NEWS
~June 23rd, 2010~ UPCOMING RELEASE: Last September, I left the San Francisco Bay Area for Bangkok, Thailand with the vague notion of recording an album over the course of the following year. The time has gone by quickly, as it's already late June, and here I am putting the finishing touches on a new batch of recordings, preparing to move out of our Bangkok apartment in the next week, then departing for a two month journey through the Himalayas before my wife and I resettle back in San Francisco this September. |
|
Marigolds: The Bangkok Sessions
It's been quite a year. I've gone about daily life and sadly watched this country that I know and love descend into chaos. My local jogging route became an urban warzone. I listened to more grenades explode and gunshots fire than I would ever care to hear. I spent numerous hours staring out from my bedroom window over a smoke veiled skyline, thinking about the nature of political revolution and the manner in which a society can quickly dissolve into complete bedlam. It's been an intense time. It is the Year of the Tiger, afterall, as the Chinese astrologers are quick to point out.
But, although a few last minute, socio-politically charged additions were added to this collection of songs, most of this album is a love story. It's about the exhilaration of two people falling deeply in love and the struggle to keep that fire alive and burning. As the dopamine whirlwind eventually sets a couple down and the real-life constraints of two passionate, driven, young professionals establishing their careers set in, the force to pull them in opposing directions can become a great challenge to overcome. This is the atmosphere and spirit in which much of this collection was written. I think that this is also an increasingly common, uniquely modern dilemma that many young couples are faced with in today's society. For this reason, despite it's personal nature, I am tempted to suggest that this is also the most accessible collection of songs that I have ever recorded.
To produce this release, I pursued a much different method than I have in my past two albums. Instead of working with a producer to arrange the tracks with a band, in the studio, I decided instead to dive into home recording to put together demos of the songs by myself first. I tracked all of my new songs into a little digital recorder and ran it through the standard Garageband program on my Macbook Pro. The demos that emerged had a markedly different, more organic, acoustic sound than my other releases, and thus became the template for the distinct sound of this album. It felt really wonderful to be able to use these demos as a reference to describe how I wanted something to sound, as opposed to trying to feebly describe it vocally or through the recording of another artist. I felt that pursuing the recording in this manner made the entire process move along much more smoothly and effectively, thus saving both time and money.
For the studio tracking, I paired up with former Columbia signed artist, Thai movie star, and music producer Jay Montonn Jira, whom I happened to meet here in Bangkok through a mutual friend. Jay's audio-engineering expertise, prodigious musicality, and all-around humble professionalism contributed further to ultimately make this a wonderfully enjoyable recording process. At the end of the day, this 12 song collection was recorded over 17 days from late April to early June of 2010.
I currently find myself brimming with excitement at the thought of sharing these songs and the story of the past year with all of you...But first, the Himalayas beckon.
Stay tuned....
~MG
MAILING LIST
Receive updates for shows and events. These are the easiest way for me to keep everyone in the loop with what's happening. Please join!
MP3 of the Month~ July 2010~
A sneak peak from my upcoming release. Enjoy!
ALBUMS
My two studio albums that I've released below. Click on the photo links below to listen to samples and to purchase.
Loose Ends, 2008 Jetlag Chronicles, 2005
KFOG LOCAL SCENE CD:
Mike's song "Mason Jar Dreams" was selected for the KFOG Local Scene CD, Volume 6. Along with placement on the compilation CD, the song will be in rotation on 104.5 KFOG FM, the internationally known San Francisco rock station. Click on the link below to learn more about KFOG or to purchase the CD, which goes towards raising money for music programs in public schools.
UPCOMING SHOWS
Stay Tuned....Fall of 2010 Dates Coming Soon!
CONNECT ONLINE
