The City’s favorite competitive music making event, BuskerFest, is taking place this weekend. Music starts at 5 PM, with three smaller stages rotating through a total of 15 bands. Each stage opens with a performance by a past BuskerFest winner: Pawnshop Kings, Jay Buchanan, and Korey Dane. They’re not competing. Starting at 8:45, the main stage will feature performances by Matt Vasquez, and Everest. All of the stages are on 1st Street, between Elm and Linden.

While there are too many bands to list here, one just happens to be a particular favorite of mine. Miniature Houses is primarily a soft spoken trio featuring Michael Wysong, Lili de la Mora, and Taihei Tajima. Tai is the band’s secret weapon. He plays melodica, glockenspiel, and saw. On Saturday, the trio will expand to include Andrew Pompey on drums, and Davin Givhan on bass. I asked Michael how Miniature Houses came about.

Michael: I had a project called I Read Her Journal. Lili had/has a project called The Year Zero. We became admirers of what the other was doing, so we talked about getting together sometime to share music with each other. I think it took us about a year to finally do it. We’re shy.

What finally encouraged it to happen was that we were both booked to play a show together at {open} bookstore. She was going to be playing some solo Lili songs, I was going to be playing some I Read Her Journal songs, so we decided to try and sing a few songs together between our sets that night too. That’s what started it.

Sander: Did you each bring material to the new group?

Michael: We work collaboratively. I’ll bring Lili a song in a rough sketch sort of state, and we’ll develop it from there. We work on the lyrics and vocal harmonies together after the framework of the song is put together. Lately, some the most fun we’ve been having is taking a new song and really pushing ourselves to try harder, challenge ourselves, where maybe the transitions aren’t so obvious. Something like that.

One of those songs is “Mighty River” which is on our upcoming EP. Our friend Chris Schlarb is producing it. That song came out of one of those late night songwriting sessions. It was dark, there were strange shadows moving on the walls. I think Lili’s house is haunted… That song kept changing, like a change in mood or consciousness. We might have been possessed.

Sander: What kinds of subjects interest you, lyrically?

Michael: I like writing stories and developing characters. I’m interested in how people relate to each other, or don’t. I’m interested in the illusions we create for ourselves and each other. Lately, I’ve been writing ghost stories. It’s a process of trying to understand myself better I think.

Sander: What insights have you gained through this process?

Michael: I’m a very insecure, scared, nervous person. That same person doesn’t want to be that way though. I guess there’s the conflict where a song or story or poem is born.

Sander: What is it that scares you?

Michael: I think they’re things that we all fear like death, failure, not being loved or accepted. The world is a scary place. It’s also a beautiful place too. You’ve got to be brave and carry on. I might be getting too “real” here… I’m so sensitive, geez.

Sander: Not at all, Michael. I think that there is some value in these kinds of discussions because people who value art for arts’ sake may find it all the more meaningful by knowing what goes into its creation.

Michael: I agree.

Sander: How does it feel for you to perform publicly?

Michael: It’s a compromise. I love creating things. There’s a lot of joy in it. Each time you perform, though, you make yourself available for critique, which is a part of the creative process. But, it’s scary for me personally. I usually find that after I’ve done it, it wasn’t so bad after all and I enjoyed it. In the end I guess it’s about sharing and celebrating each other.

Sander: Let’s talk about the competitive nature of BuskerFest. How do you feel about that?

Michael: First, I want to say how much I appreciate Rand from Fingerprints and Jenny Stockdale and Justin Hectus for inviting us to play. I’m excited about Buskerfest and sharing the stage with Lili, Tai, Andrew, and Davin. They’re a very talented group of people. We’ll be playing on Stage 2 – Portobello Market – at 6:15 p.m., which is basically out front of House of Hayden.

The competition aspect of it, and that we’ll be performing on flatbed trucks, sounds fun. I feel honored to be apart of it. This is a great community event. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll have to sike [sic] myself up for it the night before. But, I think a little friendly competition will make things fun and interesting. I’ll have to crank up Eye of the Tiger Saturday morning. Get a mean look in my eye.

Sander: The band is normally a trio, isn’t it? Is this a one-off expansion, or is this a new and improved Miniature Houses?

Michael: Depending on where we play we like to meet the expectation of the venue. So, we play as a trio if it feels like it’s going to be more of an intimate kind of event. For Buskerfest we’re going to be playing with a bass player and drummer. And, we’ve invited some other friends to sing with us as well. So we’re looking at a group of maybe 6 or 7 people.

Sander: If you don’t mind, I’d like to shift the focus just a bit. I wanted to speak with you about SoundWalk. You’re participating this year. Can you tell me about what you’re doing, and why?

Michael: Christine Nguyen and myself are creating a wish portal for Soundwalk this year. We’re going to invite people that attend to tell the universe their wish. This project is being created by Impossible Moon, a artist group I’ve created with Christine Nguyen. Each wish can be whispered or shouted. Itís all up to the preference of the individual. Each person also has the option to write down their wish and place it into a crystal box for delivery to the universe as well. Taihei Tajima will be helping us too.

Sander: How will the wishes be delivered?

Michael: We want to create the conditions or a setting where each person feels like they are being listened to. The wish portal consists of a platform, and a large funnel shaped megaphone, where one at a time people will be invited to climb up and declare their wish. The wishes will be delivered instantly because we’re talking about the universe within us and around us.

I think in that moment it will allow people to reflect on themselves and the world they live in. It will conjure up different emotions and also invite creativity and imagination. Who are you in that moment? What will you ask for? We expect some wishes will be funny, some selfless, and others deeply personal. All are welcome.

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BuskerFest is part of the annual Summer And Music Concert Series, sponsored in part by the DLBA. Complete details on this and all SAM events can be found at SummerAndMusic.com.

You can also read the SAM preview from May, which includes interviews with the SAM team.

To learn more about SoundWalk, which will be taking place on October 1st, visit SoundWalk.org.