Old for his age

In the children's game of hopscotch a picture with several sections is scribbled onto the ground. Each player then takes turns tossing a rock to each section, jumping to the section on one leg, picking up the rock and tossing it onto the next section; so and so forth until one player completes the picture. \nAs is the hopscotch life of folk musician Mike Younger, hopping from town to town on his 11 city tour. Younger is set to rock and roll Bloomington audiences Saturday, July 29 at 7 p.m. atop the Buskirk-Chumley Theater stage. Following the release of his second album, "Every Stone You Throw," Younger's trip to B-town is the second to last of the tour which has included his jamming at several clubs and on-air radio shows.\nYou might have already heard tracks of his soulful guitar sound mixed with shades of harmonica blues on WFHB Community Radio for South-Central Indiana, 91.3 & 98.1 FM. But just in case you haven't, music critics have compared his lyrical rhymes to that of a young Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen mingled with Steve Earle and an American version of Bryan Adams. His rhythmic sound is described as a pinch of Southern Delta blues mixed with a dash of country folk, a spoonful of rock and a crunchy topping of jugular vibrations similar to that of Bloomington's own rock legend John "Cougar" Mellencamp.\nYounger said he does not see so much of himself in other musical artists, but he does claim the sounds of Mississippi John Hurt, Leadbelly and Robert Johnson inspired his journey toward creating meaningful music that he hopes tickles the listeners' hearts, tantalizes their minds and touches their souls.\n"I was 12 or 13 the first time I started playing," Younger said. "It wasn't until high school was coming to a close that I decided to make my way in the world as a singer, songwriter and guitar player. When I started out after high school, I was hitchhiking and playing on street corners and sneaking into clubs before I was of age to play open mics and things like that throughout Canada and onto New York City. I spent one year and a half to two years living on the street and in abandoned buildings -- that was a pretty muddy patch of road." \nFrom there Younger made his way to New Orleans and the 'Big Easy.' Things weren't a whole lot easier but at least the weather was nicer. \n"I worked odd jobs, washed dishes, did migrant farm work in the summer time, following Woody Guthrie's trail -- 'hot on his heels' you might say."\nA short while later, Younger said, he got his first break into the music business and he hopped to his next step, with his first album, "Something in the Air," towards the rock legend picture he hopes to someday achieve. All those nights of playing solo at street corners, waterfront piers, subway stations, work camps, coffee houses, night clubs, concert halls and theaters had paid off in a distributable copy of his music for the masses with his album produced by country superstar Rodney Crowell and released in 1999.\n"There were many moments along the way I was running out of steam and wondering how I was going to make it forward, he said. "But that is the difference between people who dedicate their lives to something. The music business is like the last man standing: it's like getting in the ring with Mohammed Ali and getting a beating for 16 or 17 rounds and still standing on your feet."\nYounger's debut album received rave reviews: two singles shot up the music charts, songs landed on two network television series and the title track of was added to both Starbucks' and the Sundance Film Festival's original musical ventures.\nAfter breaking out on his own again, Younger said he produced his second album "Every Stone You Throw" so he could better work to make a name for himself. The next step to hop to is finding a record company that suits him. He said he is on a solo tour this summer because, in part, he has not yet found the right record company to support his budding music career, and he can not afford to take his New York City band mates traveling. \n"I want to get to the point where I can tour with my whole crew and make a living doing it," Younger said. "I am working my tail off to make that happen. I would also like to create some memorable works that stand the test of time. As an artist, I aspire to leave an impression like that. I think every artist does."\nHis album is worth listening to a few times over to appreciate the melody of Appalachian-folk music tricks and New Orleans-inspired gospel rock treats. Younger's songs reflect both war and peace, and he said he hopes to find common ground with people who have lived a different life then himself but can still find something relatable in his work.\n"I pushed this album uphill by myself and with a little help from my friends," he said. "If (community members) don't' catch me this time I will be back sometime soon. They won't get rid of me that easily"