The Brown Eyed Girl Is Dead

Posted: May 23, 2013 in Uncategorized, music, rock, pop music, pop culture, artist, musician, indie rock, classic rock, Kitchen Mick, The Ghetto Monks, Facebook
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I posted an ad on Craigslist offering my services as a keyboardist a few weeks ago — not unlike posting a personal.  I was not looking to join a cover band.  If I ever had to play “Brown Eyed Girl” again, I’d take my keyboard for a walk into the freeway.  (Honestly, don’t people get tired of that song?  And don’t get me started on “Margaritaville“!!).

After years of only desultory performances playing pub piano and open jam nights, I think I’ve joined a band.  This would be my first real commitment to a group since the implosion of The Ghetto Monks just after the turn of the century.  I’ve avoided committing to a group as a newly divorcee’  would (or should) avoid marriage.  Except this was a divorce from 4 people at once, so I guess it took 4x as long.

I sat in with this original, working band last night.  Very eclectic songwriting that brought together strong Pixies/Frank Black chord progression with some funk and jazz.  I know that sounds weird, but it works.  More important was the chemistry.  Not only did I pick up the songs immediately, but the people were actually warm, inviting, and funny in a twisted way.  And that’s just as important as the music.

And so, I’ll soon be posting gig info here and on FB.  The Brown Eyed Girl can rest in peace.

KM

No Ukes

Posted: May 11, 2013 in artist, home recording, music, music production, musician, pop culture, pop music, recording, rock, Uncategorized
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No Ukes.  Why the proliferation of ukuleles?

No Ukes

Posted: May 10, 2013 in artist, audio engineering, Facebook, music, music production, musician, pop culture, pop music, recording, Reverbnation, rock, Uncategorized
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For the last couple of years, I’ve been perplexed by the proliferation of ukuleles.   It seemed that one day, all the music stores devoted floor space to a ukulele section.  Musician and non-musician friends suddenly took up the ukulele — I even got one friend a Beatles Uke book for Christmas.  I was baffled until I talked with a guitar tech at a local music store who does work on my guitars.

He said before the recession, they used to sell 5-6 ukuleles all year.  Since about 2008, they’ve been selling 5-6 per week.  He attributed it to two things:  the poor economy and laziness.  In the 1930s ukuleles were very popular because they were so cheap.  Made sense to me.  His second notion was that people today, in a YouTube/instant gratification culture, seek out simple instruments that they can learn to play quickly.  He elaborated his opinion  that people don’t want to put in the time and effort necessary to learn a “real” musical instrument — “like us,” he said.

This phenomenon has baffled me for some time.  I’m glad my guitar tech provided this perspective, as it makes sense to me.  But if you’re a ‘uke hero’ I say, keep on rockin’!

KM

A Kick in the Teeth

Posted: May 9, 2013 in Facebook, Kitchen Mick, music, pop culture, pop music, Uncategorized
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Life doesn’t really “serve” you lemons.  It throws them at your head with high velocity.  In my case, the metaphorical lemon hit me in the face years ago, knocking my front teeth out in the most literal sense.  Since then, a bridge has stood fast where my teeth had been, until this past week, when it was removed to make way for implants, like an old mom-and-pop store, ripped out of the cityscape to make way for expensive condos.  And now I’m learning to enunciate again.  Wish me ruck!

Live Performance?

Posted: April 30, 2013 in Uncategorized
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With 2 albums out in the last 6 months, most bands would be going on tour to support their records.  Unfortunately, I’m not a band.  As a solo artist, I performed and recorded both albums mostly by myself.  And putting up an ad on craigslist for “Drummer, bassist, guitarist, keyboardist” would just look silly.  But the one thing I CAN do, is play piano in a bar.  So that’s what I’m going to do.

Since a lot of my songs would be difficult to pull off solo, I’m thinking about putting together a set with both covers and some originals.  Some ideas for the covers so far include:

  • Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen
  • Shooting Star – Bad Co.
  • Achin’ to Be – The Replacements
  • Bennie and the Jets – Elton John
  • She Came In Through the Bathroom Window – The Beatles
  • Jukebox Hero – Foreigner
  • All I Want Is You/Something Happening Here/You Can’t Always Get What You Want – Medley of U2/Buffalo Springfield/Rolling Stones

Those are off the top of my head.  I’ll intersperse with some of my own stuff and maybe a Ghetto Monks tune (my old band).  Suggestions welcome at this point!

KM

Nee How China! Thanks for the great reception!

Posted: April 1, 2013 in artist, audio engineering, Bruce Springsteen, classic rock, Facebook, home recording, indie rock, Kitchen Mick, music production, musician, pop culture, pop music, recording, rock, The Ghetto Monks
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The show last night in Beijing was great, and it was fun to be back.  This is the 2nd to last stop on the “Failed Rock Star ’13″ Asia leg of the  tour, and the Chinese are the best audience one could ask for.  In the photo in this post, I’m playing a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road,” and it was so moving when the audience began to sing along.  Tomorrow off to Hong Kong!

Playing at the Beijing Hard Rock

Playing at the Beijing Hard Rock

Album Submitted to iTunes, Amazon – Now Maximum Masochism Begins

Posted: March 20, 2013 in artist, audio engineering, Bruce Springsteen, classic rock, home recording, indie rock, Kitchen Mick, music, music production, musician, pop culture, pop music, recording, rock, soundcloud, The Ghetto Monks
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Album Submitted to iTunes, Amazon – Now Maximum Masochism Begins.

Album Submitted to iTunes, Amazon – Now Maximum Masochism Begins

Posted: March 20, 2013 in artist, audio engineering, Bruce Springsteen, classic rock, Facebook, home recording, indie rock, Kitchen Mick, music, music production, musician, pop culture, pop music, recording, Reverbnation, rock, soundcloud, The Ghetto Monks
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Failed Rock Star

Woke up at 3 am this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep.  I wanted to finish my second album, “Failed Rock Star,” and submit to iTunes, Amazon, Spotify and about 50 other delivery vehicles around the world.  After 2 1/2 months of mixing, re-mixing and mastering, it had become all-consuming.  I think I finally reached the point of diminishing returns this morning, and submitted the album under my label, Kitchen Music.  If I did any more tweaking of the tracks, I was most likely just going to make them worse, not  better.

As always, even in my old band, I will probably end up hating the final song mixes when they’re released.  It’s one of my specialties — maximum masochism.  I’ll avoid listening to it for a long time.  And, as with past albums, I’ll find in a few years that maybe it’s not so bad.  But don’t get me wrong:  I’m proud of the songs and think they are good.  They’re my babies!  The masochism comes in the (hopefully mistaken) belief that I could have done a little better; either in a performance or the mixing.

This is my first “rock” album; my first with myself playing most of the guitars (I’m a keyboardist);  and my first attempt at a real mastered album.  All I can say, is that through the process of recording and producing this record, at least I got better at those firsts.

I also had a lot of help and support from the following people, whom I’d like to thank:

  • Jason Mihok — for listening to almost every mix, providing good feedback, and performing on one of the tunes.
  • My Parents — for listening and providing support, even though some of the music wasn’t to their taste.
  • Jeff Bridges — his subtle guitar licks on 3 of the songs turned them from good to great.
  • Steve Armstrong — for providing the rhyme for “bottle”, which was “Queztalquatl”.  It’s on a song about the two of us and our past antics and I believe makes it the first rock song to use the Aztec deity as a rhyme.
  • Pat Stirrat — for coming in late in the process and providing crucial production feedback that made the mixes shine.

Thanks to you all!  And to others reading this, keep checking back for updates on the release date (4/20 at this time).  Meanwhile I have 8 new songs recorded towards the next album.  Time to get back to work.

KM

Sequestration over (for mixing)

Posted: March 14, 2013 in Uncategorized
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Reblogged from Bitchin' with Kitchen:

I've been hunkered down in the studio remixing all the new songs for the "Failed Rock Star" album.  They are available now on soundcloud.com/kitchenmick.

Sequestration over (for mixing)

Posted: March 14, 2013 in artist, audio engineering, Bruce Springsteen, classic rock, home recording, indie rock, Kitchen Mick, music, music production, musician, pop culture, pop music, recording, Reverbnation, rock, soundcloud, The Ghetto Monks
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I’ve been hunkered down in the studio remixing all the new songs for the “Failed Rock Star” album.  They are available now on soundcloud.com/kitchenmick.

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