran tube lights
The Shift with Mike & Joe is fully produced by Image & Sound Media.
https://www.imagesoundmedia.com
#TheShiftPodcast #EntrepreneurLife #BusinessTalk #mikeandjoeshow #KentIsland #EasternShore #Annapolis #MarylandPodcast #TesticularCancerAwareness #WayfindersTHF
