Mark Wystrach on Midland's Wild Early Years, Near-Death Experiences and More

From the archives: Midland frontman Mark Wystrach joins Andy Frasco's World Saving Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about the reality behind life in a successful band. This episode is brought to you by JamCut.IO (https://jamcut.io/). If you're a musician and you're tired of making clips all the time, check these guys out! Mark talks about Midland nearly falling apart during its early years, the fights and conflict that came with three strong personalities trying to build a career together, and why the music ultimately kept them together. He also gets into the brutal touring schedule, balancing life on the road with being a husband and father, and why the fantasy of the "rock star lifestyle" is a lot different from actually living it. The conversation gets even deeper as Mark opens up about his history with drugs and alcohol, growing up around addiction, and the lessons he took from seeing the darker side of it firsthand. He also shares two terrifying stories that changed the way he looks at life: being stranded in extreme desert heat after blowing a tire on his Harley, and suffering a massive heart-related medical emergency in his early 20s that left his heart functioning at roughly 25% for a period of time. Those experiences helped push him toward pursuing music and living life on his own terms.