MGIB - Mike's General Interest Blog

Here’s my story for today.

I was performing downtown and it was windy and cold.  Fortunately the KCBIA was kind enough to provide a tiny space heater.  Unfortunately I had nothing to set it on so all it did was warm my feet.  It’s very hard to play guitar with cold fingers so I had to stick to my simpler songs and even then I stumbled a bit here & there when I couldn’t feel what I was playing. 

As one might expect, I like my music at a reasonable but certainly not quiet volume.  Chris had to work so there was no bass guitar, but I did bring my laptop to play out the electronic drums.  It was nice to mix some solo-acoustic songs by adding some drums here & there.  The only problem was that with all the motorbikes and missing mufflers it was sometimes hard for me to hear the drums well enough to keep time… I had to restart a song once when I couldn’t make out where I was… no big deal.

I made it through my alloted 2hrs and cleared out my gear so that Treena could take over with her keyboard and sing some songs for the city.  I helped a little with the setup and offered to mix her sound while she played her first song.  She was playing through a small peavey amp and I had to crank the vocal channel to 10 just to get a decent balance with her keyboard.  After a minute, things were sounding good so I stood back to enjoy her song.  She was doing that classic “Jet Plane” song and it’s a fairly long song.  That’s when things got interesting.

I’m happily listening to Treena when a lady, whom didn’t appear to thrilled, came up and asked me to turn her amp down.  I was a little surprised and proceeded to tell the lady that it’s no my call.  She says something about having a conference call with a supreme court in a few minutes, and insists that since I was adjusting the balance I can turn her down.  I say no and that I think it’s not at all loud.  I again say it’s not my show and that it’s not up to me, I was only helping by adjusting the levels.  She goes on to say that this isn’t a concert and persists so I tell her I think she’s being rude.  That didn’t help as she was quick to turn that one around on me.

Eventually she gives up and starts to head back to her office which is right behind the tent where Treena is nearing the final chorus of her song.  She shouts over her shoulder something about “You’re not the only person in the world” to which I quickly reply “Exactly!".

I get that there are businesses downtown and that business has to carry on.  The thing is, Treena’s volume really wasn’t very loud.  If I’d turned her down, you’d barely be able to hear her 30 feet away!  Between the loud motorbikes that frequent the area and the big trucks, ambulances, and various other sounds, the sound of the music was easily being drowned out regularly.

I’m not sure what this lady’s circumstances are, but one would think that someone who is that sensetive to a bit of noise (or has something against a little festivity), would set up their office in a more suitable location.  Perhaps on the 15th floor of a nice, quiet office building.  I’m sure there are any number of quiet professional buildings throughout the city more suitable than streetside in the busy downtown core of a city.  Everyone knows that the heart of downtown, from spring to fall, hosts a wide variety of events to help bring people out to enjoy a little of the culture that our city has to offer.

I feel bad for the unhappy lady, but really I feel worse for Treena.  She had to face this on her first song, and she had 2 hours to go.  Once she finished her song, I filler her in and since I was cold I wished her well and headed for home. My only regret is that I didn’t have the presence of mind to draw the unhappy lady further from Treena’s performance instead of standing 6 feet away the entire time.

Anyway, that’s my story for today.  I hope the unhappy lady was able to get through her important conference call and realizes she needs to move her office.  More than that, I hope Treena had a great performance.

Link: http://www.myspace.com/1069thewolf39sfreshtracks

It’s been awhile since I’ve been back stomping around Vancouver Island… Check this out… this Sunday evening at 6pm the Nanaimo station, CHWF 1069 The Wolf is featuring Sweet Misery during Fresh Tracks. Fresh Tracks is their Sunday night feature show, showcasing six new singles every week. On Sunday the 11th you can hear Sweet Misery smack dab between Kings of Leon and Theory of a Deadman!

I’d like to shout out to Music Director Jaimie Hilts for taking the time to listen to the new CD and spin this track on her great station. Who knows, maybe if you email her at jhilts@islandradio.bc.ca and let her know how much you’ve enjoyed the new CD - perhaps The Wolf will continue to play the track?

Thanks everyone for all your great support… Stay tuned… I’ve got some news about the live band coming out soon!

Mickael Maddison

Link: http://cdbaby.com/cd/mmaddison2

Building on the successes of his debut EP “Free“, Mickael Maddison is releasing his emotionally charged 10 song album “In Loving Misery“; both a wide-angle lense into his life and relationships, and a tribute to the memory of his father. “…having previewed a few tracks myself I can already attest to the evolution of Mickael Maddison. The concepts and musicality of songs like Forward Today and Sweet Misery evoke sweet emotion…” Ara Andonian - Off Centre Magazine

Mickael’s fusion of hard rock, Seattle grunge and coffee shop singer/songwriting gives “In Loving Misery” a strong flavor that makes him stand out from the crowd. Mickael explores his diverse talents, laying down his own drums, bass and lead guitar for various songs throughout the album. His release features contributions from performing bandmates, Jonathan Anthony (Bass) and Doug McCallum (Drums), as well as artists Phil Maloney, Dan Hum and James Lipoth.

The release is expected to gain radio and media support and will be available through HMV music stores, at online stores including CDBaby.com (USA/Int.) and indiepool.com (Canada), and also for download on iTunes and most major online music providers.

Remember how great “Days of the New” first couple CDs were? I just posted my latest track that sounds nothing like them. Anyhow, click here to breath in some Molecules of Oxygen.

Remember how sweet it was when GnR came out with Appetite for Destruction?
Now take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.
This track sounds nothing like GnR.

Remember how crazy the world was when Megadeth launched Symphony of Destruction?
Now take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.
This track sounds nothing like Megadeth.

Remember how stunned the world was when Motley Crue was spewing out their Dr. Feelgood cassette?
Now click on my profile pic and take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.
This track sounds nothing like the Crue.

Remember how Pantera left the world cold as steel with their metal chops?
Now take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.
This track sounds nothing like Pantera.

Remember how Cory Hart darkened our vision when we all started wearing sunglasses at night?
Now take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.
This track sounds nothing like The boy in the box.

Remember how Alice Cooper bit the heads of chickens and drank their blood?
Now take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.
This track sounds nothing like Alice Cooper.

Remember the time when Twisted Sister was running around causing dissent?
Now take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.
This track sounds nothing like “We’re not gonna take it". Seriously.

Remember the times when Def Leppard was pouring their sugar on everybody?
Now take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.
This track sounds nothing like Pyromania or Photograph.

Hey guys… what’s happening?
Remember how Fear Factory thrashed the world with Demanufacture?
Now take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.

This track sounds nothing like Edgecrusher. It’s also not Obsolete.
Remember when GnR had an Appetite for Destruction?
Now take a deep breath full of Molecules of Oxygen.
This track sounds nothing like Paradise City.