November 16, 2008
Dear Anyone/Everyone,

On Friday afternoon I was taking the seats out of my van so that we could fit the pa and guitar and drums into it the following day. In doing so, I inadvertently injured my lower back, which did not become fully apparent until the next morning when I couldn't even walk. Thanks to my great chiropractor and my more amazing wife, I was able to get enough stamina to do the show, although I was in a great deal of pain. It was because everybody pulled together that we were able to do the show. The following is a letter I sent to the band. It pretty much sums everything up.

*****

Dear Tribe,

Yesterday will go down in the history books as the most "live through this moment" I have ever had via a gig.

To begin, my thanks to Chris, Mark, Mikes Kolber and Benham, and Matt for helping get the gear in and out of everywhere while I could barely bend over. It was humbling to say the least. I can't thank you enough for getting me through this.

About the PA, I have no idea why the hell it gave out. When I can actually set the thing up again I'll see what happened. I really don't know, perhaps it was the power amp blowing up, but the fact that the one side came in and out has me perplexed. That PA has been amazing and been a road warrior, doing classical gigs to metal shows.
Why it sounded the way it did last night is, again, beyond me....

From what I can remember, my prediction of the entire bar worshipping Liz and Julia came true when Whipping Post and Blackdog were played. Just like last time, the whole place turned around and was just blown away. Yep, another case of Liz and Julia hit one out of the park and impress a bar full of people. And rightfully so,you did a great job.

It was a rough gig on many levels, but I think that the second half turned everything around. It showed that all of us can take on even a bad evening (an evening filled with sore throats and damaged backs and blowing up PA systems) and still deliver.

On a personal note, I apologize if I came off as pissy yesterday. However, I have never been in so much pain at a gig in my life (outside of wrist issues years ago). The four Advil helped get me through the gig without needing an ambulance. So I thank all of you for your patience and understanding.

I paid the price for it today and spent most of the day in bed, something I have only done about four times my entire life. I woke up this morning in serious pain, but because I kept icing my back and took copious amounts of Tylenol, I can actually sit upright and type this letter of gratitude to all of you.

And now I need to go back and lay down with an ice compress.

I'll be in touch in a few days about upcoming things such as recordings and shows. And rehearsal next Sunday if possible......

Gratefully,
Mike

November 6, 2008

Here are some photos I found of If Darwin Played Drums. The first photo of me is after the first Darwin gig at the Corner Tavern in New Brunswick. The photo in my hand was taken by the also-deceased and wonderful Jack Benett. The rest were from rehearsal.

November 6, 2008,
Dear Anyone/Everyone,

I am sorry that I have not updated in so damn long but the answer is very simple: the project is taking all of my time and there has not been much news. Betweeen gigs and the revolving door bass player problems (we have had FOUR BASSISTS COME AND GO IN THE PAST 5 MONTHS!!!!), and gigs in NYC (I am not sure about the whole "Battle of the Bands" thing. I will say no more about it other than we did a great job and if we do not even get a call back then.....whatever. It was a chance to play and shine).

I am in the middle of doing vocals for "After the Valentines" and while progress is slow, I feel positive. The project sounds amazing and is, beyond a doubt, the best work I have ever been a part of. Period.

However, my reason for breaking the silence via this update is that today is the two year anniversary of the death of my beloved friend and founding Tribe member Steve Hajdu-Nemeth.

While Pete Vajtay and I were working on the new project, I dug out some photos to keep him smiling while I was tuning up and finding the right guitar or whatever. In the pile was a set of pictures from my daze with the band "If Darwin Played Drums." I can remember the day the pictures were taken: It was a cold Winter day and the heat was on in the garage. At the end of the session, Pete did the solo to Rockin' in the Free World while walking all along the OUTSIDE of garage thanks to his wireless.

The picture of Steve damn near made both of us cry. There he was, smiling that reserved smile in his parent's garage. He was one of a kind and could never be replaced.

I miss him every single day and life is not the same without him. I smile less. I laugh less. That is just the way it goes.

Enjoy the pictures of him and listen to "Whole Lotta Dazed". To those of us who called him "friend" and to those of you who saw him live, you know how special he was and how his passing is still so very palpable.

I am off to record more.

Please come to the American Trash in NYC on November 15.. It is going to be AMAZING!

Take care and know that I will do my best to update more in the days ahead.

With Deepest Gratitude and Music,
Mike

October 19, 2008

Tumuty's show next Friday.

Still need a bass player.

Am drowning in work on the rock opera.

Hopefully more details soon.

p.s. Thanks to everybody who came to the Tumulty's and Blaggards' gigs.

September 21, 2008
Dear Anyone/Everyone,

Thank you thank you thank you thankyouthankyouthankyou to all of you brave people who came out to see us at Bar Saints and Sinners in Hoboken on Friday!!!!!!!! (And also a note of thanks to the band on after us for letting us borrow their drum kit!)

By all reports, we did a great job, however there were a MULTITUDE of sound issues that we had no control over. I thought the songs flowed nicely together thanks to Mike Kolber being an great guitar roadie for the evening. The band kicked it in gear and delivered the goods. The place was solid with people and it was great to look out at the crowd getting into the music. I have no idea if we won or lost but I will update the blog the day I get the news.

Sorry it has been so long since I last blogged but Chris and I went to Buenos Aires for a vacation. Sleep. Wow. What a concept! AND an even better reality!!! The food and vibe was great and it was a much needed recharge to my battery before going in over my head with the project......and I am really over my head.

I had a bunch of film developed and digitally transferred. The catch is that some of the film was from a while ago during the Cynthia Longley period. I think Dave Cohen took the film at a Playhouse 22 show. I cried after I saw a bunch of footage with Steve on stage singing with Mary Ann Wilson. I miss him. The is a roll or two of film missing and if I can get the rest of it I will most likely make a fast video of it.

Tumulty's show this Friday. The set list is going to be an interesting one. Please come down if you get the chance. There may be a guest or two sitting in not to mention some interesting tunes. Don't miss it. I may look a little more fried than usual due to the fact that I will be recording the CD every day next week.

Finally, I am glad to report that the friend of the Tribe with cancer is doing well after a pretty heavy duty operation. Your thoughts and prayers have been appreciated.

Alrighty, that's it for now. Have a great week and I hope to see you all at Tumulty's this Friday.

Peaces,
Mike

August 25, 2008
Dear Anyone/Everyone,

Sorry for the delay in everything but I have been doing my best to stay afloat. Things are not going that great but I refuse to stop TRYING to get things to work.

My thanks to everyone who came to the show at American Trash. I do believe that the place was damn near packed. It was totally awesome to see EVERYONE turned towards the bar when we debuted Blackdog! I must apologize for the guitar tone. My amp took a serious attitude and would NOT be nice, allowing ONLY a tone that could cut glass. I do believe I have hearing damage in my left ear because of it. (Not kidding.) According to some rumors, we have been asked back. That would be great BUT..........

We still need a bass player. We haven't been able to audition anyone else as we have had to rehearse for gigs. Please PLease PLEase PLEAse PLEASe PLEASE!!!!!!!!!! If you know anyone who wants a gig please pass the word along.

I have been shooting more film for the project and will be Fed Ex-ing the film off to the developer's tomorrow. I have also been recording guitar tracks and Peti will be coming over later this week so that I can get some vocals done. I must admit, listening to the tracks is absolutely wild. The music is really good and every time I add another instrument, it just amazes me. There willl not be a bunch of layers of instruments for this project as I want it to be as raw as possible. I was inspired by Radiohead's the Bends and my old track "Diamonds and Promises" because they had this really raw open sound that I had forgotten how much I loved. We'll see how far this vision flies.

One of the best books I have ever read on creativity is Agnes Martin: Writings. I bought the book a few years ago for $22 and now it is going for (no joke) $178 AND UP!!!!!!!!! Damn shame that something the world needs should be so expensive.

We have an acoustic show at Tumulty's this Friday. There will be some new tunes and some old ones. It looks to be a good show with Mark alternating between bass and percussion. Please come out if you get the chance.

Finally, I received word that a beloved friend has been diagnosed with cancer. At the present moment, I can't name names as they may not want the internet world to know they are. They have worked and helped out with the band at a bunch of shows and have been an amazing supporter of the Tribe. Such things are private, but I just wanted to let everyone know in case my posting gets even more sporatic or rather sour in mood.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend.

And I hope to see you at the show.

Peaces,
Mike

August 17, 2008
Dear Anyone/Everyone,

Okay, so it has been a long time since I posted. Every time I wanted to post, the time I had got diverted to something else.

To begin, as far as I know we lost the battle of the bands. I won't say any more about it except that we did a great job. That and a band that we beat, Otis Funk Meyer, was asked back AFTER they lost. Welcome to the music business. May I take your hat and sense of reality?

Let me take this time to thank everyone who came to the shows we did from the bottom of my weary heart. To have all of you there supporting us was nothing short of soul soothing.

The Tribe rocked the hell out of American Trash. My amp was being a pain, but when we did our version of Zep's Blackdog, the place went bonkers! Every head in the full house turned and watched us. It was amazing! Yes,that's right, Liz was kicking it with the vocals and Julia floored everyone with the cello part. Yes, that's right, Blackdog with cello. Amazing. I would love to play there again however...

A special note of thanks to Mike Kolber for doing sound and to Matt and the crew at American Trash for helping with the load out.

We are still in need of a bass player. If you know one who would like what we do, PLEASE send them our way.

On the "After the Valentines" front:

Friday I went to a local church and shot some film for the rock opera. Some of the stain glass was amazing. Pete came over and helped track some guitars yesterday. He is a greeat engineer/producer. Because he is a songwriter, he knows where a song should go and refuses to let anything less than what the song deserves. The creative juices are flowing again. His belief in the project is very very inspiring.

I didn't do any recording today as I really hurt my ears yesterday at the show because I didn't wear earplugs. Normally I don't need them but the tone from my amp seemed to really hurt my left ear.

Tomorrow more filming and much more guitar recording this week.

There are two more pieces of fiction that will be up soon, hopefully by the end of the week. Stay tuned.

Thanks for tuning into the post modern blog. Hopefully the posts will be more regular in the days ahead.

Peaces,
Mike

July 13, 2008
Dear Anyone/Everyone,

I am about to start working on the cello parts for a bunch of new covers for the American Trash show on August 16. I don't want to say what they are, but they are going to be awesome.

NOW, my fisrt order of business is to thank EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU AWESOME PEOPLE WHO CAME TO THE SHOW ON FRIDAY AND STAYED TILL WE WENT ON!!!!!!

THANK YOU!!!

THANK YOU!!!

THANK YOU!!!

My deepest apologies for having to have you wait so long, but it was out of our hands (as you well know). The management apologized for the delay, and thanked the band for our patience and professional attitude. We then proceeded to put on an absolutely amazing show. On my end, I am sorry about any guitar sound issues. I was asked to use the amps they had and with the Mesa Boogie rack unit I have, I think the sound was pretty good but I have no idea as to what you people heard in the audience.

You were loud and crazy and into the tunes and I can't thank you all enough for being there.

Calling many of you there friends made me a very humbled and grateful man....

I have no idea if we won the competition or not. Otis Funkmeyer had more people, so if that is the biggest factor, then we may be out. However, we played so damn hard that I firmly believe we were the most professional act on the bill that night. The other bands were solid, but The Tribe was in full force. I was so bezerk that at the end of the set I ripped all but two strings off my PRS copy guitar by hand! I never did that before, and I gotta admit, it was pretty cool. Regardless if we make it or not, I am proud of the job we did and that matters more than anything else.

AND, the gentleman at the door, whose name is Kent, is a very nice guy who happened to be the door guy at the last show and read my blog about how I felt we got screwed. He and I talked it over and everything is cool. I think the vibe of the first show was darker and the mood just spilled into everything, including my attitude. Anyway, Kent, if you read this, thanks for clearing things up and I hope to see you again soon.

I have to get started on cutting the electric guitar tracks for the CD soon. I borrowed gear and it needs to be returned very soon! Yikes!!

I must be off. Again, my deepest thanks to those of you who could stay on Friday. Know that I took none of your sacrifice for granted. As the REM song playing says, you are the everything.

My music and Gratitude go with you always,
Mike

Sunday, July 6, 2008
Dear Any/Everyone,

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! We are finally back with blog entries!!!

To begin, the Tumulty's show on Friday was amazing. When we started our show on Friday, there were no more seats left in the place and we rose to the occasion and did a damn good job. The bartender who is one of the toughest (and most honest) critics I know simply raved about the absolutely perfect set we did. From my perspective, it was a mix of amazement and unease. Part of me knew that this was going to be Dave's last show with the band and that there was no bass player waiting in the wings and that this could be the last Tribe show....ever. However, the entire band sounded the most solid I could remember. We delivered the music and did a great job.

If you were at the show we did in the city a few weeks ago in NYC the day before Father's Day (the video is up on "The Birth of Liquid Desires") then you may remember people stating that the Tribe won some sort of something. Nobody told me. I only know that we did a good job and were screwed out money at the door. Well, it turns out the sound guy was some sort of "scout" for the Shure Microphones and Sam Ash Music Original Sessions National Band Search 2008/2009. We are going to be playing NYC this Friday, July 11, 2008 at 8 W 38th St (across from the Lord and Taylor dept. store) and, due to a scheduling problem, are going on about midnight. Please come if you can.....

About the new bass player......

If you want to gain hope in humanity, DON'T set up auditions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Four people stated that they wanted to try out and would be there. ONE SHOWED UP!!!!!!!! UNO! JOHNNY HAS FOUR BASS PLAYERS AND BOBBI COMES OVER AND TAKES AWAY THREE. HOW MANY BASS PLAYERS WILL BOTHER TO SHOW UP WHEN THEY PROMISE????

One....

The brave soul that did show up was very nice but he did not get to jam with the full band as Elisabeth's car dying on the way and me forgetting to get ahold of Julia in time. So I think neither he nor us were sure of what to say. He was cool and could keep up with Mark and could hold a pocket. A full band jam will put everything on a level playing field.

The new website section will be delayed a few days. Sorry. The work is pretty good though. Be patient....

That is all. Please take care.

Paces,
Mike

Monday, June 16, 2008

Due to computer issues, for the time being all updates will be at Mike's other blog. Just click the link to view it.