Mikey Erg

A mainstay of the U.S. pop-punk circuit whose output shows no sign of slowing, Mikey Erg handles vocals, songwriting, drums, and guitar, adopting the stage name during his time in the New Jersey group the Ergs. After 16 years of band activity he issued his first solo effort, 2016’s Tentative Decisions, on which confessional songwriting sat beside tracks that swung between high-energy punk bursts and reflective pop pieces. That balance of punk drive and pop sensibility persisted across later solo releases, though the emphasis shifted: Waxbuilt Castles in 2019 placed introspective material front and center through acoustic-guitar textures and shaped noise, Mikey Erg in 2021 delivered straight-ahead pogo punk, and Love at Leeds in 2022 offered a seasoned yet robust sound tracked by Steve Albini.

Born Mike Yannich on February 7, 1980, in South Amboy, New Jersey, he started the Ergs in 2000 alongside Old Bridge High School classmates Jeff Erg (Jeff Schroeck) and Joey Erg (Joe Keller). The trio became known for wry, frequently self-referential wit and a direct, Ramones-derived style; their initial CD-R demos appeared in 2000, followed by the vinyl 3 Guys, 12 Eyes EP in 2001. While the Ergs maintained a steady release schedule in subsequent years, Erg simultaneously collaborated with numerous other acts, including Dirt Bike Annie, the Unlovables, the Dopamines, Star Fucking Hipsters, House Boat, the Worriers, and For Science. The Ergs disbanded in November 2008, though reunion performances occurred sporadically, prompting Erg to expand his work with additional groups.

His first solo outing arrived in 2011 as the all-instrumental vinyl EP Valentine’s Day; further vinyl EPs followed, and a Japan tour produced a joint floppy-disc release with Barrakuda McMurder. That same year he joined the house band LLC for The Chris Gethard Show, contributing performances and original songs to the satirical program that moved from New York public-access television to national airings on the Fusion network. Building on this visibility, Erg issued his debut full-length solo album, Tentative Decisions, via Don Giovanni Records in 2016. For the follow-up he partnered with fellow LLC member Alex Clute, resulting in the more melodic and reflective Waxbuilt Castles in 2019.

He paused solo activity briefly to play drums on the Worriers’ 2020 LP You or Someone You Know, then returned with the two-day session that became 2021’s Mikey Erg, mixed by Stephen Egerton of the Descendents and ALL and featuring Green Day’s “Going to Pasalacqua,” Pearl Jam’s “Spin the Black Circle,” plus eight new originals. After joining a package tour with Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!, Tim Kasher of Cursive, and Anthony Green of Circa Survive, Erg assembled the same musicians who backed Tentative Decisions—Jeff Rosenstock on guitar, Alex Clute on bass, Lou Hanman on drums—to record five days of all-analog material under Steve Albini in Chicago. The resulting album, Love at Leeds, appeared on Don Giovanni in June 2022.