if it's too loud, you're too old

Hey gang. How's stuff? I wanted to throw out an update on the situation with my completed album Total Hearts that I talked about a while back. Have you ever heard of that Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy? Well, you might be able to file my album and theirs together, as in: talked about, but not released. Unfortunately my plans to release it fell through due to lack of funds by the new label that was going to launch and put it out. The good thing is that I was able to take the bad news in stride and not get too bummed out. The deal is that my pal Jason Pierce (formerly of Recordhead Records / Mr. Whiggs) has decided against starting up the label. I can't blame him. I've always wondered how little labels made ends meet. The financial burden of it all seems, and is, staggering. This is the first time me or any band I've been involved in have been without a label since like 1997 or something. I've properly released exactly everything I've ever wanted to and I'm really thankful for all of those opportunities. So I can't complain with this bump in the road.

I've luckily found a sort of inner peace in regards to the music industry. Sure, the frustration is there, but it has not driven me to throw down my MIDI controller and call it quits. The excitement of making music is still there for me. However the idea of standing on a stage and worrying how many people have paid to get in the door or wondering how many copies have sold as opposed to how many copies are still sitting in boxes is steadily going away. I didn't get into this game to win a popularity contest, although once I was already immersed in the game it was easy to tell that it in fact was a popularity contest. I guess I just needed to get a little older to get a step closer to figuring it out for myself.

We'll see what happens with the album. I haven't given up on it. I spent over a year recording it and to let it get shelved would be sad. When I got the news about the lack of a label a couple weeks ago I told myself that I'd take a month off from recording and just chill and figure out my options. I am not good at chilling. I've started work on a new batch of songs. And so it goes...

But here's what is going to be released in the coming months:

+ My remix of Juvelen's "Hanna" will be available as a free download over on the Hybris website "soon". I guess it's supposed to accompany Juvelen's new video for the song and some other remixes. Sounds like fun.

+ I contributed vocals to a song called "Comforter" by two swell guys in Austin called Best Fwends. The song will be on their debut full length on Moshi Moshi in May.

+ Sometime this spring Resplendent (aka Michael Lenzi of Number One Cup, The Fire Show, etc...) and I are teaming up for an mp3 release via his website. The deal is that I am going to remix/edit 3 unreleased Resplendent songs. I absolutely love the songs I get to work with and am so excited about this project.

So that's pretty much it for the moment. Check back for updates on all of this stuff.

Losing battles but winning wars,

Mike