Press Release: A World That’s Bigger
October, 2016
Ann Arbor, MI. — Mike Vial’s wife said she wouldn’t marry him unless he quit his public school teaching job to pursue music.
Five years later, Vial has played 1000+ gigs across the United States and Canada, and he’s releasing a new album.
For his fourth music release, A World That’s Bigger, Vial recorded the entire folk album live with three acoustic guitars in a cabin in northern Michigan. With the help of his friend behind the mixing board, Vial completed his most challenging, personal record.
However, the release of the record lead to another unfortunate incident: Vial was hit by a car the week his record was released. Vial was crossing the road walking to a gig in Ann Arbor. His guitar in a gig bag on his shoulder took the initial impact, saving his body from more harm.
“I was supposed to play the annual John Lennon tribute that night at the Ark,” Vial said. And it gets more eerie: “I was going to play ‘All My Loving,’ a song the hospital heard on the radio when Lennon died.”
Vial’s own album covers three universal themes — life, death and love. The title track “A World That’s Bigger” celebrates the birth of Vial’s first child, but it also embraces family heartaches. “Ginny’s birth was bookended by two miscarriages,” Vial said. “Writing songs like ‘Little Drum’ and ‘Those Shoes’ helped me find closure with the fear and pain.”
And the pain runs deep in other songs like “Burning Bright,” a dedication to Vial’s relative, Michigan Senator David Plawecki. “Girl on the Mountain, Boy on the Beach,”which Vial will perform in September as a Grassy Hill Finalist for this year’s CT Folk Festival, addresses the Syrian refugee crisis.
“I’ve been thinking about how lucky I am to raise my daughter in Ann Arbor, and how so many families are fleeing their homes overseas.”
Vial hopes the music will inspire us to do more for those in need, as well as to revel in the joys of love and family.
* * * *MUSIC STREAMS * * *
Press photos: download here
Album cover: download here
Press Soundcloud stream:
https://soundcloud.com/mikevial/sets/a-world-thats-bigger/s-0xGsA
Spotify: listen here
Bandcamp: mikevial.bandcamp.com
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