My 1000th Gig on March 13th, an online Concert Window show!
Hi friends, holy moly, I’m playing my 1000th gig, right in your living room!
The 1000th Gig – Sunday, March 13th – 7 to 8:15 PM (EST) on Concert Window
Instead of playing a Michigan venue, I decided to broadcast my first online concert that you can watch from your homes!
My 1000th gig celebration will be broadcasted on Concert Window, live from Solid Sound Recording in Ann Arbor, MI.
SSR’s Eric Wojahn and videographer Charles Sheen will be producing the show with me.
I wanted to play a concert that everyone across the country could watch, since so many of my friends have moved out of state.
What is Concert Window?
Concert Window is like combining Netflix and Youtube for live concerts. Ellis Paul and Peter Mulvey have been using Concert Window to great success, and it’s become the most popular way for artists to broadcast concerts online.
How do I watch the show?
You should go to my Concert Window page right now, and click the “reserve a ticket” button, so you get the reminder email. Then, visit the site on March 13, 7 PM (EST) and watch the show!
Tickets are set to pay-what-you-want; and while tips are welcome to help offset the cost of the production, you may watch the show for free!
You can watch the concert from your computer, tablet or smart phone.
I want to request a song from one of your albums!
Have a song request? Email me at mike.m.vial@gmail.com.
Five to six years ago, Natalie and I quit our jobs to pursue writing and music careers full-time. It’s been a beautiful journey, and we couldn’t have made it this far without all of you cheering us on along the way.
https://www.concertwindow.com/mikevial
Ginny says join her watching her daddy’s concert online, which is past her bedtime!
Sometimes the microphone falls into the piano
Sometimes the microphone falls into the piano.
Remember when Adele powered through the bad gig, at the Grammys?
Yesterday, I played gig #996.
I brought the wrong guitar. (Both Taylor cases are black.) Then, my speaker stand broke. But first, I pinched my right-hand pinky in the mic stand setting up.
Guitarists are correct to say, “At least it wasn’t your fretting hand!” However, the pinky rests on the pick guard, so by the end of the gig, not only was I fighting off the dull pain, but the blood blister burst, and my acoustic was covered in blood.
I counted the tip jar this morning. I earned $2 in tips last night. Awesome!
Gig #996 was not my best gig.
But this isn’t my first gig to play on a bum-finger; or for equipment to break during a set. It’s not the first gig where I sing “Damn Fine Day” and remind myself why Natalie and I wrote that song.
And it won’t be the last one.
Part of doing the work is getting through the rough gigs. You show up for the great gigs when you push through the bad ones.
Let’s stop giving torrenting Kanye attention
I hate to discuss it, so I’ll begin with an Oscar Wilde quote:
“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.” – Wilde
I’m know I’m feeding the fire writing about Kanye’s blunder, but it’s important to remove the curtain from the smoke-and-mirrors of the music industry from time to time, so we remember that the music is the important thing.
The normal smoke-and-mirrors of the music biz is manipulating the press*.
So that tweet Kanye posted with the screen shot of his computer, with the Bittorrent site in his browser? Yeah, that’s deplorable. EDM artist ttwwrrss (Towers) tweeted my favorite response:
when kanye torrents my fav synth that i actually paid for
— カsvenテ (@ttwwrrss) March 3, 2016
But that’s not only what annoys me, how a successful artist steals software; yet tells Zuckerberg to give him a giant check. You think Kanye didn’t pause to think about what’s in his browser before posting a screenshot to millions of followers? Come on.
But there is no such thing as bad press; Irish “drinker with a writing problem” Brendan Behan said it better:
“There’s no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.” – Behan
So instead of giving Kanye anymore unwarranted attention, go support some local music in your community. Let me lead you to one artist: go back my friend Josh Woodward’s Kickstarter campaign for his 12th album, a songwriting talent who survives without manipulating the press, but by putting his music first and working on it every day.
Plus, all of his music is on Creative Commons. (Kanye, you can go download it from Josh’s site without even torrenting it, if you want.)
*PS: Did you watch the BBC Documentary, Myth Makers for Pop Music? Watch it here. Fascinating!)
**PPS: Yes, and I’ll admit us indie artists need publicity, too. Sigh.
March is shaping up to be a busy month. Here’s some of the notable shows:
1. Sunday, March 13, 7 PM (EST) we celebrate my 1000th Gig – a Concert Window broadcast from Solid Sounds Recording in Ann Arbor!
- Watch the show at www.concertwindow.com/mikevial
2. Fenton Hotel Residency on select Thursdays, 3/10, 3/24, and 3/31
- March 31st I’m doing a full set of Bob Dylan covers
3. St. Patrick’s Day sets:
- My 4th annual afternoon set at Claddagh Irish Pub in Lansing, noon to 4 PM
- At Barton Hills Golf Club’s restaurant I’m playing a dinner set at 6 PM to 9 PM
* * * *
While March is packed with 11 shows, I only have one major travel gig, back at Hop Yard 62 in Grove City, outside of Columbus, Ohio.
After coming off some winter tour dates, and preping for a lot in April-August, March will be a nice break from the road.
I hope to see you at the online concert or at my favorite Michigan pub shows!
The story about Paul McCartney’s “Let It Be”
“Speaking words of wisdom, let it be…” – Paul McCartney
Have you read this older post about “The Story Behind Paul’s “Let It Be'”?
– read here at mattandjojang.wordpress.com
At Expressions Music Academy, our music students performed “Let It Be” in December 2014, with the talented teacher/producer Michael Swain behind the keys and me on bass.
I’ve known this song’s musicality well; but today I’ve stumbled upon the story.
The song’s story is archetypal:
- Paul’s mom appearing in his dream, saying that lead lyric;
- the potential for religious interpretation;
- the song being written quickly, as inspiration often does;
- the sense of time in the lyrics;
- the structure of three being used (if you look past verse/chorus, you will see three sections, three shifts of perspective).
And today’s a tough day for us at the Vial/Burg house; it’s like this song’s story came to us on purpose…
Sometimes we stumble upon a song we thought we knew quite well, and see it in an new light. And that’s the power of music.
Let it be.
