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The Geography of My Songs & Poems

2015 September 15
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by Mike Vial

All writers return to hometowns, real or metaphorical. We are “shaped by the landscapes that we roam.”

While some songwriters are able to pen from fiction, I tend to write (or elaborate) from my life. Here’s a map of all of the places referenced in my songs and poems.

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Set List: Sept 12, 2015 – the Ark

2015 September 13
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by Mike Vial

Set List: Sept 12, 2015 The Ark (Opening for Ellis Paul)
Ann Arbor, MI

  1. Girl on the Mountain, Boy in the Beach
  2. Damn Fine Day
  3. Only the Rain Knows Why
  4. A World That’s Bigger
  5. I Just Want to Be Your Last
  6. Do You Know Your Fears by Name?
  7. Love and Be Proud
  8. Ghostwriter

Sound checking for tonight. Doors at the Ark are 7:30 PM. Show 8.

A photo posted by Mike Vial (@mikevial) on


 

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Lady Liberty cries with silent lips; we must be vocal: 5 ways to help refuguees

2015 September 4
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by Mike Vial

Betsy​ & Chris​ were discussing the refugee crisis so articulately and powerfully on Facebook yesterday, forcing me to reflect when I wanted to escape and ignore the photos, the story, the suffering. And then you focus on that little boy’s sneakers…and the magnitude hits you like a ton of bricks.

We need to do better. The world is flat: We worry about China’s Stock Market affecting our financial system more than we worry about another’s suffering. When one suffers, we all suffer.

Emma Lazarus’s poem on Lady Liberty speaks more powerfully than the terrible rhetoric we hear from the celebrity farce of these current and temporary presidential primaries: “Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,/ I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Lady Liberty cries with silent lips; we must be vocal.

5 practical ways to help:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/5-practical-ways-you-can-help-refugees-trying-to-find-safety-in-europe-10482902.html

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Set List: Aug. 29, 2015 – State Theater

2015 August 31
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by Mike Vial

Set List: Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015
ArtBeat @ the State Theater, South Bend, IN

As close as I can recall:

  1. Damn Fine Day
  2. Don’t Mess Around with Jim (Jim Croce)
  3. Only the Rain Knows Why
  4. Smooth (Santana)
  5. Riptide (Vance Joy)
  6. Made a Mess
  7. Love and Be Proud
  8. Landslide (Fleetwood Mac)
  9. Empty Cup
  10. Drift Away (Dobie Gray)

Playing at #ArtBeat at the State Theater in #SouthBend. Photo Credits: Ronald Werntz

A photo posted by Mike Vial (@mikevial) on


 

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Set List: Aug. 29, 2015 – Chicory Cafe

2015 August 31
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by Mike Vial

Saturday, Aug 29, 2015
Chicory Cafe, South Bend, IN

As best as I could remember it:

  1. A World That’s Bigger
  2. Here Comes the Sun
  3. Damn Fine Day
  4. Smooth
  5. Only the Rain Knows Why
  6. Landslide
  7. I Just Want to Be Your Last
  8. Love and Be Proud
  9. Drift Away
  10. Before You Accuse Me
  11. Ohio
  12. Burning Bright


Thanks to Bello Spark for sharing the show with me!

A video posted by Mike Vial (@mikevial) on

A photo posted by Mike Vial (@mikevial) on


 

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