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Michael Tiernan doesn’t toot his own horn
Instead, he writes songs for other people — and companies
Michael Tiernan: man of multiple musical muses.
The last time Michael Tiernan released an album was just before the pandemic hit in 2020. Before that, the San Diego based musician wrote music that was mostly about his life experiences, including surviving cancer as a teenager and traveling the country in a van with “wacky Catholic hippies.” In his college years, he jumped across the pond to Europe and found himself among monks in desert monasteries. Following that, Tiernan wound up living in the Vatican and studying to be a priest before realizing his calling was instead music.
“I started this in 2003,” he explains. “I thought, ‘I’m gonna be a rock star. I’m gonna go for it and see what happens.’ Okay, maybe not a rock star, but a folk star. I wanted to be able to travel and fill theaters and connect through music and telling stories. Then I realized it didn’t matter how successful I got. For me, the process is what’s magical.”
Today, Tiernan writes music about other people — and companies. He regards both as an unending source of captivating stories. During the pandemic, he says “I started putting myself out there to some of the companies I was working with to write custom songs. I wasn’t out there gigging. But if there was something somebody was celebrating, or something a company was going through, I could write something for them. Then I got a couple bites. That’s where the idea came from. The antenna went up, and I found I just wanted to write about the stories of others.”
In March of this year, Tiernan released the single “The Perfect Path” about the 1995 San Diego murder of Tariq Khamisa. The father of the victim, Azim Khamisa, “came to this space of forgiveness,” says Tiernan. “He started this huge foundation. They’ve spoken to millions of at-risk kids, teaching them about tools of non-violence. I heard him speak, and I thought, ‘I gotta get to know this guy. I want to write him a song.’ It’s stories like that, picking up on other people’s energy and finding what’s inspiring in them, that make you want to amplify their message. Where it’s heading for me is geared towards people who are suffering or grieving.”
Tiernan’s eighth studio album For Others is set to be released on November 9. Some of the song themes from the new album include: a teenage son lost to suicide, an elderly ex-nun reflecting on her long life and sharing her wisdom as she loses her eyesight, and a modern mystic who hears the stars talking. “I wrote the song ‘Children of the Stars’ for a town,” Tiernan says. “They were petitioning to become an international dark sky community. When they got designation, we had a big festival. The painting on the album cover comes from an artist in the town who has an insane story. He was a former high-powered lawyer who sold everything to go live in the desert. He can meditate and hear the frequency of the stars, like music.”
The album release includes a live show at the new TERI Campus of Life’s Bornemann Theatre in San Marcos. The 200-seat theatre is a part of a campus whose mission is to transform lives through performing arts, fine arts, fitness, nutrition, organic agriculture, and social gatherings. Says Tiernan, “It’s this beautiful new theatre. I went and saw Gregory Page there a couple months ago.” Many of the people who inspired the tracks from the new album will be in attendance. “My goal is to have the people who I wrote them for introduce their song. One of the songs is a legacy song, which is a type of songwriting where you interview somebody who’s nearing the end of their life. You get them to talk about life and perspective. I did that with the song ‘Mary Jane,’ who’s my aunt. I went through an official process with her with a guy who was teaching me how to write legacy songs.”
Spirituality has always been at the core of Tiernan’s music throughout his journey. “It’s not Christian rock,” he insists. “To me, it’s more about openness and making connections. We all have it from whatever angle we’re coming from. The whole idea of it and putting songwriting at the service to inspire people is exciting. I’m excited to share the songs and other people’s stories. It just feels good.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Michael Tiernan doesn’t toot his own horn
Instead, he writes songs for other people — and companies
Michael Tiernan doesn’t toot his own horn
Instead, he writes songs for other people — and companies
Michael Tiernan: man of multiple musical muses.
The last time Michael Tiernan released an album was just before the pandemic hit in 2020. Before that, the San Diego based musician wrote music that was mostly about his life experiences, including surviving cancer as a teenager and traveling the country in a van with “wacky Catholic hippies.” In his college years, he jumped across the pond to Europe and found himself among monks in desert monasteries. Following that, Tiernan wound up living in the Vatican and studying to be a priest before realizing his calling was instead music.
“I started this in 2003,” he explains. “I thought, ‘I’m gonna be a rock star. I’m gonna go for it and see what happens.’ Okay, maybe not a rock star, but a folk star. I wanted to be able to travel and fill theaters and connect through music and telling stories. Then I realized it didn’t matter how successful I got. For me, the process is what’s magical.”
Today, Tiernan writes music about other people — and companies. He regards both as an unending source of captivating stories. During the pandemic, he says “I started putting myself out there to some of the companies I was working with to write custom songs. I wasn’t out there gigging. But if there was something somebody was celebrating, or something a company was going through, I could write something for them. Then I got a couple bites. That’s where the idea came from. The antenna went up, and I found I just wanted to write about the stories of others.”
In March of this year, Tiernan released the single “The Perfect Path” about the 1995 San Diego murder of Tariq Khamisa. The father of the victim, Azim Khamisa, “came to this space of forgiveness,” says Tiernan. “He started this huge foundation. They’ve spoken to millions of at-risk kids, teaching them about tools of non-violence. I heard him speak, and I thought, ‘I gotta get to know this guy. I want to write him a song.’ It’s stories like that, picking up on other people’s energy and finding what’s inspiring in them, that make you want to amplify their message. Where it’s heading for me is geared towards people who are suffering or grieving.”
Tiernan’s eighth studio album For Others is set to be released on November 9. Some of the song themes from the new album include: a teenage son lost to suicide, an elderly ex-nun reflecting on her long life and sharing her wisdom as she loses her eyesight, and a modern mystic who hears the stars talking. “I wrote the song ‘Children of the Stars’ for a town,” Tiernan says. “They were petitioning to become an international dark sky community. When they got designation, we had a big festival. The painting on the album cover comes from an artist in the town who has an insane story. He was a former high-powered lawyer who sold everything to go live in the desert. He can meditate and hear the frequency of the stars, like music.”
The album release includes a live show at the new TERI Campus of Life’s Bornemann Theatre in San Marcos. The 200-seat theatre is a part of a campus whose mission is to transform lives through performing arts, fine arts, fitness, nutrition, organic agriculture, and social gatherings. Says Tiernan, “It’s this beautiful new theatre. I went and saw Gregory Page there a couple months ago.” Many of the people who inspired the tracks from the new album will be in attendance. “My goal is to have the people who I wrote them for introduce their song. One of the songs is a legacy song, which is a type of songwriting where you interview somebody who’s nearing the end of their life. You get them to talk about life and perspective. I did that with the song ‘Mary Jane,’ who’s my aunt. I went through an official process with her with a guy who was teaching me how to write legacy songs.”
Spirituality has always been at the core of Tiernan’s music throughout his journey. “It’s not Christian rock,” he insists. “To me, it’s more about openness and making connections. We all have it from whatever angle we’re coming from. The whole idea of it and putting songwriting at the service to inspire people is exciting. I’m excited to share the songs and other people’s stories. It just feels good.”
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