See Your Shadow's Michael Coleman Answers Our Questions

One of the nicest guys in the business, Michael Coleman of See Your Shadow Songwriting, has had a standout 2020. Always finding a way to adapt and push forward, Coleman released a string of country music tracks that reached #1 status in South Africa and Top 20 status on the UK iTunes charts! He even enjoyed success on the Christian Country radio charts with first single, "I Will Tell Jesus You Said Hello." While many others let COVID keep them down, Michael Coleman and SYS have continuously battled the odds and are sitting pretty going into 2021.

Hey Michael! Thanks so much for agreeing to this interview. We're honored to have you. 2020 has sure been an unusual year, and probably unlike any we will ever witness again. What has been the most challenging thing about dealing with the COVID pandemic, and can you draw anything positive from it?

Thanks for talking with me and what a good question. The COVID challenges have been two-fold. There is the personal toll, which is I am such a person who loves people. I’m a hugger and a kisser. On a professional level at the start of 2020 our we were producing our live action game show about oral sex, “Are You Worth a Rug Burn?” based on our dance and disco track “Rug Burn” and we were becoming Phoenix’s latest sensation. I mean everybody was talking about this show and their audience experience. Then when COVID hit we had to shut production down. Launching the television arm was going to be our main focus for 2020 and we had to pivot and go back to our flagship, which has always been our music and then we released our breakout record, “I Will Tell Jesus You Said Hello” and the rest is history.

You've had some really great successes this year. From the hits "I Will Tell Jesus You Said Hello" to the instrumental country song, "My Worth." Now, you have "Christmas on Cellblock 9." All these songs are so different. How do you keep things fresh and different with each release?

Well, I can tell you it ain’t easy. The interesting thing is that each of the pieces we have released this year shows the many facets of me, Michael Coleman the man and who I am and what I am about is always reflected in my work. We strategically wanted to show the diversity of the catalog which is why all three of the releases are so different and our lead-off single for 2021 will be even more out of the box so we are excited about that.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2c28MH58XefbW5WrTqjtUp

What was the inspiration behind "Christmas on Cellblock 9?" Where was the hilarious video shot? Tell us some behind the scenes stories of the video shoot?

I love this piece and I always wanted to do a Christmas song. The inspiration behind the song was I wanted to offer people an alternative to “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”. However, it was difficult to try and come up with something that was funny and about a subject that had never been done before, while not making it hokey and the idea just came to me and I ran with it. Now the video was shot on the soundstages at my creative complex in Columbus, Ohio, Brokeback Mansion. We spent a couple of days constructing the jail cell from the ground up. I will say this, if you look closely some of the dancing reindeers had to be pinned in so their members would not fall out.

You're from Ohio, but reside in Arizona. How are the two places different, and how are they similar?

Well, I live in both places. There is the obvious difference of the weather. Both places have large talent pools of independent musicians with some great stories to tell and I love the diversity of the talent. What is great about Ohio however is the location as it is a matter of just a few hours’ drive, and I can be in Nashville, Chicago, New York or DC which are all huge hubs for the arts. The choices are more limited out west to Los Angeles or Las Vegas.

What's on the horizon for See Your Shadow? What will be the next single/video release?

Our next single will be our female empowerment anthem, “I Know My Worth”. We are super excited about this record as it is innovative in its production and we have a sound that has never been done before.

Do you think you will ever be able to take this project on the road? What would that look like?

I will never say never. More than likely however we will take the game show on the road as that was the original plan for 2020. If the music show were to go on the road, it would probably be the country and western opera I have been wanting to write for some time and we would tour with that.

What are your biggest hopes for SYS in 2021? What are your greatest fears for the new year?

My biggest hope for SYS in 2021 would be for us to duplicate or surpass what we did in 2020. I am hoping that our fans old and new will find inspiration in our empowerment anthem, “I Know My Worth”. My biggest fear for 2021 is that I won’t be able to take all the great trips I had to cancel in 2020.

Any parting words for your fans and our readers?

I would like to give a shout out and thanks to all of our fans and your readers for their support and encourage them to keep supporting the independent artists. It is important for your readers and fans to know that when COVID is over and it is safe to do so they are welcome to a huge hug from The Metropolitan Cowboy.

For more information, visit www.seeyourshadow.com.