Meet Mike Hubberd | Lead Guitarist & Singer, founder of The Lost Boys – Ultimate 80s Dance Band

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mike Hubberd and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
This year my band- The Lost Boys- is celebrating our 20th Anniversary! Quite a feat for any band, but especially for one in Houston. I first started The Lost Boys over 20 years ago… in response to the musical landscape in Houston when I moved here from LA. I was a talk show producer- and Disney relocated me from LA to H-town (kind of an unheard of move! lol usually, the move is just the opposite!) I had some favorite 80s cover bands in LA and Santa Monica- as well as a few in Phoenix and Detroit. I wanted to emulate what I had experienced in those other markets- and I knew that Houstonians would embrace that, too. Houston was more of a DJ-driven town when I arrived- and there really weren’t any groups like I was accustomed to back in California. I saw a clear opportunity to bring a particular brand of 80s music- my favorite music ever! …to the masses of Houston. After finding fellow musicians who were of the same mindset, I knew we had something special as we started rehearsing for 8 months before we unveiled the group to the public. Those were some hard times… because my bandmates had to exercise some blind faith that what I was telling them would pan out… that we would find an audience and have immediate success. It was a test of everyone’s faith- including mine. But somehow I just knew we could do it- and would do it. A couple of months after we first rolled out the band, we became the house band at the hottest new club in Midtown: Pub Fiction. We had huge lines around the block just to get in every Thursday night for our Flashback 80s show! Celebrities in town flocked to see us! Big talent scouts came to experience our show and make us counter-offers! Sports stars hung out at our shows! Sports teams in town for bowl games spent their time with us! Even the Broadway touring cast of ‘Jersey Boys’ came to the club to sing along and dance to our show! It was a solid success that lasted four straight years there!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
For over 20 years now, I’ve been blessed to have two careers essentially. My day job has always been working in television. As a producer in Hollywood, I was fortunate enough to work at E! Entertainment producing the E! True Hollywood Story among other shows. I also worked on specials at Universal Studios and at Warner Bros. when the Batman franchise was in its prime! So, I’m proud of my achievements in the industry. But by night, I’ve long been a rock star… literally. By forming and launching my 80s band in Houston- The Lost Boys- we’ve taken Texas by storm with our unique approach to covering the 80s. We pride ourselves on recreating the songs we perform to sound exactly like the original artists. With rich harmonies and solid vocals in the band, we’ve managed to bring forth an unrivaled sound- and entertain the masses of Houston and other Texas audiences. With my solo act, Michael Lee, we’ve performed at Texas RockFest at South by Southwest in Austin- and we were nominated in LA for Song of the Year in the Independent Spirit Awards for ‘Hold On Till Heaven,’ a song we’ll be working on again back in Cali later this year! For me, there’s no real secret to success- it’s quite simple: lots and lots of hard work! Being committed to success and staying the course is really key. That’s probably the biggest challenge: believing in yourself when no one else does- and staying the course no matter how hard it gets. Every true success can be traced to that same formula every time!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Because I currently produce a syndicated TV show across Texas- “Goodtaste with Tanji”- I actually get to visit the very best restaurants and bars in the state…as part of my job! So, I actually have a lot of insider info for the best spots to hit! Right now, the hottest restaurant in Houston has to be Taste Kitchen & Bar, which is right in the heart of downtown. Jay Z and Beyonce recently had their Cowboy Carter tour stop catered by Chef Big Don Bowie at Taste- and Jay Z still hasn’t stopped raving about the food there. I have to agree with him! It’s incredible! Another great spot for lunch would be rapper Bun B’s trendy hot spot: Trill Burger! Rappers like Drake and Ludacris swear by Trill Burger- and with good reason: it’s a great, great burger! I also would hit B&B Butchers on Washington Ave. This is where The Rolling Stones took Mick Jagger to celebrate his birthday during a tour stop in Houston several years ago- and this place lives up to all the hype. It’s magical!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Of course I believe in Divine Intervention for a lot of great things that have happened to me. I thank God constantly for a truly blessed life! But I also give a lot of credit for our band’s success to my fellow band members. Andrew Richardson, our keyboard player and singer, was a musical soul mate from the first time I jammed with him. We are very like-minded in the 80s music we love and appreciate. He embraced The Lost Boys from Day 1 and has never looked back. The same can be said for our lead singer Renee Edd. She fit the mold we were looking for right away- and she’s been an 80s afficionado like the rest of us all these years. While we’ve gone through several different lineups in terms of drummers and bass players, we’ve always been blessed with great talented players and real entertainers. Our current lineup with Nathan Kyle on bass and vocals is another perfect example- he has favorite 80s songs he performs- and like all of us, he takes a song and owns it… making it his own signature performance. We would never have lasted as long as we have- or had anywhere near the success we’ve been blessed with- without the huge amount of talent within our band. I got very lucky finding just the perfect bunch to be my partners in crime!

Website: https://www.thelostboysband.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LostBoysBand/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mikeh.9734

Other: To watch episodes of the current show I produce, go to www.Goodtaste.tv

Image Credits
Photographer: Debbie Porter (select images with guitar, album cover only)