MICHAEL BUBLÉ - LIFE, WHISKEY, & SONG

[fusion_builder_container type="flex" hundred_percent="no" hundred_percent_height="no" hundred_percent_height_scroll="no" align_content="stretch" flex_align_items="flex-start" flex_justify_content="flex-start" hundred_percent_height_center_content="yes" equal_height_columns="no" container_tag="div" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" status="published" border_style="solid" box_shadow="no" box_shadow_blur="0" box_shadow_spread="0" gradient_start_position="0" gradient_end_position="100" gradient_type="linear" radial_direction="center center" linear_angle="180" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" enable_mobile="no" parallax_speed="0.3" background_blend_mode="none" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" pattern_bg="none" pattern_bg_style="default" pattern_bg_opacity="100" pattern_bg_blend_mode="normal" mask_bg="none" mask_bg_style="default" mask_bg_opacity="100" mask_bg_transform="left" mask_bg_blend_mode="normal" absolute="off" absolute_devices="small,medium,large" sticky="off" sticky_devices="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_transition_offset="0" scroll_offset="0" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0" padding_top="0%" padding_left="0%" padding_right="0%" padding_bottom="0%"][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_3" align_self="auto" content_layout="column" align_content="flex-start" valign_content="flex-start" content_wrap="wrap" center_content="no" column_tag="div" target="_self" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" order_medium="0" order_small="0" margin_bottom="0%" padding_right="0px" padding_left="0px" hover_type="none" border_style="solid" box_shadow="no" box_shadow_blur="0" box_shadow_spread="0" z_index_subgroup="regular" background_type="single" gradient_start_position="0" gradient_end_position="100" gradient_type="linear" radial_direction="center center" linear_angle="180" lazy_load="none" background_position="left top" background_repeat="no-repeat" background_blend_mode="none" sticky="off" sticky_devices="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" filter_type="regular" filter_hue="0" filter_saturation="100" filter_brightness="100" filter_contrast="100" filter_invert="0" filter_sepia="0" filter_opacity="100" filter_blur="0" filter_hue_hover="0" filter_saturation_hover="100" filter_brightness_hover="100" filter_contrast_hover="100" filter_invert_hover="0" filter_sepia_hover="0" filter_opacity_hover="100" filter_blur_hover="0" transform_type="regular" transform_scale_x="1" transform_scale_y="1" transform_translate_x="0" transform_translate_y="0" transform_rotate="0" transform_skew_x="0" transform_skew_y="0" transform_scale_x_hover="1" transform_scale_y_hover="1" transform_translate_x_hover="0" transform_translate_y_hover="0" transform_rotate_hover="0" transform_skew_x_hover="0" transform_skew_y_hover="0" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" spacing_left="2%" spacing_right="8%" last="true" border_position="all" first="true" spacing_right_small="0" margin_top_small="0" margin_bottom_small="0" spacing_left_small="0" min_height="" link=""][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="" rule_size="" rule_color="" hue="" saturation="" lightness="" alpha="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" margin_top="" margin_right="" margin_bottom="" margin_left="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" font_size="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_transform="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_speed="0.3" animation_offset=""]HERE’S NO WAY IN HELL you can have a chat with Michael Bublé and not conclude that he’s as authentic and engaging off stage as he is on stage. Many of us have enjoyed Michael’s dynamic career over his 20-plus years as one of the most popular entertainers of this generation. Of course, we know he’s revered for being the keeper of the flame for the Great American Songbook, and that’s just the starting point.Michael has sold over 75 million albums, received five Grammy Awards and created six multi-platinum albums. His Christmas album streams in the millions each year—he’s become as synonymous with holiday music as Darlene Love, and…You know what?I could go on, but I’m going to cut myself off here. When I chatted with Michael, it became readily apparent that he isn’t about stats and awards. He’s about people, and his music is the conduit to that human bond. Fans easily receive that human touch from his music. He’s beloved by millions for his timeless vocal style and his ability to share his appreciation of the great crooners and various musical styles. He’s made the fans and the music singularly his own. I feel fortunate I have the opportunity to share what Michael and I spoke about. A lot more was covered than what you’ll read here, but you’ll get the gist. Life, whiskey and song indeed.THE INTERVIEWRandy Mastronicola: Let’s start with your recent partnership with Fraser & Thompson Whiskey. Have you always been passionate about whiskey?Michael Bublé: I’ve always enjoyed a nice bottle of whiskey. But it wasn't like it had to be Pappy Van Winkle or something really high-end though. When I’d come off stage, I always enjoyed what was there waiting for me.That got you on the path to Fraser & Thompson.The truth about what happened was that it was my birthday. It was about three years ago, and my manager told me “There is a distiller in Montreal named Paul Cirka and he’s sent a lot of stuff over. He’s talking about how he'd love for you to be involved.” In my mind, I was thinking Pepsi. I'll be the new “bubbly guy.”He said, “No, no, that's not what we're talking about. It’s whiskey.” During that night, me and my buddies, my wife—we were drinking it. I said, “Damn, this is really good.”I said to my wife, “Wouldn't it be amazing if you and I got into a business, just for us?” We'd never done anything like that together. We ended up meeting Paul, loving Paul, and we invested in the company. We helped buy that distillery.The seed and sip were planted… [laughs]Yes. Neither of us thought it was going to be something big. We just thought, “You know what? How cute is this?” A cool boutique distillery that we'll work on together.Then my manager, on my behalf, called a friend of ours named Larry Ruvo in Vegas. Larry is one of the big distributors, and we'd been friends for many years. He said to Larry, “What do you think? We don't know how to start.” He said, “Listen, I think the kids should go and meet with Shelly Stein from Southern Glazer's.” Honestly, once that happened, it became a completely different path.You’re not the first person we’ve interviewed who’s mentioned it was a way to work on a project with their spouse. Interesting. Yes. More than just my wife, it became a family thing. My dad was the first investor, my best friend Ron Toigo—who I own a hockey team with. Then my own manager. Then I asked Shelly, “Well, if we're going to do this, then Glazer's is going to be involved. This is going to be big.”I said, “Boy, I don't really know what I'm doing. It would be really nice for me to have Paul Cirka, who obviously is an incredible talent and a whiskey nerd.” He could sit and talk to me for hours about it. I said, “I would love it if that's who helped me to make sure that, when I do this, it's right.” It took two, almost three years. The whole thing started with me loving the whiskey that Paul made, just loving it. The bouquet, all of the things that go into the process–the whiskey entering my mouth—all the way to the last little taste. That last taste where you say, “Mmh.”Bouquet to finish. Nice. And your spirit has a good price point.Value for flavor.Social media is going to be a huge part of this for you.My wife was sitting with me last night in bed and she said, “Wow, your TikToks are all booze and bourbon.” I said, “Well, yes, because the algorithm is giving me the stuff that I'm looking at.” Naturally, I've started to become way more interested in it. Then all of a sudden, I want to know how to make the greatest old fashioned, become an expert in all of this.Spirits are a culture. Would you say there’s similarity between collaborating on a spirits project and an entertainment project?I love this question. I love that you asked it because I feel like you know the answer to it already, and I appreciate you letting me speak on it.You caught me. [laughter]It’s the closest thing to making music. Sitting with Paul and listening to him speak about how he blends these notes to create this harmony, the way he talks about it. We sat in an interview together and I watched him, and I could've listened to him for hours. Firstly, I learned more listening to him for 15 minutes than I could studying online, but it's the same way I speak about songs that I construct.It's literally this way because you have the fundamentals of theory, but then that's mixed with feeling, that's mixed with your opinion, how you hear something, what it makes you feel, and the flavors. It's funny, when I write a song, I could talk for an hour about all of the things that drive me, all of the little unique things that brought these notes into me feeling a certain way, bringing this melody, this kind of rhythm.Francis Ford Coppola once told our magazine it’s all show biz. Movies, wine, building resorts. You bridge that with people who see it like you.I had to bring in the right producer so he could get my vision and execute. Now, I have to try and have that and also be proud, but at the same time, boy, it's got to be marketable. If it isn't marketable, no matter how good I think this is, it's not going to work. It's not a trend.It's so interesting. The layers of it all. Obviously, music—and now whiskey—informs your soul. Absolutely.If you tell that story, then it’s authentic. It will resonate with the consumer. They sense when it’s a money grab and they’ll be put off. That's one of the first things that Shelly explained to me. “Mike, it won’t work if it looks like that,” he said. The big distributors I met with said, “You know what? It starts off big with celebrities. Then they do all these bottles, and then they can't get that shit off the shelves.”Certainly.They told me, “You got a good product, kid. Just take it easy. Let it go. It takes about a year to get everything into the stores.”Great advice. An excellent example of celeb brand authenticity is Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. They just live and breathe their Mezcal.Yes, I’ve heard that. Do you guys have any plans for consumer engagement? Get those boots on the ground? I just went out for two weeks. I did everything from going to SantaCon to going into all the bars. I have gone to the Spec’s, and I've gone to the Total Wines. I've met thousands of people. It’s just getting that liquid to lips.Again, it doesn't feel very different from the music business, because when I started in the music business, my publicist, Liz Rosenberg, would take me to New York. I would play two shows at the Blue Note, but it wasn't the shows even. Between those two shows at the Blue Note, she'd say, “Boy, come on down and meet these fucking people. You're going to say hello.” Then I would schmooze the room, and it's funny because they didn't buy my music as much as they bought me.Well, you had the chops to back that up.Thank you for saying that. You mentioned Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. They're megastars, but they're one of us. You know what I mean? That's the cool part.They are pissers. Genuine, and no star trips there. Ok, I'm going to switch gears.Let’s do it.You’re recent collab with Jason Derulo on “Spicy Margarita”?We are the collaboration that no one knew they needed, and no one had on their bingo card in 2024. [laughter] For me, it's not far off the mark, being a keeper of The Great American Songbook. I always knew the root of what I loved came from R&B, jazz, pop, rap—all of it.I love Jason, and I have a lot of respect for him. He’s an intelligent guy, and he's a great artist–writer, entertainer and dancer. He's got the whole package. This kid has created a massive business, a huge following, and very much a lot of it on his own.I said to him, “This will work.” We figured out a vehicle to take what I do and mixed it with what he does. It’ll fit groove-wise. It won't be stuffing a triangle into a circle.You got the best of both.Right away, he sent me back a demo. I was in the car with my wife. I turned to her and said, “I'm about to have a big stinking hit on the radio. Boom!” I came in, we did an interpolation, I rewrote “Sway”, obviously, and off we went.The hardest part for me was waiting for it to be released. It's funny because I would have conversations with people like Ryan Seacrest or people in my world, the music industry, and I'd go, “I got a big single coming.” They’d go, “Oh, good for you. What is it?” I'd say, “It's me and Jason Derulo.” Every time— whether it was Ryan Seacrest or whether it was Harry and Meghan—the first response was, “Holy shit, yes. Oh, my god.” Again, I was a bit surprised that people were that surprised.It’s a huge hit. So funny sometimes. I was talking to a respected cigar blender recently. I asked, "Do you ever feel it in your bones that you just created a great product?"That's how it was. Definitely. It was uniquely instinctual. It was like I knew the first time I heard it. I've written some great songs, and for whatever reason, they didn’t go to the place I expected them to. I've had other songs that I didn't expect as much, and emotionally they reached people. This is one of those things where I find gratitude. That’s the key, right? Focus on what’s fuels your spirit and let go of the other stuff that creates resistance.So true. I have a one-year-old. Every day I take her—we got this duck pond—I walk her to the ducks. Well, about a week and a half ago, the first time I'm taking her to the ducks, and I start to play “Baby Shark.” She said, “No, no, no.” I tried to play Raffi, and “Baby Beluga.” She wanted “Spicy Margarita.” She wanted it 80 times. If you write a song and the kids get into it—that’s just “Wow!” for me.She got the beat. [laughter] Switching gears for fun. I have a few either/or questions for you. The rule is you can't answer “both.”Shoot.I know you’re a co-owner of the Vancouver Giants and a huge Canucks fan. Either/or? Scoring a goal for the Canucks in the Stanley Cup, or singing a duet with Frank Sinatra in heaven?Sinatra in heaven.Cool. You and I both share an Italian heritage. Spaghetti and meatballs, or pizza with sausage.Pizza with sausage. I know you said I couldn't answer both—that’s tough.Ok. I think I'm going to give you a pass on that one. Especially if it’s my nonna’s sauce.Nice. Leather jacket or Levi's denim jacket?Oh, I think leather jacket.Your favorite place to escape—ocean or mountains?Ocean.Chelsea boots or sneakers?Sneakers.Dinner and a night at the theatre, or movie and popcorn at home?Oh. Movie and popcorn at home. If I answered the other way, which my inside wants to answer, my wife would say, “You're a liar.”Exactly. [laughs] You’re a Vancouver boy. Obviously, it gets just a touch cold there. Summer or winter?Oh, winter.You’ve cemented your legacy as an artist. What would you like your legacy to be outside of music?My legacy will have nothing to do with my music. I know it. Maya Angelou said something like people may forget what you've done or said, but they'll never forget how you made them feel. I think my legacy will live on in my children, in my kindness, my empathy, and the good I try to do.What a wonderful world it would be if we all aspired to that?It's all we have. Really strong faith. I think my hope is that we all get to hang in heaven and sing with Frank.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]