Cleveland based singer songwriter Michael McFarland has released his second single off of his upcoming album Through This Fire, due out October 23rd. The single, ‘The New Contagion’ is streaming now streaming on all major platforms. You can watch the lyric video below.

We had the chance to interview McFarland via email about the new single.

Refrain Music Blog: Thanks for taking the time to do this interview. Your new single came out today. Congratulations! What’s it all about?

Michael McFarland: The simplest answer is that it’s about hope; about finding the silver lining of the darkest clouds.  In the early days of the COVID quarantine, I joined a Virtual Cleveland Songwriter’s Challenge group. We all suggested ideas for songwriting prompts, and then each week one prompt was chosen and we’d all write to that challenge. The very first prompt was ‘Songs About Hope”, and within minutes I had the chorus written for ’The New Contagion’.

RMB: What was the writing process like for the song?

Michael McFarland: Once I got started on writing the song, I didn’t come up for air until the next morning. I tend to write in the studio, so the musical arrangement and the lyrics are created in parallel. When I finally left the studio after sunup, I had the entire track recorded in its almost-final form. The only parts that got re-tracked for the release were drums – my co-producer Eric Bertagnolli replaced my programmed beats with live drums, which were tracked at his studio – and lead vocals – since my voice was definitely not at it’s best at 3AM!

RMB: And this is part of an EP right? When will that be out?

Michael McFarland: Yes, this is the second single off the EP Through This Fire, will be released October 23.

RMB: How many songs on the album?

Michael McFarland: There are six songs total on Through This Fire.

RMB: And this is just the latest in a long line of releases from you. How is this one different than the previous?

Michael McFarland: Not counting singles, this is my seventh release; I’ve put out two full-length albums, and this is EP number five. Through This Fire differs from most of my previous releases in a couple ways; the biggest difference is that, with my earlier records, I had months of road-testing the material in front of live audiences. Through This Fire was written and recorded almost entirely during the COVID lockdowns, and the usual question of, “how will I recreate these songs live,” was not a primary concern. There was something really freeing about that, and I allowed myself a lot more leeway in arrangement, style, and instrumentation than I have on previous records. Some of the songs, including The New Contagion, may prove challenging to do justice in a live setting, but that’s a problem for Future Michael.

RMB: When did you start pursuing music?

Michael McFarland: I started training in classical piano when I was six years old, and kept that up for 12 years, but it wasn’t until I picked up a guitar at age 14 that I started writing and performing my own material. I started my first band when I was 16, and never looked back. I started to teach myself audio engineering around that same time, mostly because I couldn’t afford to pay to record at a “real” studio… I started on a borrowed 4-track TASCAM cassette Portastudio. Over the years I’ve gradually acquired nicer equipment and learned enough to build a pretty great-sounding space almost entirely out of recycled materials; when the lockdowns hit, I pretty much lived in that studio for several weeks.

RMB: Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

Michael McFarland: Until my teenage years, most of what I listened to was classical music or my Dad’s collection of folk records. After that, I discovered the glory of 90s alternative rock, and my early songwriting was heavily influenced by bands like Our Lady Peace, Eve 6, and Third Eye Blind. From there I started working backwards, and found inspiration from artists like Paul Simon, Elton John, and Bruce Springsteen. I consider myself a student of the craft of songwriting, though, so I’ll listen to a lot of music that doesn’t necessarily move me personally, because I like figuring out what makes a song work, and why someone might connect with that song, even if that someone isn’t me. I think listening to music I actively dislike helps make me a better songwriter.

RMB: What’s the one thing you are most proud of in your career so far?

Michael McFarland: The pivotal moment for me as a musician was when I was seventeen, and my first band was releasing our first full-length album. We’d put out a 4-song demo before that, of which we’d given away a ton of copies. At the release party, someone I’d never met – I think it was a friend of our bassist – came up to me and told me that one of the songs off that demo had helped her through a really dark part of her life, and that song was what had pulled her back from the edge. That was it for me, I knew I had to keep writing and playing music.

RMB: If you had to pitch your music to a potential fan in less than 10 seconds, what would you say?

Michael McFarland: The world’s a messed up place, but I believe it can be better. Take a listen to this – even if you don’t end up seeing things like I do, I promise you’ll be singing it tomorrow.

RMB: What’s one piece of advice you’ve gotten that you think everyone needs to hear or that has meant the most to you?

Michael McFarland: “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” -Dolly Parton

RMB: If you could go back in time, what’s a piece of advice you would give to a younger you?

Michael McFarland: To early teenage Michael, I’d say, “You’re a lot cooler than you think you are.” To late teenage Michael, I’d say, “You’re not nearly as cool as you think you are.” To early 20s Michael, I’d say, again, “You’re a lot cooler than you think you are.”

RMB: What’s coming up next for you?

Michael McFarland: Right now, I’ve got two music videos in the works for other tracks on Through This Fire, I’m producing records for a number of other artists, and looking forward to when the world can re-open and I’ll get to figure out how to play these songs live!

RMB: Anything we haven’t thought of that you want to talk about? Now is the time!

Michael McFarland: I said earlier that the world’s a messed up place, but that I believe it can be better. I’d like to challenge anyone reading this to try to think of one small thing they can do to make the world better.

Then do it.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget to vote.