Austin, Texas Indie Alt Rock. mozworthโs music is rooted deeply in the human experience, weaving together personal reflections and imagination. Growing up in the small town of Logan, Iowa, during the 90s, mozworth was drawn to the skateboarding subculture, which helped shape his broad and eclectic musical tastes. The mozworth project was born out of a desire to create space for writing music. mozworth began spending time in secluded cabins gaining perspective and writing. Sessions in Minnesota, Kansas, and Colorado, eventually led to the creation of six songs. After being steeped in Ausinโs vibrant music scene, it was time for the songs to see the light of day. mozworth rallied friends and musicians local and remote to join forces in publishing something truly unique. mozworth released the self-titled debut November 15, 2024 followed with a January 22, 2025 release of Daniel Johnstonโs โWalking the cowโ on his birthday. Two new tracks are planned for the summer of 2025. mozworth is currently touring the Austin area in support. Check out the exclusive interview below:
1. Your roots can often shape your journey. Can you share a story or moment from your early life that had a significant impact on your path into music?
MOZWORTH: There was a concert put on by a local radio station in Omaha, Nebraska when I was a teenager. I lived nearby. It was one of those big festivals that brought together as many bands who had singles on the radio at that time as possible. It was called Edge Fest and it was my first experience seeing what live music was. It was my first experience of seeing bands perform passionately and crowds reacting in the form of crowd surfing and mosh pits and screaming the words back at their favorite artist. There is something in me that awoke to that and I had to figure out a way to be a part of it.
2. Did your musical journey begin with formal training, or was it more of a personal exploration? How has that shaped your unique approach to your craft?
MOZWORTH: To some degree, it did. It was my mom that discovered that I had a musical ear. We had a piano in our home growing up and I started to sound out commercial melodies and little jingles on the piano. My best friendโs mom happened to have a masters degree in music and taught piano lessons. That was my first formal training and I dabbled a bit in high school band, but it was around the same time that I discovered my dadโs acoustic guitar. Once I picked that up, it was over. That was my instrument. This happened a couple of years before the concert noted above.
3. Who were some of the most influential figures in your early musical life, and how did they inspire your sound? Also, whatโs the story behind choosing the name โMOZWORTHโ?
MOZWORTH: An early one was Soundgarden. The Superunknown album was the first full length album that I ever purchased. I would listen to that thing on repeat in my room for who knows how long. Superunknown runs in my veins. The same could be said of the whole grunge movement including Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins among others.
Skateboarding was also a major factor in my musical exploration. I picked up skateboarding in middle school and found that there was all sorts of music attached to skateboarding subculture from hip-hop to a lot of underground rock bands and punk bands.
I pull a lot from all the music that I love from the 90โs though it is not exclusive to that. As I age I definitely add a lot more chilled out music and genres like Americana and Folk. The mozworth sound represents a range of these influences. Everything from meditations like โThe Observerโ to monster walls of sound like โThe Sandpiper.โ I love being able to write for such a wide range. I donโt wanna be pigeonholed into something super specific. I wanna be free to let songs unfold and discover along the way. This is how you evolve.
As far as the name mozworth and where that comes from, my name is Michael Bosworth and mozworth is just a combination of the two. I always spell it lowercase.
4. What do you believe sets your music apart? How would you describe your sound to someone discovering you for the first time, and what emotions or experiences do you hope to evoke in your listeners?
MOZWORTH: What sets my music apart is me. Every person is unique. I have a high degree of confidence that if any two people set out to write the same song they will end up with very different results. It also has to do with the artistโs point of view. My sound is the combination of all those thingsโall of my influences and my point of view expressed through music.
I would describe the mozworth sound to someone by saying that itโs very guitar centric rock music. I would use references from the past like The Pixies and early Weezer and I would compare them to modern artists like Spoon and Big Thief.
The songwriting content is all about the human experience whether thatโs a real story that Iโm communicating or one that Iโve just made up. โCanโt Back Downโ is a song about leaning into a partner or a close friend to deal with a difficult time together. โThe Queen of the Oceanโ is about what it means to lose something dear to you. โPostcardโ is a love song that longs for the other. โGoodbye Coloradoโ is about when your plans donโt work out and you have to pick up the pieces and try to make the most of the situation.
I also think that Nina Simone is right in that artists have a mandate to reflect the times. You can see this in โThe Sky is Fallingโ and โSandpiperโ โ two summer releases that squarely deal with the challenges of our time.
5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as ROCK?
MOZWORTH: The mozworth project is very much about me finding my own sound. The songs that Iโm creating all add to the whole picture. I see this project as ultimately trying to replicate my first concert experience. I hope there comes a moment where mozworth is playing on a big stage and Iโm seeing the crowd react just like I did at that first show. Thatโs what weโre supposed to do. Carry the torch. Carry the fire. Keep the music alive and raw. Keep it going.
But the idea of an artist finding their sound may just be a cliche. How could an artist not sound like themselves if theyโre being honest? Integrity means the most to me.
6. Music often transcends entertainment. Whatโs your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles โ and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
MOZWORTH: Everything is on the table when it comes to my writing. I think it is a mandate for an artist to reflect their times. Music history is rich with heroes speaking out through song.
7. Do you feel the rewards of your musical career match the energy and passion you invest in it, or are there different kinds of fulfillment youโre still seeking?
MOZWORTH: I feel immense reward in the mozworth project. I love creating music and I love sharing it. It gives me energy to create.
Ultimately, Iโm based in Austin, Texas and Iโm a brand new artist. I just started publishing work this last November so Iโm only coming up on a year of my music being out and touring around the city to promote it. My initial goal is to develop an audience here in Austin around these songs and branch out from there.
That said, mozworth as a band is ready for a big stage. We have some of the best chemistry that Iโve ever experienced in a band and the biggest sound comparatively. We are poised. Shout out to Mark Heaps on lead guitar, Jack Shultz on bass, and Mike Hall on drums.
8. Can you walk us through your creative process? From the first spark of an idea to the finished track, whatโs the most essential part of your process, and how do collaboration or external influences shape your work?
MOZWORTH: Songs can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 6 months for me. My songwriting process is always evolving because I like to read books on songwriting. I most recently read โHow To Write One Songโ by Jeff Tweedy, who Iโm a big fan of. I recently read โThe Creative Act : A Way Of Beingโ by Rick Rubin.
Iโm not a person who believes in waiting for inspiration though I will respond if it comes. Iโve developed the confidence to walk in the studio and create something out of nothing. I donโt have to have an idea. I can just walk in and start playing. This is massively liberating and is very much in line with how โSandpiperโ was written. I walked in the studio. I laid down a drum track and then I laid down a bass track and then I listened back to see if thereโs anything magic. The Sandpiper bass line was there! I built the song on that.
9. Whatโs been the most challenging hurdle in either your personal life or music career, and how has it shaped you as an artist?
MOZWORTH: Getting over self betrayal. Life gets busy and you tend to put aside the things that you really love and really fill you up. Something about coming to Austin Texas some years ago and seeing so many artists creating in the vibrant community and the resources around it caused me to let go of that self betrayal. Iโve given myself permission to go after creating art at the level of quality that Iโve always wanted. This is only the beginning. Thank you Austin!
10. On the flip side, what moment or achievement in your career so far has made you feel the proudest, and why? And letโs talk about your latest release and future plans.
MOZWORTH: The first ever single that was released by mozworth on September 12, 2024 was premiered by KUTX a local radio station in Austin that I respect very much for their support of local music as well as their eclectic programming. It couldnโt have been more perfect.
I got to do an interview with KVRX, a student radio station out of the University of Texas.
I interviewed at KLBJ.
mozworth recently played Good Day Austin, which is a morning television show.
โThe Sky is Fallingโ and โSandpiperโ have received amazing reviews from respected outlets, like The Big Takeover Magazine.
11. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?
MOZWORTH: Itโs too early in the career to have had any impact with haters. I personally havenโt had any which I feel grateful for. I would like to see the industry move away from Big Tech like Instagram. Iโd like to see artists embrace more independent and user empowering platforms like blue sky.
12. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?
MOZWORTH: mozworth is entirely home recorded in Austin Texas. Everything that we put out has been recorded in the mozworth studio, which is essentially a guest bedroom above a garage and the home that weโre currently renting. Outside of that weโve recorded drums at Ken Mocklerโs house who performed drums on all of the currently released mozworth material. We do have a new drummer named Michael Hall and he also has a home studio, so we plan to continue the process.
Once we record, we ship off our audio to Tone Freq Studios, where itโs mixed and mastered by Steven Glaze. I A/B-tested several studios for mixing and Steve just gets our sound. Heโs part of the mozworth team.
I wouldnโt have it any other way than home recording. Iโm really not interested in being in a studio where Iโm paying by the hour. That gives me too much anxiety. I wanna be able to work at my own pace and really remove all outside influences in what Iโm doing except the books that Iโm reading in the band members that Iโm collaborating with.
With this setup, I can get as weird as I want.
13. Do you think it is important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?
MOZWORTH: I certainly have my own motivations for writing the songs and capturing my own emotions, but I do try to be careful on how much of that I give to the listener. I want them to have their own space to interpret the song. I like the idea that the meaning of a piece of art does not belong to the author, but emerges from a collective response to that art piece over time. I actually have a feature on the mozworth.music website. Every song that we have out there is the option to โleave a noteโ.ย Users can express their own response to a particular song and if they want, they can give permission for that response to be shared. I hope each song accumulates this sort of collective response and enhances the listening experience. Go leave a note!perience. Go leave a note!
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