I started writing “Hurt Again” when I was in college, but never finished it. I was listening to Johnny Cash heavily at the time. So, you can hear the influence on this song.
I would pick at it now and again, but never felt like I got the end right until I was in lock down with the pandemic. One day about a year ago, something struck me, and I wrote the last part of the song. I felt like I finally got it. When I played it through, my teenagers started cheering from the kitchen and asked, “who sang that song?” When I told them that I just finished writing it, they pushed me to record it. So, my Johnny Cash inspired song about a man who is tired of one-night stands and wants to find true love came to be.
As soon as I played it for my producer, Dr. Ford, and studio musicians, they immediately picked up on the Cash vibe. Chris Condon, who plays guitar on the song, asked for a card to recreate that sound Johnny Cash used to have in those early days when he used a dollar bill or a card under his strings. We had a lot of fun doing this and had very few takes for each of us to record our parts.

I put “Hurt Again” out to streaming services last month, and it has gotten a lot of great responses. The Spotify save rate is 41% since release on March 12, 2021. I released a lyric video for “Hurt Again” on April 2nd. It has been viewed over 32,000 times!

“Hurt Again” is Mike Kuster’s second studio single to be released, following up on “The COVID Floor”. Mike continues to work in the studio on his first album of songs all written by Mike. Upcoming singles to be released in the near future include “Daddy’s Blue Jean Jacket” and “King of the Honky Tonk”.

During the pandemic, Mike performs acoustic sets of original songs and cover songs from home on YouTube, Facebook Watch, and IGTV. He dubbed the series “The COVID Sessions” and released a CD of some of the performances in December. During 2020, he released a video every night during the lockdown. In 2021, he goes live or releases a pre-recorded set every Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Mike Kuster lives in Walkersville, Maryland with his wife and three children. He grew up on a small farm in Frederick County, Maryland. Besides writing and singing, Mike owns a small I.T. firm in Frederick, Maryland.