Rockstar INXS Stories with MiG Ayesha

We're back with Season 2 whoohoooo....

and n this week's episode, we're delighted to have on the Listen Like Fans podcast the extremely versatile and talented 'MiG' Ayesa - or to give him his full name, Miguel Alfonso Ramon Legarda Ayesa. As many INXS fans will remember, MiG was a contestant on RockStar INXS. Mig was one of the final three contestants and became a frontrunner with versions of "Live and Let Die" and "Baby, I Love Your Way". 

MiG joins Bee from a cruise ship in a wide-ranging career interview to discuss all things performing on TV, studio and stage - including singing in multiple languages such as Japanese! In the twenty years since RockStar INXS ended, Mig has enjoyed a successful music career, releasing solo albums, working in theatre and appearing in television and film. 

On the podcast today, MiG talks about his break into theatre in London's West End and meeting the surviving members of rock band Queen for his lead stint in We Will Rock You. All this would change, however, when Mig decided to try his luck auditioning for a new reality TV programme... Auditioning at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London to the INXS classic 'I Send a Message', a certain Mr Pengilly would be in the audience watching. This led to a second audition and then making the final 50 cut to perform in Los Angeles. 

MiG recounts the laborious process of filming for each round of the RockStar INXS audition and eventually making it into the last 15. During his time with RockStar INXS, 'Baby, I Love Your Way', the Peter Frampton classic, became one of the standout performances of the entire series. MiG takes us behind the scenes and explains how the songs were chosen and how he came up with the arrangement to make the song his own. 

In something of a fortuitous twist of fate, this would lead to Peter Frampton playing acoustic guitar on MiG's debut album. Talking about his debut solo album, MiG gives the inside on how Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee was responsible for MiG's debut album being shelved by the record label for two years! 

Finally, MiG talks reuniting with the original RockStar INXS house band and many of the contestants for the upcoming anniversary shows at the Avalon in Hollywood. With more than 25 years in the industry, MiG has had a varied and interesting career, and the signs are that there are plenty more twists and turns to come. We hope you enjoy listening to the very entertaining MiG and feel inspired to check out his back catalogue. Links below. 

 Until next time, keep listening like fans! Bee!

If you're a patron of Listen Like Fans, you can watch this interview here: 

https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-access-mig-158129922?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

https://rockstarreunionlive.com/

https://open.spotify.com/album/0wzSGWKgpVelYpjPI5XTVQ?si=uHXWtXXfToGoKIsF6G6aow

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Okay, growth.

SPEAKER_04 0:06

Welcome to Listen Light Fans for the love of NXTs. I'm B, and each week I'll be joined by a different co-host as we dive into the songs, the stories, and the moments that made us fall in love with this most iconic fan on the planet. Let's go. Hi guys, I hope you're all doing well. It's B here from Listen Light Fans, and today I'm joined by a really lovely guest, a global superstar actually. A powerful and unique journey, Mig Ayesa. And he was born in the Philippines. He was born in the Philippines and raised in Sydney, I believe. And we'll talk about more about that. He's carved his career across the music genres and through the theatre before stepping into the spotlight of Rockstar in Excess. From playing Richie Valance in the Buddy Holly story to starring in London's West End in Rent and becoming Galileo in Queen's, we will rock you. He had already been a seasoned performer and was had serious stage presence. But in 2005, everything changed. Meek took on the world as a contestant on Rockstar InXS, competing to become a new frontman of the one and only IX, the iconic band that we all love. Week after week, he delivered unforgettable performances, fought through the pressures, and made it all the way to the final three. Well done. Earning fans across the globe and cementing his place in Inex history. Since then, his career has taken off across the world, from the West End to Broadway, from Thriller Live to Global Tours, also fronting other um bands as well, which we'll talk about. But for many fans, that rock star journey is where the connection began. So I'd like to say hi. Welcome to Listen Like Fans, Meg.

SPEAKER_03 2:11

Hey B, how are you doing, everybody? It's so lovely to be here. Thank you so much for inviting me. It's a thrill to be here.

SPEAKER_04 2:17

It is, it is. I know. And and where are you booming in from? You're on a ship in the middle of nowhere.

SPEAKER_03 2:25

Excuse me if I say I just spent six months on a leaky book. No, actually, occasionally I do these uh one-off shows in uh as a guest entertainer on cruise ships. And at the moment, I'm on the Diamond Princess, somewhere off the coast of Hokkaido in Japan, in uh in a town called Hakodote. Hakudote.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Hakodote.

SPEAKER_04 2:45

Where did you get on from?

SPEAKER_03 2:48

I got on actually in Jeju Island in South Korea. They flew me in and I I joined the ship in South Korea, and I've just been sailing for the last few days. I do my show tomorrow and then I get off the ship. So just I'm here for a week. So I do this occasionally. I used to do it quite a bit before the pandemic, but since then I only do it on invitation only. And uh because I sing a couple of songs in Japanese, it sort of lends itself well to this itinerary. So that's why they keep on I keep on fooling them, thinking that they think that I'm actually know what I'm saying and I have no idea what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_04 3:20

But that's how many languages, how many languages do you speak then?

SPEAKER_03 3:25

Well, I I try to speak English and and I'm not very good at that, but I do little speak a little bit of you know little bits of Tagalog, which I was born in the Philippines. Um, so I speak a bit of Tagalog. Um, I speak quite a bit of Spanish because my parents speak fluent Spanish. Um and uh but that's really it. I mean, uh I do sing in in I I I learned how to sing in Mandarin for some shows on ships, and I I learned how to sing some songs in Japanese for this cruise. Um uh spring songs in Spanish, but that's really it. That's really it. I know I make things up as I go along, and hopefully people won't know that I'm making things up.

SPEAKER_04 4:04

Oh wow, this is awesome. So, parent, was there some sort of like you know, music in the family? How did all this originate from?

SPEAKER_03 4:13

I have no idea. I think I'm kind of adopted. No, I think I'm just kind of adopted, I think, because my uh I come from a long line of doctors. My my mom's a doctor, all my uncles and aunts are doctors, both grandfathers were doctors, and they come from medical family as well. Um, my my stepdad was uh a lawyer. Um uh I guess my my my my biological father, he he had a bit he had a good voice. He had a good voice, put it that way. I mean, uh, because we would sing together, and and um as a matter of fact, I remember when I was five years old, I was singing with my brother and my dad. And he said to me, he said, uh uh, you know, he said to my brother, he said, Hey Andrew, you got a really good voice. And I said to him, How about me, Dad? Do I have a good voice? He says, Yeah, not as good as your brothers.

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Right, totally, totally crushed me.

SPEAKER_02 5:05

He's honesty, I'm thinking my dad is very honest. Um, but that kind of forced me to go, oh yeah, well, I'll show you.

SPEAKER_03 5:12

I'll show you. Because I knew consistent practice, and I think now I might be as good as my brother. We'll see.

SPEAKER_04 5:20

And did your brother forge a career in music or did he become a doctor?

SPEAKER_02 5:25

He was an optometrist. Which is great, because I get to I get to use this now.

SPEAKER_03 5:32

As I get older, I get oh there you are. Now I now as I get as I get older, I can actually get my glasses done for free, which is great.

SPEAKER_04 5:39

Good done, yeah. Good done, yeah. It's funny. I'm I actually that's my other job. I I'm not an optometrist, but I work for an optometrist.

SPEAKER_03 5:47

Oh, really? Oh, there you go. It's yeah, they're good people. They're good people. And as I get older, I thank thank goodness that my brother became an optometrist. Thanks, Andrew. They work well.

SPEAKER_04 5:58

You were born in the Philippines, and then you went to the whole family, I should take it, to Australia. How old were you then?

SPEAKER_03 6:06

I was just two years old when we moved to Australia. So I really don't remember much at all about the Philippines when I was younger. So I I identify very much as Australian. Um, uh still an Australian passport. Uh, even though I live in the United States now, I I don't want to um be a US citizen. So I'm just on a green card. So I'm staunchly Australian. I was I've been up since 4 30 this morning.

SPEAKER_04 6:31

Wow. Oh you you you look very fresh. Well, when I spoke to you earlier, you said, Oh, can we just fix up the mics and then can I go exploring? So you went off exploring before we did this interview. Um no, actually, I didn't. I didn't oh you didn't edit during it?

SPEAKER_03 6:48

No, not not beforehand. I was actually actually had to do some work um because my show is I'm on I'm on the show uh in the theatre tomorrow. So I just had to go and do some some re-editing of some backdrop videos that I was gonna I use with my show. I'll have some opportunity to go this afternoon.

SPEAKER_04 7:02

So so back to Australia, you were to and where were you brought up in Australia? Were you in Sydney?

SPEAKER_03 7:11

Sydney, yes. Sydney is uh my home. I grew up in in Sydney, but we first actually moved to Brisbane. First call was Brisbane, and my parents sort of like went, let's try Sydney.

SPEAKER_05 7:22

So not so far.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

I grew up so well, they kind of I don't know, they just didn't click with Brisbane as much as when they went to Sydney. They they found they found their niece, they found their the group of friends, they grow on the people, and we flourished in Sydney. So it was uh one of the greatest things that my dad ever did. My grandfather was actually the uh medical officer for the Australian Embassy in Manila, and it was when President Marcos declared martial law in the Philippines that my dad went, I'm out of here, and I don't want my kids to grow up under martial law with this dictator. So we moved to Australia and uh you know, thank goodness for that decision.

SPEAKER_04 7:58

Yeah, great decision, great good pair of ten. Well done. Well, excellent. You might be good at um detailing the who which son he's the best singer, but at least you got you to Australia.

SPEAKER_02 8:11

You got us to Australia, so I'm grateful for all his honesty for everything that my dad is. He brought me up all right.

SPEAKER_04 8:18

Oh, bless him. And then when did you move to London?

SPEAKER_03 8:22

Was that after school or oh yeah, well, I was actually even I I was way after school. I actually moved to I I went to I've worked to London twice in my lifetime. The first time um was when I when I was 20, just 21 years old. Um, I the producers of the show, Buddy, the Buddy Holly Story, saw me perform um the show in Sydney. And on opening night, I've like I played the part of Richie Valence in the show. And on opening night, they actually said, How would you like to come to London and play on the West End? I said, All right, I'll give it a go. Um and you know, and so later on that year I flew over to London and I performed on the West End from I was 21 until I was 22. So I stayed there for a year. It was a fantastic year. Um, I wish I'd stayed longer, but I came back and did uh going back to Australia and and continued to work in Australia for a while. But then I got married when I was 32 and then moved over to London. I think that was actually 2002. So I lived in London for five years, or pretty much four years, until I did Rockstar in Excess. And that's no, doing but uh doing We Will Rock You. That's right. Playing the lead in We Will Rock You in London. Uh I get around, B. I get around playing the lead in in London, which was the best job I ever had. You know, it's like we're doing quite well. We just bought an apartment in uh in a two-bedroom garden flat in North London, and I had a puppy dog, and I was recently married, so life was all roses and puppy dogs, and and next thing you know, I decided to leave that and try my luck at doing this reality show because truly because I could not uh resist the temptation of becoming the the new lead singer of my favorite Australian band.

SPEAKER_04 10:11

Very, very, very tempting. Before we go there, though, did you get to meet Queen?

SPEAKER_03 10:19

I did get to meet the remaining members, surviving members. In fact, Brian May and Roger Taylor were very much involved with We Were Rocky when they were there for my audition. So they I had to audition and sing Queen songs in front of Queen. And oh wow, they decided before you even did in XS.

SPEAKER_04 10:35

Yeah, so practice.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

You know, they thought I was good enough to sing their music, so I thought, well, maybe I'll give my have a have a chance at NXS, but there you go.

SPEAKER_04 10:45

Fantastic. Okay, so where were you when you heard about um that in XS were looking for a lead singer or starting this show?

SPEAKER_03 10:55

Well, I was actually in London and I had uh dinner with a friend of mine who was actually working um you know as a producer with Mark Burnett, and he was telling me his next project was and I said, What? He said, Oh, he's he looked at me and he went, Oh, you know what, Mig? You should you should you should be doing this. And he told me, he said, We're looking for the new lead singer of In Excess. I said, Shut up. And I said, I've got to do it, I just gotta give it a go. So I actually auditioned for this show in in uh in London. Um they were auditioning the good thing, great thing about this show, there was the audition all around the world. And they had auditions in Asia, in in Europe, in London, in Australia, of course, um, in the United States, in Canada. Um, and I auditioned in London, just thinking, just just because I wanted to give it a go and see where it would take me. Not really thinking that it would go anywhere, but I thought I just gotta, I'm just fascinated about what this process is about. I didn't really know much about reality TV at that point. All I knew is that I loved in excess, and I just thought I'd just uh give it a go. And so went over with a friend of mine, Simon Pinto, and he played guitar for me and I sang a send a message.

SPEAKER_01 12:04

Um right, yes, right.

SPEAKER_03 12:06

And funny enough, there was Kirk Pengili was at that audition in London at the Shepherd's Bush Empire.

SPEAKER_04 12:13

Um yeah, I remember it well, yes.

SPEAKER_03 12:16

Yeah, the Shepherd Bush and out of the blackness from the lights, um Kirk says, Is that Meg? Oh, I actually met met Kirk a while before. He we had a mutual friend, and so I went, Oh, hi!

SPEAKER_01 12:31

He said, Oh, hey mate, and blah blah blah.

SPEAKER_03 12:33

He couldn't make out that he knew me at all from the from from you know, because it would look like favoritism. So he kind of said, I can't really say good luck, mate, but good luck, mate. And I said, Thank you. From that point on, I got I got a second audition, and so I came back for that, and then from that I got a phone call saying, Mig, you've made to the final 50 in two weeks' time. We're sending you to Los Angeles, which all seemed really, really nice and fun, except for the fact that I just signed my third year contract with We Will Rock You. Um the dilemma, and so I was like, Oh my god, I don't know how I'm I'm gonna tell the people in We Will Rock You that I've just done this and it could potentially mean that I have to leave the show. And I just signed the contract. But the good thing about the contract was that it had a stipulation saying if it had something to do with um film or recording or TV, that I could give them eight weeks' notice and I could, you know, terminate my contract. And it just so happened to be that um from if if I made it through the final 50 to the first day of shooting in Able A, it was actually eight weeks. So um when I went to LA, did the two weeks of intense auditions with the top 50. Um, where they did psych tests, we did physical examinations, we did uh you know, they did background checks, yeah, we did auditions after auditions. I think there were three or four different like auditions we had to do, the color down from 50 to 30 to 30 to 25, 25 to 15.

SPEAKER_04 14:05

And how was that feeling? Would you like, oh, this could be real, this could be real, especially having just given away a contract.

SPEAKER_02 14:12

Yeah, well, at this at this stage, it's still I kind of was like, oh look, you know, anything will happen.

SPEAKER_03 14:17

If I if I if I don't get through, I hadn't left the show yet. I didn't I didn't put in my notice because I said, well, wait, wait till I get get in the show, then I'll put in my notice. So I said that to come back because it wasn't as bad as that. It's just nerve-wracking to know that I had to audition and prove myself almost every day. It's like being at you know, having to prove myself every day. It's it gets tiring to say, look, I know I can do it, just let me in. Oh right, I'll come back tomorrow. And then you have to say, Look, just let me do it, I can do it. Look, and so that after after two weeks of that, you know, until make it to the final 15 was just like, oh thank god, you know, I'm in. Um, and that's when it would became that's when it became real, really exciting. So I put in my my resignation. And the thing was, I thought that you know, people at Queen would be very upset with me that I did this. But Brian May was the first to say, Mig, we will not hold you back. We are so proud of you. We're gonna be watching you every step of the way. And he said, Look, if things don't work out, you know, always come back and we'll see how we freaking come back to the show. Um, which was wonderful.

SPEAKER_04 15:23

Oh, that's pure love, isn't it? That's really nice.

SPEAKER_03 15:27

They're the best. Roger Taylor and Ben and Brian A are absolutely just angels, they're fantastic.

SPEAKER_04 15:34

Yeah, well, InXS supported Queen back in '86, and they learnt a lot from how to be respectful to people that are going to be on tour with you and going to be out there supporting you. And that's when they learn how to do that. And that was from your Brian Mays and your Roger. And there's photos of them all together still. And they're still friends to and they're still friends today. So yeah, so they learnt from the best. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:05

Well, I I'm very I feel very, very blessed to have that association with Queen and within Excess, you know.

SPEAKER_05 16:11

And XS as well.

SPEAKER_03 16:12

They say they say you should never meet your heroes. Um, but I proved them wrong for this this case because um they absolutely were uh amazing, amazing. And to this day they they stay, we stay in touch. So that's great.

SPEAKER_04 16:29

Okay, well, first impressions meeting the rest of the band. What was that like? Because you'd met yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:38

Okay. I was really nerve-wracking as well because I go, Oh my gosh, this is quite quite crazy. Um, these people were heroes of mine growing up, you know. Um, Gary Gobierz, uh, you know, John Farris, Tim Farris, Andrew Farris. Oh god, it was there, it was it became real. It became real. Meeting these guys are like, okay, it was weird because as well, you're meeting them, they're looking at you, and they're looking at you in a way, it's not just sort of say, oh, okay, how are you? They're looking at you like they're sizing you up. So alright. Yeah. It was kind of like it's because they took it seriously. Like we said, who's going to be replacing Michael? And that's you know, that's something that even I thought, how can anybody replace Michael? So I don't blame them for being very, I guess, not skeptical, but you know, just very discerning in their you know in their approach to how they meet people. But having said that as well, there couldn't be nice, couldn't be nicer and couldn't be more welcoming. I just could tell that they were sort of like sizing you up from the minute they saw you.

SPEAKER_04 17:36

Did you ever go to see In Excess with Michael play?

SPEAKER_03 17:40

I saw them, yes. In fact, I saw them um in Sydney, and it was uh one of the most awesome uh experiences ever. I also got to say that there was one time, you know, um I was in a band there in Sydney that we were playing um in this in the Sheraton of the Park, uh, and with a club called Reaver, and we opened this place called the Reaver, and we were the Reaver band. And we opened like it was kind of a late-night venue or sort of like funk soul band, and we opened up this pretty it was pretty one of the most stylish bars in Sydney at the time. I'm talking about 1993. Um and there was the big opening night, and I I swore I saw Michael Hutchins in that, you know, in that uh in the club that came up to the stage, and I said, and I but I I I was singing this, so I couldn't actually go and say hi or anything like that. But I said, Is that Michael Hutchins? Um and I've and I asked people later, did you see Michael? See Michael, oh yeah, and then they said, I didn't see Michael, I didn't see Michael, but then there was a bartender that said, Yeah, no, I saw him, he was here. So I did we had a chat. I would have loved to have actually met Michael, but um Yeah, but he saw you, he saw you perform.

SPEAKER_04 18:57

Oh, isn't it all the big circle stuff? This isn't it now.

SPEAKER_03 19:01

Yeah, it is it is uh full circle stuff, this stuff, isn't it?

SPEAKER_04 19:05

Yeah, yeah. So the weight of the legacy of Michael must have been huge. Like, you know, there's you going, is that Michael? Is that Michael? And then bang, here you are. You could be the next frontman for NX.

SPEAKER_03 19:23

Well, it was it was first of all, it was absolutely like exciting, and then first and second of all, the first thing just let me just say that you know, uh, when Michael passed, that was uh a very tragic um day for all of us. But I was very upset with that, you know, because I was a huge Michael Hutchins fan and uh a huge NXS fan, of course. But I never thought anybody could replace him. So for me to actually be in the situation, well, well, maybe you can replace him. I it's big shoes to fill. I mean, really, really big shoes to fill. And I don't know if uh if that would end actually be a possibility, but I was gonna give it a go. And you know, I just wanted to be be as faithful to Michael Hutchins as possible. Because now I didn't want to emulate him or pretend to be him, because it's the same thing when I do Queen stuff. Like I never ever tried to be Freddie Mercury, because I only believe there was one Freddie Mercury, like the same way within Excess, there's only one Michael Hutchins. I thought I'm gonna try and be as true to me as possible, and if that's a new chapter that they take this band into, then fine. I don't want to be another Michael Hutchins because that's never gonna work.

SPEAKER_04 20:29

Yeah, um, well, that's exactly what the the band didn't want. They didn't want to replace Michael, they just wanted another frontman, didn't they, that could sing the songs? Your your voice um compared to JD, who actually won the competition at the end um and became um the front man for in excess, you he's more baritone than yours. And there's a that's the distinction that I hear with a lot of the songs that you were singing. Did that stand out for you much?

SPEAKER_03 21:01

Uh yeah, well, you know, I realize that um I did have a higher voice than than um than JD, but you know, I I realized that it wasn't this competition wasn't really about the voice per se. It was also about the personality and how you approach the songs. And you know, I that said something.

SPEAKER_04 21:23

That didn't they give you many shirts to wear?

SPEAKER_03 21:29

There was a there was a shortage of material in Los Angeles in 2005, so we have to with what with what we had. It was about well, if you're gonna be naked, I'm gonna be naked. Well, you know, whatever can score the points with the ladies, we tried our best to uh stay in the competition. I'll put it that way.

SPEAKER_04 21:49

There was a lot of whooping, I remember that.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

Well, there were there was uh yeah, there was it's kind of a confronting thing as well because I thought, oh well, you know, it was uh hey, you let your

SPEAKER_03 22:00

Freak flag fly, put it that way.

SPEAKER_04 22:02

And we you say you were married at the time as well, newly married.

SPEAKER_03 22:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:06

Yeah. How did she feel about all of this?

SPEAKER_03 22:09

And she was very proud of me. Um unfortunately, we're not married anymore. So no.

SPEAKER_05 22:15

Okay. Sorry about that.

SPEAKER_03 22:16

That's all right. Um, there was uh, you know, the marriage was not because of it, not because of Roxarin excess, there are other factors involved. Nothing to do with me, all right? So put it that way. Um, but uh, you know, uh but she was very supportive at the time, and you know, and uh and I was very respectful for her as well. So that was uh not a problem.

SPEAKER_04 22:38

Seeing your your husband uh half naked on a stage and girls all screaming and you're and you're locked away and can't really speak to her, or she's she was a good woman.

SPEAKER_03 22:48

It's all you know fine with things, relationships go up and down, and uh she was very supportive, which was fine. She said in fact that uh she said it actually was very hot. The fact that uh there are other girls who are whooping for me.

SPEAKER_04 23:03

That's what we like. That's it.

SPEAKER_03 23:05

Good girl, good girl. Yeah, that was not a problem at all. But you know, I'm I'm with a beautiful girl now, we've been together for now for 10 years, so um it's life life has a way of of working itself out.

SPEAKER_04 23:18

That's right, yeah. Now, the performances, they were unreal. What a voice, what a performer. You obviously were meant for the stage, um, and a lot of funk you were playing. Um, sorry, you were singing a lot of funk and a lot of rock, but one of your standout performances was the Peter Frampton or rendition. I can't think what the song's called right at the top of my head, but you play piano. Yeah. Was that a song that you chose, or was that a song that you had to fight for?

SPEAKER_03 23:53

No, as a matter of fact, it was I was told to do it, it wasn't a choice. We were all at this is a time when you know at this point I'd done some you know quite rocky stuff and funky stuff. Um, and this was supposed to be like I remember Andrew Farris saying, Now, Mig, we want you to move us. You want me to all right. So we're all given um songs, we were assigned songs. And when I opened the envelope and my song said, Baby, I love you away. Baby, I love you away. And I thought I thought, I don't remember this being a ballad, or how am I going to move people with this? I remember it being sort of like a reggae kind of vibe. There was a rendition of that, and Peter Francis' version, which was you know, in fantastic version, of course, which is he wrote the song. It was I I don't know, I didn't know what to do with it. I really didn't know what to do with it. So, you know, my go-to thing was go to the piano, and that was my happy. Um I found that really comfortable to just turn something into a ballad. That was kind of a thing that I do. So turning into a piano ballad, I said, let's let's try this because I don't know how else to make it work. And and I brought it to the band. I've sort of worked out this arrangement and I brought it over to the house band to Paul Merkovich, who was the musical director. And I said, So what are we going to do? And he says, We are going to do anything, we're just going to let you play the piano, and that's how it's going to just happen. So he chose that idea to for me to just do it raw and quite um acoustic in a way. And he but he wrote a an arrangement for a string quartet. So I had a string quartet accompanying me on the piano. It was just and that was quite a novel thing to happen in a rock show. Um so the fact that it was quite different to everything else that I'd done before, and quite different to what people were doing. I think that's why it stood out a little bit. But that was a that was a good moment. I gotta say, I am I'm pretty proud of that moment.

SPEAKER_04 25:37

And I loved what Dave said as well. That um he he said that what it made him feel was that he loved his wife even more. Oh that was so lovely.

SPEAKER_03 25:49

Yeah, that that hit a nerve. That hit a nerve too. Yeah, yeah. After the show, I got signed to Decca Universal Records. We actually got Peter Frampton to play on my album with me. So he played he played guitar, uh, recorded Baby I Love Your Way. So he's on he's my guest artist on my record.

SPEAKER_04 26:07

Okay, so you have got an album out then? Yeah, I've got a couple.

SPEAKER_02 26:11

I've got a couple.

SPEAKER_04 26:12

Oh, right, okay. Come on, click my show.

SPEAKER_02 26:15

It's funny, it's funny that you should say that because that's exactly right. Like, you have an album? I didn't know. Yes, that's show it, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 26:22

So there you go. Well, now that's it's a you know, it's a funny thing. I got signed to Decca Universal Records shortly after Rock Stanic's test, and through again, it was like through circumstances that I had no control over whatsoever. Um, they kept on delaying the release of the album that they didn't release it for two years after it was recorded, so it didn't release until 2007 with no publicity, nothing. So it kind of just like out in the ether, nothing, nothing was made of it, which is a big shame because I, you know, I was very proud of the album. We recorded all these rock classic songs with symphony orchestras. I recorded the album, half of it was at Capitol Records in Los Angeles, and half of it was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. So it was uh with 60 piece orchestras, it was really um I was very dealing. I had a few originals in there, but mostly they were just rock classics. It was had people playing on the album, like Peter Frampton, of course, had um, you know, like J.R. Robinson, who was Michael Jackson's drama play on it as well. We had Rob Mathis um and Matthew Wilder as producers. Um, we had Paul Blackmaster writing some arrangements who wrote arrangements for Elton John. So he had written my arrangements at the for uh the recordings at Capitol. Um, so it was a big deal. It would it and it turned out great, but they just Decca because of some you know some structural um issues within their company, and also there were some some legal wranglings within Excess itself. They didn't release the album until two years later with no promotion or anything, just like that. And then they went, oh, and we're gonna and we're gonna drop you as well, Meg was like, oh this is Death Entertainment in it, yes.

SPEAKER_04 28:05

So is it on iTunes? Can you can we it is here is why it's brilliant?

SPEAKER_01 28:10

Apple music on Spotify.

SPEAKER_03 28:12

I'll I'll give you the link for all those as well. And then I produced uh another album that I recorded independently called More Than Ever, which was released in 2011. Um, that's on Apple uh music and all streaming platforms as well.

SPEAKER_04 28:28

Wow, I didn't even know this. That's there you go. You did all that work and with all those amazing artists and and they just drop it. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 28:40

Well, the this is the crazy thing. This is the crazy thing was okay, and this is a scoop that you nobody else really knows. But for the following year, after Rockstar Super Rock Rockstar and Excess, they had a follow-up year called Rockstar Supernova, yeah. Where and where right? So they're looking for um this super band, you know, from people from uh Metallica and Motley Crue and um uh Guns N' Roses. So they're gonna put something together. Um, and I was supposed to perform Baby I Love Your Way with Peter Frampton on that show, and I was about to do it, it was all set up to go. Peter Frampton agreed with it. We're just piano and guitar, and me and Peter Frampton on stage singing for supernova. It was kind of thinking like, remember me from last year. Well, he's assigned to deck at university, he's about to release an album, and here it goes. But then Tommy Lee from Motley Crew said, No, I don't want anybody from last year to take away the focus from my contestants for this year. So he pulled that, so they pulled the performance. They pulled the whole lot. So that's that's one of the reasons why then Decker then shelved the album, and then from there it became a decline. So thanks, Tommy Lee. Nice one, mate.

SPEAKER_04 29:56

Yeah, yeah, we don't like him anymore, Taywe.

SPEAKER_02 30:01

No, no, I'm sure he had his reasons. I'm just saying personally that no, I don't like him.

SPEAKER_04 30:06

You've changed my mind on him now.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

That was a bit of a bit of a blow. There you go.

SPEAKER_04 30:10

It was because that could have that that was a fork in the road, wasn't it? That could have really like button the elbows come in. Here you are again on the show. You know, you've got clout. Wow. Okay, well, let's get back to yeah, oh, yeah. Let's get back to an excess.

SPEAKER_03 30:27

Let's let's do let's do let's get back to an excess. Uh anyway, whatever happened happened. And I gotta say that uh I you know from that point on I just had to make do and and sort of fan the embers of a once promising recording career. And and it but it came well, I mean, the fact that Rockstar and Excess opened lots of doors for me still, and I'll never regret doing the show.

SPEAKER_04 30:49

Yes, yes. Well, yeah, well, we come we'll come back around to that in a minute. Let's get back into the mansion. How did that feel opening up and and being with these awesome, like there was 15 of you, young, vibrant, sexy, talented, you know, in this amazing place. So you all had your own bedroom and you stayed in the bedrooms, didn't you?

SPEAKER_03 31:15

No, we didn't have our own bedroom, we had to share bedrooms as a manager.

SPEAKER_04 31:19

I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_03 31:21

Well, get this. We're we we got to the mansion, and then and first of all, this they said, all right, everybody go go, you know, get your bed, choose a bed and stay there. But for me, I was just like, you know, this little kid from Australia walking into this mansion in LA. And like so I said, Oh, look around first. So I did a bit of exploring around the mansion first. By the time I got back to the bedrooms, everyone had already chosen their bed. I was like, Oh, oh, I gotta choose a bed. There's only one bed left, and that was a bed with three other girls. I'm like, oh well.

SPEAKER_04 31:54

Oh so you're in the girls' room. Oops!

SPEAKER_03 31:58

I always had to share with three other girls, which was fine with me, but uh but they were like, ooh, what's your wife gonna think? Yeah, and she was fine with it, of course.

SPEAKER_04 32:10

So did JD get his own bedroom? He managed to make sure that he got his own. No, no, so we all had to share. We all had to share.

SPEAKER_03 32:18

We all had to share with we all had our little bits and pieces on and the improves were great, it was all fine, of course. But you know, of course, with the reality TV, it's not really fully reality, right? They had yeah, cameras sort of based everywhere, and it was a thing that it was very strange living under the cameras for 24, 24-7. Every they saw everything and everything we did.

SPEAKER_04 32:39

Yeah. But you never really got yeah, I bet you never really got used to that, did you?

SPEAKER_03 32:45

It was hard to get used to. Uh the first, you know, the first couple of weeks was just like I had to struggle not to look at the cameras or just to try and relax and be myself, you know, because I thought, well, why are you filming me? I'm so boring. I'm I'm just here reading a book, for example, and just there by the pool reading a book, and then suddenly a camera would come right up to my face. And I'm what do you want me to do? Like, you know, hi, or you know, I sat there. It's like, no, no, just don't do anything. We're not here, we're not here. Oh, right. So the fact that you've had like a camera and sound guys and five guys running up with a camera, you're not there, right? It's thinking about my imagination. I got it. I'll I'll work on that.

SPEAKER_04 33:25

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely. You have to put the actor into yourself, aren't you?

SPEAKER_03 33:30

A little bit, a little bit. It's actually a total different experience for me. So a d um very wonderful experience, I say.

SPEAKER_04 33:38

So who did you gravitate to? Who who was um you had this the three girls that you were in in the bedroom with, but who was really your buddy in the actual home in the house?

SPEAKER_03 33:50

Well, you know, I um we all became buddies. That's a that's a fun thing, that we all actually became very close. But the first friend I ever made was Marty Casey. Marty Casey was the first my first friend that I made on the show. We just I remember we were out sort of by the pool, and they're all kind of like doing their thing, and everyone was kind of like showing off in a way, you know, trying to like I watch me, watch me like okay. And I was a little bit taken aback by you know how forward everybody was. You know, I was like, oh wow, I gotta pick up my game here. Um, and there's the other kind of quiet guy who sort of sat standing beside me, and when they all went off and did their thing, I said, hi, I'm I'm Meg. He says, Hi, I'm Marty. I'm like, that's how we kind of connected. He became my first friend. But uh, you know, I've I became close to to all the guys and girls. We're all really bonded, you know, like Neil Carlson. Um, he left the show quite early, but he became a very dear close friend. Um, Brandon Calhoun, uh, got very close with. Ty Taylor, I got I got very close with because he's just first of all, I was in awe of his incredible talent, you know, and and then he's just a vibrant superhuman. Um, but all the girls were were amazing too. Like Susan McNeil became very close with, Deanna Johnson, uh Jessica Robinson, uh, and my my I had Daphna and Heather Lutrell in the um in my place as well. Tara Sloan is just uh just an angel and uh sweetheart. You know, it's I take it, I I feel like we're kind of like we I equate it to being like war buddies. Wall buddies, yeah, yeah. And that's how close we were because we were so vulnerable with each other. We should we were we, you know, the extreme highs and the extreme lows of being in such high pressure situation like that. Yeah, and we all kind of clung on to each other. And the weird thing about being in a reality TV show, when you are sequestered from the rest of the world, that your whole world becomes these people. Yes, that's the only people you're allowed to talk to. There's no other outside influence. So your whole world becomes these 15 people, and you're competing with them, but you're also supporting them. And then when, for example, when we go and film and record at CBS and someone was eliminated from the show, um, it was very traumatic because they're suddenly ripped out of your world, right? And you come back to the mansion, and every single evidence of that they were there were taken out of the mansion. Good or gone. Their bed was gone, their photos, little bits, they were erased from our world. So it felt like a death. It really like it was weird. It actually felt like they had died. So when we came back and there was no trace of them, it was a real like a chasm that was left from some people that you were really close with, and then suddenly they're ripped out of your world. It was uh traumatic. It was traumatic. And I didn't I didn't expect to feel that way, but uh, it really felt like you know, some of these people when they left, it it was devastating.

SPEAKER_04 36:54

So the highs and lows are pretty pulled apart, weren't they? I suppose when being on stage, you've someone's won and then someone's lost.

unknown 37:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 37:04

That was to be right, well, we're gonna celebrate, but we're gonna, you know, so-and-so's gone today as well.

SPEAKER_03 37:12

Well, you know, there were especially those ones you were really, really close with when they left, and you saw how how heartbreaking it was for them to leave the show, and you really felt it for them. The first thing we do when we come back is that we would toast, you know, the person who had gone, and we all have a bit of a share a shed a tear and hugs around, and then after a while, you know, well, let's party on, goose.

SPEAKER_05 37:34

The show, yeah. We gotta go.

SPEAKER_03 37:38

Well, I knew we would, but it, you know, but that sense of loss was uh was was felt, it was real.

SPEAKER_04 37:46

You seem to be liked a lot by a lot of people on the show. You could you were very you're very caring. I can see that having this conversation as well. You're a very caring person, and you put people before yourself and you let others choose the songs before, and you gave songs away as well. Which song did you regrettably give away that you wish you kept hold of?

SPEAKER_03 38:11

Oh, you know, there were so many. There were there were a few things I I kind of realized later on, like after the effect, said why why did you do that, Mig? I I guess I don't know. It's just I felt confident in my abilities, and sometimes those things that the songs that I didn't expect to do or want to do, they turned out best because I had a whole different fresh approach with it. So I kind of bet on that, that you know, that that freshness to be the one little thing that would elevate my performance, right? But there were some things I go, oh man. Uh I know when Bohemian Rhapsody was up for grabs, it was between me and Susie McNeil really wanted to do it, and I really, really wanted to do it. And I could tell how how how uh determined she was that she wanted to do it. And my other and the other choice was Live and Let Die, which was you know an amazing song, amazing song. And and afterwards I thought, you know, I I I it it would probably make I will regret this, I think, but it could work out in my favor. I'll give it to Susie, let you do it, and I'm gonna do a great job with Live and Let Die. But then I saw how great a job, and what how you know, yeah, and how they had a choir for her and everything, and the band smashed it, and I looked at that situation and go, that could have been me.

SPEAKER_02 39:41

Oh man, just wasn't your day.

SPEAKER_03 39:48

Lesson learned, make be a little bit more assertive and decide for what you want, I guess. But um try it. And in a way, also Enix says the one that at one point they said, Miguel, look, you just keep on giving away your stuff. Do you really want to win this? And I went, Yeah, I do. I guess but it's just not in my nature to really, you know, be to be so forceful against other people, like you know, so um, so I in a way it worked for me and also against me that way.

SPEAKER_04 40:14

You touched on the band there, the uh the the the house band. How amazing were they to work with?

SPEAKER_03 40:21

Oh my god, they were the best of the best. Um and I still, you know, one of the things though the feeling was like, okay, look, I won't be the lead lead singer of NXS, I know this, but maybe I can be a lead singer of the house band. And we actually we actually did some events with the house band after the show, and the house band chose me to sing with them. So it was kind of cool.

SPEAKER_04 40:44

Because you're the nice guy. There you go. So it did work out after all. It works for you in your favor.

SPEAKER_03 40:52

I gotta say, I was it was tough to do that. I wouldn't, and those guys, like Colonel Murkovich is the legend. Um, uh Nate Morton on the drums, probably one of the greatest drummers I've ever played with. Uh, but they're all amazing. Like to watch them even perform, they they took over the house band in uh The Voice in the United States. So they were the house band for this the voice for a while, Sasha Rafa. Um, you know, you just can't get in better than those guys.

SPEAKER_04 41:19

Now I don't know if you know, but I've already had David Goffin on the show.

SPEAKER_05 41:24

Oh, my man.

SPEAKER_04 41:25

Yes, the man. And he was telling me that he's getting you all together again, and he's got that house band together as well. That's yeah, like that's amazing to get them all together as well.

SPEAKER_03 41:38

Exactly, because I mean these guys are the most sought-after session musicians in LA, you know, and they're they've got a very busy schedule. So, first of all, the fact that we're coming together 21 years after the show uh is incredible. We did a couple of shows in Canada last year. Speezen McNeil um had uh produced a couple of shows for us in Canada to commemorate our 20th anniversary. Um, Dave Goffin came to one of those shows and said, I want to produce a show in LA, so let's do it in LA, which was fantastic. Uh, it's a May 21 at the Avalon in Hollywood, which sounds great. The fact that he got the house band though, that is the big coup. That's the big coup they took. That's uh incredible. That they all said yes and they all wanted to do it. I'm so thrilled. Oh, it's it's um it's gonna be an amazing night. Not only because of the contestants, but for me, it's also to get a chance to play with these guys again, the calibre of musicianship. You just cannot top it.

SPEAKER_04 42:35

So there's yourself, Susie, Marty, Ty, Toby Ren this time round as well, which is cool.

SPEAKER_01 42:42

Oh, they're Aussie, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 42:45

Sarah and Jordis. But yeah, top Toby um is fronting Gary Beersy's band, Ash and Moon now. Yeah. Yeah. Have you managed to go and see him?

SPEAKER_03 42:56

No, I haven't actually. We we've you know, we we it sort of send messages to each other throughout the years. Um, uh because uh it's actually Toby Rand was I spoke to Toby while he was auditioning for Rockstar Supernova, and he wasn't sure whether he wanted to do the show or not because he was he had his band Duke Cartel, and he was saying, Look, you know, we're doing pretty well, and if I would do that, you know, I don't want it to affect my band. And uh the producers of Rockstar at Excess um said, Can you give Toby Rand a call, speak to him, and talk him into it? So after an hour conversation with Toby, he decided he wanted to do it. So whether that's a good thing or not, whether he he curses me or or he thanks me, um, I feel a little bit responsible for Toby Rand being in that in that situation. Um, but he often smashed it. He's an amazing performer, incredible performer, incredible singer, and thrilled to bits that I'll be able to perform with him on the 21st of May as well.

SPEAKER_04 43:53

Yeah. I'm guessing I won't be there. I was hoping to uh might well when we heard that. In XS were um nominated to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There was a glimpse of hope that we would be going, some of us would be coming over from Australia to go over there. And David was saying, Oh, we could get some people together and we could have a jam or whatever, which would have been fun. But uh, yeah, next year maybe if they're nominated again.

SPEAKER_03 44:20

First of all, I cannot believe they missed out this year.

SPEAKER_04 44:23

That's that's and they should be already in. Come on.

SPEAKER_03 44:27

They should have been in a long time ago. Yeah. Um, and I'm um I was so certain that they would come in this year. I and I'm a bit shocked and very disappointed that you know they didn't make it this year. It's just a matter of time, though, because they are legends and they deserve to be there.

SPEAKER_04 44:43

Well, um, this is going to be going to air after this, but um in a couple of days' time, I'm going down to Sydney to see InXS get the um Ted Elbert Award, which is the one of the Apple Awards. I'm going to the Red Carpet Award to go and see them. I've managed to get myself an invite. Oh, fantastic. Um, and I'm taking the guy that did the petition to get in XS inducted, his name's Dr. Jim. And uh hopefully, yeah, and I've got the after party afterwards, so I'll be mingling and seeing who I else I can get on this show.

SPEAKER_03 45:21

That's fantastic. That's fantastic. Well, first of all, on behalf of all in XS fans, thank you so much for being such a force to try and get them inducted this year. Um, you did amazing work, but uh yeah, let's let's see if we can do it again next year or the year after.

SPEAKER_04 45:37

Yeah, it it it was it was tiresome doing all these voting, but yeah, they they did well, kept them up at the sixth place on the on the fan votes. But the end of the day, it's the the committee. So if the committee are listening, please nominate them so we can vote them again.

SPEAKER_03 45:55

Come on, come on.

SPEAKER_04 45:56

When I spoke to J D early last year, November last year, he was saying literally they went you went in to go and get your stuff and they were pulling things down and they were getting ready for the next show.

SPEAKER_02 46:09

Yeah, pretty much. Pretty much, it's pretty brutal, you know. For you, it's for you, it's the uh the be all and end all like it's life-changing situation for them, it's Tuesday, you know.

SPEAKER_03 46:23

So uh uh, but at the same time, it's uh uh what we got out of it is you know a a life-changing event. It really was, um, you know, it I feel I'm definitely changed, and and it's this type of experience that shapes you for the rest of your life and rest of your career. Like uh I still think back in those days, and um I learned so much from not only from what in Excess was saying or what Dave Navarro was teaching, or what we had as coaches, etc., but moral as well by watching all the contestants as well and learning from them how they dealt with the pressure, how they dealt with performances, how to prepare for for uh their their songs, and also how to deliver with such abandon that you know I was um I've always you know being a uh frontman for a rock band has been always my thing. Theater just sort of I fell into by accident kind of vibe, but it was really watching um you know people like Marty and and Ty Taylor and and Neil Carlson and Brandon Calhoun and JD, I mean, uh, of how they just approached performing and getting on stage and just leaving everything out there. I thought, well, that really is exciting, that really is how to do it. So um I have to say, you know, I learned so much from being there and uh I never regret it at all.

SPEAKER_04 47:49

Well, is there anything else we need to talk to before we go into the quick rapid fire rant?

SPEAKER_03 47:57

Uh I don't know. What would you like to talk about? I leave the forum completely open to you. Be France. Uh let's let's first of all talk about an a Brit whose name's France.

SPEAKER_01 48:13

It's amazing. I know it's amazing. Such an international lady, uh more international than me.

SPEAKER_04 48:20

All in the name. Um, yeah, so my dad is called Mr. France, and we l we recently did one of those um DNA things uh to find out. Yeah, and France is very much in the blood. In fact, French in some ways, yeah, Brittany, which is a sub like a a subpart of sort of like Jersey, and yeah, so we are from there.

SPEAKER_02 48:49

There we go.

SPEAKER_03 48:50

Interesting, very interesting.

SPEAKER_04 48:52

In fact, I I've got an uncle. There we go. Here's one. I've got an uncle called Mr. Britton, who is Welsh and he lives in Canada. There you go.

SPEAKER_03 49:06

Wait, he his name's Mr. His surname is Britain.

SPEAKER_04 49:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 49:10

So you have France and Britain as in your family surname. That's that's amazing. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_02 49:19

I'm very impressed.

SPEAKER_04 49:22

Well, at least I can at least I can pronounce those ones. It was pretty hard to pronounce yours.

SPEAKER_02 49:27

So what you did a great job, don't worry, you did a great job.

SPEAKER_04 49:31

Oh, thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 49:37

And now it's time for the quick fire questions.

SPEAKER_04 49:47

All right then, Mig, are you focused? You got your glasses on. Are you ready? Okay. I'm ready, I'm ready. So I'm gonna throw some uh some what songs. I'll throw you some songs and you can sing them to me. Okay, are you ready? He's some questions. Favorite in excess song to perform. Need you tonight. Nice one. Song you wish you did on the show.

SPEAKER_03 50:17

We are the champions.

SPEAKER_04 50:19

Oh, yeah, yeah. Did you do a queen song?

SPEAKER_03 50:23

I did do a queen song for the final. I did Bohemian Rhapsody at the very, very end. Um I wish I'd done We Are the Champions at the very end. I just keep on thinking, and I I 20 years on, I still wake up in the middle of the night and go, Why did I do that song?

SPEAKER_02 50:38

Why didn't I do that song?

SPEAKER_03 50:39

It's uh yeah, it's a bit crazy, a bit nuts, but yeah. So I think we are the champions would have been a better choice, especially in the final.

SPEAKER_04 50:46

Yeah.

unknown 50:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:47

Good one. Yeah, you know, okay. Next slide.

SPEAKER_03 50:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:52

Um, toughest moment on the show. On the show.

SPEAKER_03 50:59

Actually, the toughest moment was uh when I went into the bottom three for the very first time, and that was in the semifinal. Uh, because in the semifinal, um for the only four of us, and uh, and uh we were just told, oh, and the final three, they all win a car each, and they get in the final, and I'm like, oh gosh, and then we said, and the the the bottom three bottom three who have to have to fight for um survival is Mig for the first time and Susie McNeil and and JD. Marty Casey was the first one to actually make the final, so the three of us had to fight off, and I thought, oh my gosh, I better I better do this. So my heart was in my mouth because I was I was so nervous. So I think that was the hardest part to me.

SPEAKER_04 51:51

That was a hard one, yeah. Okay, best backstage memory.

SPEAKER_03 51:57

You know the best backstage, the thing that I wish they had filmed um or made part of the show was when we finished recording the show in CBS, we'd go back to the mansion and we would have these parties. Um and they were basically just free-for-all jams. Um, and we'd get up and we'd all jam with each other and we'd play, and all these guest artists would come and jam with us too. Like we had Steve Lukather from Toto come and play with us, hang out. Dave Navarro was there playing, like we were all jamming together with people from in excess. We're all getting on pianos or bongos or guitars or ukuleles, anything that made a sound, and we would just jam for hours in front of all these guests, and you know, free food, for it was just very like people like Matthew Perry was there from Friends. We had Seth, uh Seth Green, we had Hank Azaria, we had um uh the oh my gosh, the um uh Serena Williams and V Venus Williams would come in as well. It it was insane. The people that were meeting everybody with probably celebrity and and Brooke Burke and people from you know Baywatch where they were like, it was like met uh Tommy Lee from because obviously he was getting sort of primed for the next years. He was it was kind of a really like who's who and it was uh it was a lot of fun. That should have been that was by far my favorite thing of the show.

SPEAKER_04 53:19

Wow, yeah. I think Dave David touched on those, and he was saying that they they they said there was some stills, but they didn't film it. Yeah, see Fogger's stars, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:29

Oh but if that was part of the show, yeah. Anyway, sorry.

SPEAKER_04 53:33

Yeah, that's a great memory to have. Okay, if in excess, oh sorry, if Rockstar In XS happened today, what would you play? How would you play it differently?

SPEAKER_03 53:45

I would be more competitive. I wouldn't I would be definitely a bit more uh uh in it to win it kind of vibe. I in a way I felt like Yeah, but you did it the Aussie way, mate.

SPEAKER_02 53:57

Yeah, I know, you know, but at the same time, but that didn't really, you know, I didn't win, did I? It's all good. It's all good. Look, I'll tell you one thing.

SPEAKER_03 54:03

I'll tell you one thing. I I just think that there were some points there that uh I should have actually been a bit more forceful with. And I think maybe that would have maybe also seen that uh maybe I had a bit more respect. I was kind of like trying to make sure everyone is okay and realizing, you know, even when people were sabotaging themselves, people were saying to me, you should have just let them sabotage themselves. Why did you try and help them? I said, Well, I just felt bad, you know. I just didn't want anyone to come or to walk away from this show feeling embarrassed of what they did on the show, because I knew that the life will go on after this show. In fact, life will go on much more after this little moment time. Yeah, didn't I felt it was my responsibility to go, hey guys, just turn it down. They were like, no, let him crucify himself, you know. But I yeah, in some way, I wish I'd I wish I'd be a little bit more assertive in um in certain points.

SPEAKER_04 54:57

What if you had have won? What like what do you think you would have done it differently to how JD did did it all? Or do you do you think J D was just told what to do? And well, how do you think you would have played it?

SPEAKER_03 55:11

Uh, you know, I I I to be honest, I don't really know the full extent of how JD took on the role of playing League um being the fireman for in excess. Uh I did see them once, uh twice actually, because I actually supported them when they visited the Philippines. I was their support act um in the Araneda Coliseum, which was amazing. Um I just it's the same same thing for like when you see uh when you see um Adam Lambert with Queen in that the the star of the show is not uh the front man, the star is the band, okay, and it's just should always say how honored you are to be a part of this band, and it's stuck. Yeah, that it it's not it's not and it's not shouldn't be a fake thing, but that is a real endearing thing because people come to see the show to see the band, and you're there to keep the legacy and the memory of Michael Hutchins alive. That's really your job. It's not about to promote mega yes as the new big star, it's about to no, let's let's carry this and let's let's continue this love for this band.

SPEAKER_04 56:28

Well, I think you would have done that perfectly, I really do, because I can see you're such an honest person and just yeah, just you're well I'll I'll tell you what, I would have loved to give it a go.

SPEAKER_03 56:39

I to be honest, when I first joined the show, I I didn't I didn't have any misconpreconceptions of thinking that I would win, I just wanted to make the final five, thinking, well, thank the final five. At least I make a name for myself and maybe I get a recording deal and maybe I can move on to do something else. But then um, as you got closer to the end, and we kept on getting through and getting closer to you're thinking, I could actually possibly win this. And someone said to me, Mig, you're at the front runner at the moment, like what? Um, so that that's when there the thought of actually what happens if I do win, that became exciting. And I I really now I think about it, I would have loved to have toured within Excess for a few years, it would have probably been the greatest thing ever. So yeah, you thought it's something that's not something I would have taken lightly. I would have taken that responsibility with absolute the most utmost respect. And that's I feel how it should be done.

SPEAKER_04 57:37

I think you would have done it respectfully, and it would have been amazing to have seen you there. I heard somewhere that there was talk that they were going to take all three of you on at one point, but they went, no, we can't, but it would be good. Have all three of you as uh You see that that would have been his smart experience.

SPEAKER_03 57:56

That would have been a great idea because then we'd have you know potential songs I do, and it would still would be that in XS are the stars, and we are the the people that they would say, Well, you're you can help bring up the legacy of Michael Hutchins rather than replace because I think that I think so for a lot of in Excess fans, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think a lot of people still felt like no one can replace Michael. So no matter what you did, how good you were, you were never going to be the Michael Hutchins replacement. If they would have chosen three of us to tour with him, then there wouldn't be that comparison, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 58:33

Yeah, exactly. Let's talk about it.

SPEAKER_01 58:35

It's still possible. Let's make it happen.

SPEAKER_04 58:37

Well, yeah, it is really. Um, did you realize it's their 50th anniversary next year? That is possible here there may be a gig happening.

SPEAKER_02 58:49

Well, well, you know my number. You know how to get front of me and they says, let me know.

SPEAKER_04 58:53

I know your number, I know your email.

SPEAKER_02 58:57

Speak to me, speak to me. Let her ask her. All right, there we go.

SPEAKER_04 59:03

There you go. All right, in one word, the experience. How would you name it? Be one word, or maybe two words.

SPEAKER_03 59:13

Two words, I'd say life-changing.

SPEAKER_04 59:16

There you go, that's what I was saying.

SPEAKER_03 59:17

But definitely one word would be irreplaceable. Um, there's no nothing that I've done since or before um that could even come close to that experience as far as uh what was involved, the high stakes, the pressure, um, the the prestige of being there, the honor I felt of carrying the Australian flag, the only Aussie in the competition. You know, I felt like I was not only like trying to be there for myself, but I was representing Australia, trying to bring the trying to bring the the you know, the gauntlet back um to the country. I felt, you know, I thought I had a lot of responsibility like that as well. Um but I felt you know the pride of Australia. I felt the lot of support from Australia, which was great. I felt a lot of support from the Filipino community as well. They were very, very supportive, and and I've done a lot of work in the Philippines since the show because of the show, um, which has been amazing. Uh so uh I've got to say that yeah, there were so many things about the show which were out which is absolutely amazing. It could something that I know that I'll never experience again, but I'm so glad I did. And if I'm if I was supposed to do one reality show, um which I only want to do one reality show, um, I'm glad it was that. I really am proud of the show that we did.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:44

Awesome, awesome. It was good that you managed to get back to um doing um We Will Rock You though. You did some more, didn't you?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:53

Yeah, well I I didn't well the weird thing was, you know, it uh I was uh I was in L well it was a couple of times, so it was a weird couple of things.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:01

I hope you don't mind me talking about it. You can put it on it. Um just that uh after the show, I got signed to Universal Records, right? But um we had to wait for NXS to sign off on my deal because there were co-signees of my deal with DACA with Universal. Um so I couldn't go into the studio until they had signed my deal. But because that they were having structural issues with you know their manager uh and their changing management, they didn't want to sign off on anything, so I had to stay put, you know. Um, so I had to, well, I rented an apartment in in LA waiting for the go ahead to go into the recording studio. Um, Brian May from Queen sent me a message and saying, Meg, um the guy playing the league, Galileo, he hurt himself. So look, we would before we look for a replacement, we wanted to find out whether you'd come and do a fill-in for a few months over the Christmas period in the show in London. And I was like, I would love to. And I spoke to my record label and said, No, we can't let you go. We because the minute NXS signed up for the deal, you're in the studio the next day. So I had to email Brian May from Queen and say, gee, Brian, thanks for the offer, but no destroyed me. But having said that, later on, I know it was and I it was nowhere. Trust me, it was very hard thing to do. Having said that, years ahead, there were a couple of world tours that were being planned for We Will Rocky. So I got to do a world tour around uh Asia and New Zealand uh in 2007, 2008, and in 2013, there was a 10-year commemorative world tour of We Will Rock You. We did stadiums all around Europe, which is absolutely incredible. So the fact that I did that stadium tour, arena tour, sorry, of of uh We Will Rock You and that World Tour in 2007-2008 was absolutely amazing.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:00

Wow. Well, the door was still open for you then.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:04

Still, yeah, you know, but uh so thank you, thank you, Brian, thank you, Roger, and for everybody in We Will Rock You appreciate it.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:10

It's believed that that you actually got an email from him, not the producer. Well, he obviously is the main producer of this movie.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:19

Well, it was well he wrote it, but I do I did get it through my agent, but then my and then Brian contacted me personally. He actually sent me an email saying, Mig, this is what's happening.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:27

You think you've been through some things, haven't you?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:34

Hey, I mean the writing that email back to him saying, uh look, Brian, um I know how to put this. Thanks for the offer, but no, not right now. Oh no, it was hard. There you go.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:51

Feel the pain, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:52

Yeah, feel it, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:03:54

Well, I I think I need a drink after all of that.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:59

I wish I could join you.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:02

Well, I will say goodbye now. It's been absolutely wonderful, really, really wonderful. I don't want to let you go, really, because you're so nice.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:11

Um, B, you can you can have me back anytime.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:14

I'd love to come to you again anytime. You just let me know. It's been an absolute pleasure to talk to Miss France. That's incredible.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:23

Well, um, I might have to go on to which was it, Princess What?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:27

We're in the Diamond Princess right now.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:29

So Diamond Princess.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:31

Okay. Yeah, yeah. That's all right.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:33

I've never done a cruise. Now you make me want to go and cruise.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:36

Oh, there you go. Well, I actually I'm doing an in excess song tomorrow.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:41

Are you?

SPEAKER_03 1:04:42

Yeah. I've got the band doing New Sensation.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:46

Oh, nice wine. Yeah, that's that's a good thing song.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:50

It is, it's uh it's one of the good ones, one of the great ones. So many are great in excess songs. Oh my god. Oh that yeah. Thank you for keeping the spirit of inexcess alive again. You're the you're awesome. I love pictures of my own. I love it. You know, I gotta tell you one more story. Um, uh at the Hard Rock Hotel in New York on 48th Street, there's a new, very zooshi, brand new hotel called the Hard Rock Hotel. And you go into the the gift store, and the first thing you saw was a wall, a huge wall picture from floor to ceiling of Michael Hutchins. You walk in and you your cart kind of skipped a bit. It's like it was beautiful. And I I remember um I was then in there and I was looking at this this picture going, ah, so cool. And I turn around and I hear Meg in who's walking down the stairs. Andrew Farris. No.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:50

Andrew Farr! Andrew Farris is walking down the stairs. I go, oh mate, how he's just had it. Oh, good idea. Oh, dude.

unknown 1:05:58

Oh

SPEAKER_04 1:06:00

He's doing really well with his country music, isn't he? He's loving it.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:04

He's doing he's loving it. He's living his best life, you know. And I I love you know life goes on.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:10

Um, you know, he he felt the the you know Michael's um passing really hard, you know, and I think he's never really fully you know recovered from that. They were super, super close, but uh he's doing very well, and I'm so so proud of him, and he's he's a great guy. Great guy. What a what a talent, what an amazing genius.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:30

Well, you know the story that um Michael got off the school bus. And I've been to the school gates at Davidson High, and Michael got off with his international plumbing accent in the middle of Australia, you know, in in Belrose. And I think he'd still got his private school you school uniform on. So he stood out like a a lemon, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:55

Yeah, right, right, right.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:56

Um and he could see that the rugby lads were about to because all the girls just melted, you know, because they all just thought he was the big um and he was about to get beaten up, and that's how they met because Andrew like uh went over, introduced himself, and got his mates to so Michael wouldn't get beaten up. Oh wow, I did not know that store. I did not know that story. Yeah, and then they became friends because they were both into like writing, and Michael's so much into his poetry and his poets and things, and that's uh yeah, and Michael just used to sit there and watch them jam. He didn't want nothing to do in music, and then they just gave him the microphone.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:36

Yeah, well, you know, it's it's actually actually I know that that world that in um the expat world of Hong Kong where you know his father lived and for a while and Michael visited him and then stayed for quite a while in Hong Kong with him. Um it's a different world out there. That international fraternity, the international school of the elite people, you know, like there were these people were you know executives and their kids were living in Hong Kong and having the best education. It's no uh wonder that Michael was such a you know an intelligent and well-rounded individual because of that experience.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:14

Although he did do, I don't know if you ever saw them, he did um some MTV um like uh documentary for MTV, and he went back to his school in Japan, and he they're really good. You should try and watch them, and it's like I don't know, 95, something like that. Right, right, yeah. And he goes in, he goes in to see the headmistress, and she reads like some of his school reports, and it was all like a bit of a dreamer. Could do better.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:47

There you are. That's one for the dreamers.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:49

Blessed, blessed are the dreamers, for they shall inherit the earth. I've got to say, uh that whole thing of him be you know, they were uh growing up in Davidson up in Belrose. Um, when I was in a band when I was 16 years old, um, I was in a garage band because we literally were rehearsing in this mate's garage, and he it was in Belrose. Oh, four places. Of all places is Belrose, yeah. So I didn't really make that connection.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:16

I mean it was Hughes Road.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:18

Was it Hughes Road? No, no, it wasn't that, but uh yeah, it was definitely but it was yeah, funny connections like that.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:24

Yeah, following the path.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:26

There's some crisscrossing moments with with Michael uh in through our lives, but um, you know, he's definitely well missed and well loved and revered. And and his memory's kept alive for people thanks thanks to people like you.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:40

And you because you're gonna be playing him tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:44

Yes, we are. Yes we are.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:46

And if you're in LA 21st of May, come to the Avalon Rockstar Reunion.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:51

It's gonna be awesome. Ozzy Mig, Ozzy Toby is gonna be the representing.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:57

Well, Mig, you are an absolute pleasure. You're a diamond, you're absolutely gorgeous to look at as well. Oh my god, I fit. You're amazing. I feel I feel like glasses on it looks better.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:14

I'll put the glasses on because uh I just wanted to just also uh say thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:21

It's been a pleasure and thank you for keeping the spirit of in excess alive. I am a lifelong fan. Being a Sydney boy, they were the soundtrack of my youth growing up in in Australia. Um, as far as all the Aussie bands who I f who I do love, you know, all the pet degree of Australian music is is uh rich and full of most amazing music you could ever possibly imagine. But in excess is the very top for me. So thank you so much for keeping the spirit alive.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:50

Thanks, sweetheart. Take care then.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:53

Oh I love.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:55

See you, Miss France.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:56

Bye. Bye bye. Well, thanks for listening, everybody. It's been absolutely fantastic. If you want to know more, then check out the links that are in our description and send a message.