Mike Maimone Releases New Video as Tribute to Late Fiancé

Mike Maimone is a Los Angeles based singer-songwriter (and bear) with a story to tell.

He began his foray into music at just five years old, taking piano lessons and playing classical music until college when he joined a rock band. From there he moved around the country playing in various other bands, ultimately getting to play on late night TV, at Lollapolooza and in some of the country’s most iconic venues. Inevitably however, as bandmates got married and had kids Mike repeatedly found himself at square one; so at the age of 27, with the ambition to go further in his musical career, he went solo. He realized that to have any longevity in the field he needed to write and perform his own music and that is just what he did.

One could describe his music as generally piano-based, soulful, and influenced by blues and jazz without quite being anyone of those things. As of late, he’s also started leaning a little more on the guitar for songwriting and as such his country roots have started to show a bit more, although he cites Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem, Fiona Apple, and Randy Newman as his biggest musical influences. And now after having steadily creating music throughout the years he is back with a new version of his previously released song entitled “Unfollow”.

The song was originally included on Mike’s album Mookie’s Big Gay Mixtape in 2023 but did not make much of a showing due to lack of promotion on account of a personal tragedy in Mike’s life.

“My song “Unfollow” came out the week that my fiancé Howard Bragman went to the hospital and was diagnosed with acute leukemia” Mike shared. “He thought “Unfollow” would be my breakthrough track. The day after it was released, we were married in his hospital bed. The following day, Howard passed away. My music career was the furthest thing from my mind at that point.”

Mookie’s Big Gay Mixtape had initially been scheduled for a March release but slipped to June.

“I went through the motions with promoting that record – my perspective had shifted to grieving and paying tribute to Howard. The release flew under the radar.”

A year later after visiting Howard’s grave in Michigan, Mike remembered that Howard had suggested he release another version of the song with a guest feature to voice the ex’s perspective on the track.

“I heard Howard telling me, ‘don’t give up on this one’. So, I decided to give the song new life by following his advice, a year later.” 

As Mike set about re-producing the song with an added section for a feature, he went to an event hosted by Tom Goss called Queer Connections.

“That’s where I met Julian Michael, aka Jules the Lion, a queer singer/songwriter/comedian/rapper, and we became friends. After hearing some of his music it was clear that he was the guy for this new version of “Unfollow” – The ExFactor Version. He wrote his verse, brought it over to my studio, and nailed it on the first take.”

When it came time to shoot the video, he enlisted the help of Bear World Award winning artist Tom Goss. The premiere was held at Rocco’s in West Hollywood on November 7.  

“It felt like Howard was there on the purple carpet with us. He was a legendary Hollywood publicist who worked for gay rights and AIDS awareness with organizations like APLA and GLAAD, and also helping LGBTQ+ celebrities come out under public scrutiny. Although I came into his life after his work in the 1990s and 2000s, I saw many pictures of him at red carpet events. He became a celebrity in his own right, appearing on everything from Drag Race to Larry King Live, from GMA to the BBC.”

Mike would later perform on the piano at Howard’s memorial service with Stevie Wonder, who was one of Howard’s clients. He has since written and recorded and is currently mixing an album about their time together and has finished the first draft of an accompanying memoir.

“Unfollow [ExFactor Version] is more than a song to me. It represents my newfound purpose to share Howard’s legacy. Personally, that means not just being out, proud, and living my authentic life, but having fun with it, and pushing myself to fully pursue every creative endeavor.”

Find out more about Mike Maimone at mikemaimone.com and follow him on Instagram and Tik Tok