SECOND ACT
He was known as the other half of songman Pat McCurdy's act, but since he left Pat's side and public life as a musician more than a year ago, bass guitarist Mike Sieger, 54, has turned his attention to another logtime passion -- building custom furniture. A stark contrast to Pat's unrestrained antics, Mike's sober countenance was a hit with audiences and he made enough money to retire from the stage. We found him in his Walker's Point shop.

Q: Did you ever enjoy the spotlight?
A: I didn't mind it from time to time. But I've always kind of shied away from the spotlight.

Q: How did you end up making furniture?
A: I've always tinkered. When I got back from the Navy, I enrolled in [the University of Wisconsin - LaCrosse], hated it and dropped out.... I took a night class in woodworking and just fell in love with it.... Working with Pat, I had my days free and I wasn't worried about supplementing my income, so I just started spending more and more time with this.... I've done this for about 30 years.

Q: What did you enjoy about being the sidekick?
A: It was probably the least crowded spot on the stage, and not liking crowds, that suited me fine. I got to sit back, just enjoy pretty much being the deadpan.

Q: Did you tire of playing the same songs over and over again?
A: There were certain songs you would just hear too many times and you would get sick of them. [But] as soon as you got to a point of just loathing a song, then you got over it. Pat always thought I hated the songs I didn't hate....

Q: Have you written songs?
A: I've tried a couple times and been a miserable failure.

Q: If you could be reborn as another musician, who would you be?
A: I'm pretty much happy being myself.

Q: What has made you stay in Milwaukee?
A: I'm able to make a living here. I don't know if I'll stay, but until I know, it's just as good a choice as any place else I can think of.