Review Fix Exclusive: Big Engine’s Tony Mikus Talks ‘Shot Like A Rocket’

Review Fix chats with Big Engine’s Tony Mikus, who discusses the band’s new album, “Shot Like a Rocket.” Touring for 200 nights a year and sharing the stage with every one from Ted Nugent, to Motorhead, they’ve already established themselves as a damn good rock band. Discussing the creative process of the new album, as well as their appearance in a Rock Band video game, Mikus lets us know the band still has plenty of aspirations.

Review Fix: What was the creative process like for Shot Like A Rocket”?

Tony Mikus: It was a blast. The majority of the songs are about having a good time and we had a good time creating and recording. We worked quickly and went for vibe instead of perfection. We recorded with Jeff Tomei in Atlanta and Ryan Williams in Los Angeles. Both of those guys have done albums with us in the past and are like extra members of the band. They knew what we were shooting for with each song.

Review Fix: How is the album different from your other work over the years?

Mikus: The songs on this album were hand picked by our fans. They voted on their favorite Big Engine songs. The songs that received the most votes wound up on the album along with some brand new material.

This is our first release on Pavement and distributed through MRI/SonyRED so we wanted to put our best foot forward and we wanted the fans to be a part of it all.

Review Fix: What song do you think is an example of those differences?

Mikus: I was pleasantly surprised by the fans choosing “Not Your Fool” to be on the album. It’s a powerful song but we never played it much live. Our live shows are fast paced and high energy so not many slow songs make it onto the set list. We weren’t sure what people thought about the song. The fact that fans rallied to have “Not Your Fool” included on the album made me glad that fans appreciated another side of the band.

Review Fix: Which song on the album do you think has the best story behind it?

Mikus: There are a few actually. Most of the songs on the album are party anthems. There are stories behind them all. Most of them are humorous. Others are much deeper subject matter. The song, “Sister Mary” has meant a lot to many people for a long time and anybody that has lost somebody can relate to “No More Time”.

Review Fix: How do you think being a part of the Rock Band video game series affected the band and its legacy?

Mikus: It was a bit of a surprise how it happened. They contacted me and wanted the ‘stems’ of the song to use on the game. I’m not sure how it affects the legacy of the band but It was cool to have people send us videos of themselves playing our song on the game.

Review Fix: Can you tell us how touring 200 nights a year affects you personally, emotionally and musically?

Mikus: I’m used to it. I make it work personally. Emotionally I think it recharges me. Missing home is a good thing. It makes you appreciate things. Getting out of your comfort zone is an opportunity to grow. Musically it is inspirational to me. I get a lot of song ideas while rolling down the highway. Also each show sounds different. The environment. The acoustics. The crowds. It keeps things fresh. By the way I am answering these questions while I’m in a hotel room in Cleveland. Hello Cleveland.

Review Fix: You guys have shared the stage with so many great acts, but who else would you love to work with?

Mikus: We have been very lucky to share the stage with some heroes and icons but we always have conversations about who else we would love to play a show with. It’s a long list. I mean everybody would pick the obvious AC/DC, KISS and Metallica but some of the others that top the list every time we talk about it are Cheap Trick and Tom Petty. We are from Jacksonville, Florida, the same town that Lynyrd Skynyrd hails from and we have never done a show with them. That would be great. ZZ Top too! I am such a music fan that I want to do shows with everybody.

Review Fix: Bottom line, why should someone pick up this album?

Mikus: It’s a rock album with swagger and attitude. Not enough of that out there anymore in my opinion.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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