Hey Gang!  Attached is a podcast of today's on-air interview/performance for your listening pleasure!

Enjoy!

Hey Gang!

I'll be on-air today LIVE in San Luis Obispo on KCPR from 5 to 530 PST! Tune in!!! 91.3FM and KCPR.org.

ALSO - I posted a very raw cut of my newest song, Pretty Lies.  Free dowload.  You're welcome.  Hope you enjoy!

It will rock. I love you.

Michael

 Hey Gang,

I'm playing at the beautiful Gather Wine Bar in Arroyo Grande, CA tonight from 7-10pm.  I'm so damn grateful for people and venues that still believe in the intrinsic beauty of live music.  I'm equally grateful that I'm blessed with the ability to make it.

Hope to see you all tonight.

Love and lemon Trees,

Michael

 Holy Crap - have you guys checked out the latest Gavin Degraw album?  Wow.  

Ryan Adams new one is amazing as well.

So is Spotify! 

I also love boobs.  Wait...did i just type that out loud?

- Michael

Japan just cant catch a break. My heart and thoughts go out to them. American Red Cross allows you to donate $10 just by texting REDCROSS to 90999. Here's the Redcross site if you prefer to donate online directly from the RedCross site.

It's been a mere three months since moving to Santa Monica.  In that time, I've played some fantastic shows at such places as Sonny McClean's (in Santa Monica) and Citizen Smith (in Hollywood), not to mention countless trips up and down the California Coast playing festivals, coffee houses, wine bars, private parties, and vinyards. 

In addition to playing shows, many of you may know that I've teamed up with Cordoba Guitars as their "purchasing / product development manager".  This has proven to be both challenging, and a hell of a lot of fun.  The business side of music can be a nasty place, but the inverse seems to be true of the music side of business.  Working in the greater MI (music industry) is a blast; chalk full of genuine people who also happen to be music enthusiasts.  I'm home.

I'm looking forward to another holiday season full of shows.  I'm looking forward to releasing new music.  I'm looking foward to seeing YOU.

Love and Lemondrops,

Michael

 I'm back at the very top of the search engines!!!  After having to take my site down, you couldn't find me anywhere.  Now, I'm back to number 1, Baby!!!  Thanks guys!

 Just recorded a 3-song demo with my side project, The Old Country Playboys.  It's hilarious at this stage of my life, because I have never listened to country music, nor did I ever see myself playing it.  However, anyone that has been a "struggling artist" can attest to the fact that you head where the money is.  In short, you do what you have to do in order to be able to make a living at your craft.  However, I have truly been surprised at how much fun I've been having.

This side project is dedicated to "old-school" country music - and harkens back to the glorious days of the likes of Buck Owens, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, etc.  We will begin writing in the very near future as well....but the passion will remain for the "old country" sound and philosophy;  passion through simplicity.  

In other news...I have a packed weekend full of shows.  I look forward to seeing YOU (yes...YOU) at one of them.

Word and Watermelons,

Michael S.

 Ok...so as many of you will remember (and in a case of truth being truly stranger than fiction), my former website was hacked (twice) by Iranian hackers, who posted countless propaganda.  Thus began the long and arduous process of rebuilding a web home-sweet-home, and the formal launch of this here website.  That process took a week.  One frustrating week.

Part deux - My computer, obviously as frustrated as I was with the whole process decided one morning to refuse to wake up.  The hard-drive had gone on to be with the great mainframe in the sky.  Not being a novice to hardware/software installation and troubleshooting, I took it upon myself to go out and purchase a new hard drive, and the brand-new version of Windows 7.  I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to upgrade my older computer, and save myself the coin that it would cost to completely replace said computer.  Makes sense, right?  Ugh...if only.

The new hard drive worked swimmingly, but as usual, Microsoft let me down.  Apparently, the new version of Windows doesn't recognize most older drivers - so my sound card was rendered completely useless, and my monitor reverted to the most basic of monitors that money can buy.  Most horrifying, however, was the fact that ALL of my music stored on an external drive was unreadable by Windows 7.  Storing it on an external drive was supposed to be safer than keeping on the hard driver for this very reason, but I digress.

(note - to those who are already bored with this techno-speak, please feel free to skip the next paragraph, as I only continue my profanity-laced rant about computers there)

Out of frustration, I decided to get the f%ck out of the PC world and invested in a bouncing baby iMac.  While the cost of said computer made my wallet clench like a sphincter, I am gloriously once again back on top of the necessary evil known as Technology (read - social networking, marketing, bookkeeping, booking, etc).  

(cue angelic fanfare)

So now, i can get back to focusing on what I love most - music....and speaking of....I hope to see each and every one of you (except that drunk prick with the drool stain on his shirt that kept trying to talk to me while I was in the middle of my song) at one of my many gigs this weekend.  My good friend, Michael Dougherty, will be covering for me at AJ Spurs in Grover beach this evening while I play a very special private party.  However, I will be at the Maverick in Santa Ynez - on the patio - from 2-5pm, and then the party moves over to the Alisal in Solvang from 6-10(ish).  

See you soon!  

Love with Smile Sauce,

Michael S.

There is so much to update you on.  However, it has been a long and frustrating day of technological challenges.  As such, I'm heading off to band practice.  Music making is so much more beautiful and constructive than working on an effed up hard-drive.

More to come tomorrow.  Night!