At about 7:30pm we start taping the show and unlike most shows, Mike goes straight through with no breaks. This is a little nerve racking for the guests, I think, because what you play is what goes to tape, no second chances.

     Mike starts the show with an opening number. This is usually the song he refers to as “The Train Song”. It is a constantly evolving song that Mike has put together specifically for the show. On rare occasion he will open with a standard or something different but usually he does “The Train Song”. After the opening song Mike will welcome the guest to the show and ask them for a little background information. This gives the guest the opportunity to talk about themselves and any projects they may be working on. When the guest is done, Mike will ask them to play a song. There is no rigged format to how the show lays out but Mike has a basic outline of how he likes to proceed. It’s hard to say what happens next because each show is different, but one constant is that Mike and the guest usually jam together at some point in the middle and end of the show. At the end of the show Mike will thank the guest for coming and invite them back to do another show. At this point we take a 10 or 15-minute soda break (Mike usually buys the soda) and than back to the second show.