today i took time in the middle of the day to check out the jean-talon market here in montreal. i bought some neat stuff and it felt amazing to be around people enjoying simple things like gardening and buying produce. it was contagious.
i went home and baked banana muffins. and if i may say so myself, they taste great!! i'm never buying another muffin from a cafe again .... but that's obviously a lie.
anyway, i don't know why i always write these blogs at night when i just want to get home and to bed.
you know, i still have to steal internet time away at cafes or my parents' or friends' houses, because i don't have internet at my place. and it feels really nice too to not have it.
that said, i'm off there now.... just bought some postcards to hang up yesterday around my place. there's one of john travolta in the 70's in a pop-art style. i love it. also some movie posters (paris, texas, down by law) and some cool random ones too. the place is looking nice..... getting into incense too. except the building people came around yesterday to install a new battery in my smoke detector and it went off when i was taking a shower and in the middle of the night when i had my humidifier on. so i don't know about the incense.... no, i don't know about the smoke detector....
anyway, i thought i was wrapping this up.
bye and good night.
mike
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
thanks for being behind me
i was really tired and rushed with that last post, so i was worried how it might be received today. but a big part of me didn't even care. the same part that didn't care how my workshop videos would be received as soon as i posted them. this is a new part, or at least a long buried part. and a welcome part. very liberating to feel. can you say that? liberating to feel? anyway, i'm doing good today. i took the morning off from working on writing to take a long walk through montreal and i ended up buying a fou-fou scarf. and that seemed to be a big thing for me. to decide to spend $13 on a scarf that would make me feel more like a free-spirit. gotta let go sometimes.... what's next?
anyway, thanks so much for the emails and comments and the support and understanding words. it seems i'm not alone. we gotta talk to each other guys!! thanks for taking the time to write. i'm glad everyone understands. and we'll all be together soon.
i'll leave you with this.... an old friend sent this to me today. i haven't heard it in over 9 years! in 1997 i recorded an album on my 4-track cassette recorder in my parents' basement. i called it 'evin '97'. i lost the tape. but my friend shai kept it and transfered it to CD. so here is the lead-off track and it made me smile a lot tonight. it's called 'sally slide'. by the way, i didn't play piano on any of the songs!!! only guitar, percussion, etc... there's actually glasses with water on this song. that's the bell-like sound.
i love you guys and keep the love coming too. i'll get in touch next week to let you know what else i'm thinking for the summer.
okay, here's 'sally slide'.
love,
mike
PSSSSSSSS .... i just realized that i can't post MP3s with blogger, so 'sally slide' will have to wait. i was excited to share it.
anyway, thanks so much for the emails and comments and the support and understanding words. it seems i'm not alone. we gotta talk to each other guys!! thanks for taking the time to write. i'm glad everyone understands. and we'll all be together soon.
i'll leave you with this.... an old friend sent this to me today. i haven't heard it in over 9 years! in 1997 i recorded an album on my 4-track cassette recorder in my parents' basement. i called it 'evin '97'. i lost the tape. but my friend shai kept it and transfered it to CD. so here is the lead-off track and it made me smile a lot tonight. it's called 'sally slide'. by the way, i didn't play piano on any of the songs!!! only guitar, percussion, etc... there's actually glasses with water on this song. that's the bell-like sound.
i love you guys and keep the love coming too. i'll get in touch next week to let you know what else i'm thinking for the summer.
okay, here's 'sally slide'.
love,
mike
PSSSSSSSS .... i just realized that i can't post MP3s with blogger, so 'sally slide' will have to wait. i was excited to share it.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
THE SUMMER
Hi friends. first off, let me say that i know it's been a long time since a blog post. i hope you've all been following my alternative means of blogging over the past few months, my Youtube workshop series. You can check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/rockinwithmike
I've been going through lots of personal changes in the past few months, and understandably they've affected how i've been staying connected to you guys and how i've been able to promote and get behind Good Watermelon, which is being released just around now.
I don't expect to get into it too deeply in this blog, and I'm sure i'll have some one-on-one conversations with you guys over the course of the summer and we can talk about these kinds of things some more.
Let me say that i'm still super serious and dedicated to my music career and performing my songs and connecting with my fans, but over the course of the last few months, and more so over the last half-year, I've been opening my eyes to a bigger picture. I've been realizing more and more that I've been living my life in a weird way all through my 20's and to head towards the meaningful life and sustainable connection with my art and my audience that i'd very much like to have - in order to do this, i needed to change my approach slightly. this has all been a long time coming. I've been so burned out on the business end of music for so long and I've had a serious writer's block for a couple of years. And more importantly, something much bigger that music and my career ... I feel I've going through life focused on destinations and goals and not on enjoying the moments along the way. I know that sounds like a cliche, but well, it's true for me. so that's that.
Okay, you're saying ... what are you trying to say anyway, Mike? I know, I know, everyone goes through this stuff.
Anyway, in the past few months Sarah and I have broken up, and i've moved to Montreal. And this is my first time living completely on my own. so it's been pretty intense.
Anyway, we can talk more about this ... it's late and I want to head back to my place to wind down.
But ... more concretely, I've changed my touring plans for the summer at the last minute because I was dreading being on the road for more than 3 months. So now the plan is to tour western Canada and the US (whatever I can get in) all through the month of July and that's it. I'll be posting the confirmed dates in the next few weeks. I'm looking forward to a short and intense touring experience. lots of backyard parties I hope and good people.
And then, it'll be back to Montreal to regroup and make plans for the fall. Definitely a new album is in the works .... but before that I'd actually like to do some traveling (non-music related) and hopefully some volunteering somewhere.
Talk to you guys soon and I apologize for all of the cancellations in the last little while. It's been my body's way of telling me that changes need to be made.
Love you guys so much!
Mike
PS - you know, it's just that I've started to feel grounded for the first time ever, and it seems like it was cut totally short over the last few weeks. I just need more time to get into my groove as this dude living in this one-room apartment. And to figure stuff out. But i will definitely still be giving all I've got to you when I perform and make music.... and I'm not going anywhere for too long. Even if i do take a bit of a break after the summer. I'll be back .... I promise!! I can't thank all of you enough for the support and encouragement and connections we've shared. Okay, now i'm going home for real.... g'dnight
http://www.youtube.com/rockinwithmike
I've been going through lots of personal changes in the past few months, and understandably they've affected how i've been staying connected to you guys and how i've been able to promote and get behind Good Watermelon, which is being released just around now.
I don't expect to get into it too deeply in this blog, and I'm sure i'll have some one-on-one conversations with you guys over the course of the summer and we can talk about these kinds of things some more.
Let me say that i'm still super serious and dedicated to my music career and performing my songs and connecting with my fans, but over the course of the last few months, and more so over the last half-year, I've been opening my eyes to a bigger picture. I've been realizing more and more that I've been living my life in a weird way all through my 20's and to head towards the meaningful life and sustainable connection with my art and my audience that i'd very much like to have - in order to do this, i needed to change my approach slightly. this has all been a long time coming. I've been so burned out on the business end of music for so long and I've had a serious writer's block for a couple of years. And more importantly, something much bigger that music and my career ... I feel I've going through life focused on destinations and goals and not on enjoying the moments along the way. I know that sounds like a cliche, but well, it's true for me. so that's that.
Okay, you're saying ... what are you trying to say anyway, Mike? I know, I know, everyone goes through this stuff.
Anyway, in the past few months Sarah and I have broken up, and i've moved to Montreal. And this is my first time living completely on my own. so it's been pretty intense.
Anyway, we can talk more about this ... it's late and I want to head back to my place to wind down.
But ... more concretely, I've changed my touring plans for the summer at the last minute because I was dreading being on the road for more than 3 months. So now the plan is to tour western Canada and the US (whatever I can get in) all through the month of July and that's it. I'll be posting the confirmed dates in the next few weeks. I'm looking forward to a short and intense touring experience. lots of backyard parties I hope and good people.
And then, it'll be back to Montreal to regroup and make plans for the fall. Definitely a new album is in the works .... but before that I'd actually like to do some traveling (non-music related) and hopefully some volunteering somewhere.
Talk to you guys soon and I apologize for all of the cancellations in the last little while. It's been my body's way of telling me that changes need to be made.
Love you guys so much!
Mike
PS - you know, it's just that I've started to feel grounded for the first time ever, and it seems like it was cut totally short over the last few weeks. I just need more time to get into my groove as this dude living in this one-room apartment. And to figure stuff out. But i will definitely still be giving all I've got to you when I perform and make music.... and I'm not going anywhere for too long. Even if i do take a bit of a break after the summer. I'll be back .... I promise!! I can't thank all of you enough for the support and encouragement and connections we've shared. Okay, now i'm going home for real.... g'dnight
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