Slowing Down...

I’ve made myself slow down and breathe because time, too, is an illusion. I keep feeling like I am running behind, like there is another item on the to-do list.


...clean the fret board and re-string.

Anyway, I got to get around and do some contacting people, after I took a breather. I should be thankful that my sickness last week forced me to rest. When I rest I sometimes realize that God is taking care of me. He is making me an instrument. My heart is being rewarded. I trust that there is a day in my future when I do less non-musical things.

Evil tries hard to distract me. What used to work no longer works. What remains is a strength I’m not often enough grateful for and mostly unaware of. Thank the Master of the Sky!

Music shows me the world.

And what do you see in my music? What you see will tell me a lot about you, and about me, for the second time. I’ll learn about the general condition and what it means to have special consideration. Life, love and the pursuit of truth. Only the pursuit however, because I have come to understand that the most important thing is the feeling. And most times, I feel. So, I make a note of those feelings. That is my job. And that is what I do best.


I don’t write so that I can become a conversation piece, but it is nice to help set off a discussion. At the end of the day I don’t need to know what they are saying at their tables. But I feel wonderful when my voice is taken with you.

The Comforter

“The Comforter” is insane! Again, track two has proved the record more than any other. It’s head-over-heals pop! It is completely rebellious with the vocals. It has an abundance of hand claps and china crashes. Fun!

I’m trying to sound vaguely like a sell-out. Actually, I am making use of sell-out principals. [Thank you very much.]

Now that the drums are here I can tell that they are overly jubilant but have not overshadowed a lyric one. Success! Middle ground! Bargaining! Chance Taking! Now that I can focus, the record begins to come alive again.

Inspiration

I feel so inspired! I have learned so much from the making of the last two records. Now that they are done, I can put the majority of my focus on Industrial Nowhere.


Underneath my inspiration, however, is a fear that the third leg will not live up to the last two. But these are the thoughts I always think when I am distracted... when I am being fearful.

So, I’ve taken the doubt and I have used it. After all, this is part of the theme!

Done!

Finished! The work is done! The record that would not be born IS!

Yes, Dark Reds and Purples is finished. Be sure to get yours. I have plenty for all!

Perfection

At this point I am done with the soul of the new record, but still haven’t finished the old one’s production. I am very sorry for this but it just has to be perfect...


The new record’s title has become “Industrial Nowhere.” It’s become about recording in different moods and in different places. It has to do with the pressures of work. It’s sounds a lot like the pain from the pressure coming from above: it most closely speaks to and about the most oppressed. And just so you know… the lower you go, oppression and exploitation of the weak still exists… the proposed weak, that is.

So Here I Am...

…six rough drafts into the third leg. I’ve been through hell — and I’ve been from here to San Diego. I’m currently coming down from my high. We’ll see what the trips lend. So far it's been a struggle. You might have gathered that this is a mess of a project.

But it’s your turn now to know! I have made about ten diary-type audio tapes (cassettes). These have been glued instrumentally to recordings I’ve made from here to California. Some of the recordings (we’ll call them masters) were recorded high atop the city of San Diego.

Step two will be to take the masters — those purposefully disembodied cuts — complete with my audio diary sound clips, and begin to design upon them. If I look at them as colorful works and not less than perfect sound collections — thank you very much! — I will be able to ghost a machine-like emotional element underneath for support. Here goes...

Don't Forget!

We are all still very hard at work on the third leg. The second leg is completed and awaiting approval from the production department for release. Also, it lacks funding. But the third leg is in process, nonetheless. A very tiring process... Bargaining is a very hard concept to conceptualize.

Finally, though, I have found a way. The record will be stylized with an exposing glamour (visually that is) while the prominent instrument will be… you guessed it… a tape recorder. I am finding new ways to incorporate lesser known aspects of my life and the lives around me into my recordings. I am carrying a tape recorder everywhere and taping audio journals. So far I have gathered some great stuff. I will insert this material as if it were a bit of instrumentation into the third leg. I will sugar it with nasty sounding tape noise as if tape noise were an ancient instrument sound.

And my photographer friend and I are once again partnering up. We are scouting some fancy and flattering locations (some familiar, some far away). It will be this marriage of the familiar and the alien, the poor and the rich, the static and the clarity, that will bring the record concepts to your ears and eyes instead of your reading brain.
I will fill you in more as I go along. For now, thank you so much for your support and for your diligent listening.

NOTE: I’m sorry if I offended some of you with my referring to a certain someone as “my photographer friend.” This friend has a name; his name is Caleb. And he is one of my closest friends in the world. But he is also and amazing photographer. Recently we have added more depth to our friendship by introducing our art to each other... Now you know.

I am making a remake record. It will be full of old songs that people love to hear live, but were first recorded so long ago. These old versions are hard to hear (some of them have static). Oh what a tragedy! But seriously though, it prevents people from hearing a song they might otherwise love. I know they love them because I see them love them all the time.

I’ve been opposed to doing this kind of work for so long. But, six songs in, I find the cuts to be as refreshing as when they were first recorded. Also, the project will be very beneficial for booking. And when people say, “I need a copy of your record,” And I say “which one?”, I don’t have to worry about them missing out on the greatest cuts from Records 1-7 because of sound quality. Seriously, some of the earliest material was recorded on tape! Oh, I know... tape!

It went like this: boom boxes in front of each other, to karaoke players and other dual tape decks, to PA systems blaring to get over that noise ratio the old fashioned way, to a four track tape recorder, to a digital recorder with computer software. Thankfully I can resurrect some of those beautiful, terrible songs.

I was talking to my photographer friend. I told him that I wanted him to lend more of his photography to the second leg - I consider him one of the great undiscovered photographers in the area. And as I was describing my still-forming ideas, I said, “You know, dark reds and purples.” He asked, “Oh, is that the title?” And I said, “Well, maybe it is.”

Well folks, I like it too much to reject it. I just hope we don’t have to take a bunch of red and purple pictures now. Whatever we come up with will be fantastic though. I will be previewing the songs for him, so that he can visualize with me. He will be responsible for more than just the cover shot this time - I told him that you all very much loved that picture. This time he will help me design the entire package.

I love it when artists combine their powers to make an entire package that works together as a single piece of creation. I’m conditioning myself to share with you. I’m thinking that the third leg will have a hand-drawn cover. It’s too early to say why. But it’s not too early to say that I might like to work more closely with you.

Three Songs Into the Second Leg

I was worried that my mix volumes weren’t matching. Worried because I had been distant enough to lose touch with the themes and feelings that are barely in process. I think I have a handle on it now.

It’s hard to stay as intense and angry as the project demands. It’s an experimentation in emotional elements commonly associated with hard rock of all types. It’s also a spiritually themed record dealing with the common ugliness caused by common ugliness.

Most of us grew up in churches. We rebelled against our teachings. We rebelled against our teachers. We distanced ourselves from all the things associated with the pain of our childhoods. Thus, religion has become unpopular; particularly Christianity. And our fight for freedom has become equally as violent as religion ever was. We think of ourselves as a hero generation who lives and lets live. In reality, we ignore and are okay with being ignored. We make excuses for the things we do and excuse others for using us. It’s time to take another look at that Book, because any supreme God, even imaginary, will help us hold onto our self-respect and hold us accountable for our self-worshiping ways.

Great Stuff!

For the Birds is one record shy of being sold out! You’ll want to get it so that you can hear the full picture. Work has already begun on the second leg. There will be five different legs, each expressing a different phase of loss. Each will be an experimentation in what some would call “genre.”

You’ll want to experience these themes in each focused manner. You may discover many sub-themes as well. As the seasons change, more characters will emerge. There were a lot of birds in the first leg. The second will take you to a far different setting. Bees are buzzing, the sky is growing darker more often, the trees have become fixated with their colors. It’s what For the Birds warned you about.

Now you’re here in the emptiness of this clutter, surrounded by insanity. You should be afraid. Very afraid.

Hey everyone... Things have been going well. Meeting a lot of people at my shows. It gives me joy each time I receive new feedback from my audience.

I’ve given enough music out by now that I’ve started to find people who prefer the more obscure songs that I adore. Great! Someone besides me likes “A Ghost.” Great! Not everybody likes “Firelight,” because it’s at least vaguely familiar. I know a lot of people claim to be original, but I, together with my fans, could show them a few things. And I don’t work hard to be unique, I just live in a territory of music for survival; my emotions alone steer me and the way I play.

Much love,
MS

Thank You

Thank you. Thank you for being so adoring and for listening so closely. For putting my record into your dreams as you sleep. I’m not saying that you are an angel, but I can feel you reaching. Reaching to understand.

You make me feel purposeful. Keep listening for those answers, darling. You can almost hear me yelling from the same theater. And it’s All for Love.

I know. Same old... It’s been awhile.

I've been playing a lot of places below the radar here in NWA. Keeping my feelings alive and watching them grow into record concepts. Patiently waiting. The record is well on it’s way. The drums are all done and I’m almost exhausted.

I’ll try to keep you posted... Things are about to get busy! I feel like my head is being divided in many places between the studio and stage, but I can handle it. I know how to imagine and how to not let imagination swallow me up. By now I have my hand on the valve.

Second Leg

After a slow start, the second leg of Records 10 has begun! The concept, as I understand it so far, is to have a continuance of For the Birds. Like For the Birds, the second leg will be an experimentation in genre (a perversion, if you want to be real about it). But mostly it will restate my purpose, this time more aggressively.

Could you hear me begging you on the last record?

Do you have any idea how hungry I am?

Hey everyone! I'm playing at Jody's Living Room (aka the Lit Lounge) on Sunday, April 25. Would love to see you there! Let me know you read this post and I'll give you a free (yes, free!) copy of my latest recording For the Birds.

What's better than a live performance by Michael Scott and a free CD?

Great Shows!

Had a blast playing for you at Arsaga's last Friday and it was good to see some of you at the Hot Rod Show in Hackett, AR on Saturday morning.

Gave out some copies of my latest project For the Birds. Would love to hear your thoughts on the sound of it! Just leave a comment here...

Love to you,
MS

For the Birds

Have you ever felt your dreams momentarily slip away? And in the morning you found them again, hiding out of your reach, high in the trees.

Then, you realized the simplicity of it all is that you only have to listen.

For the Birds is an experience in faith restored. It speaks of impermanent and permanent things... of beginnings and of endings. And of the power that comes to you indefinitely when you reach one.

This record is for my muse; for my lost loves, and most of all, for me. And it's for the birds, because I believe they too know that good prevails. And because so many people are no longer listening.

Listen with attention. Your love may be no more than the bird's song you hear everyday.

Sneak Peek!

This is a little snippet of All For Love...



It's track 3 on the first leg of Records 10, For the Birds!

Hello Fans!

Ready for the start of this magical season? I sure am. I have a lot of love to give and you’ll be seeing me give it everywhere! Exciting times.

On the 17th of this month I’ll be waking Hackett up early at 10 in the morning. Come and see me! It’s sure to be a great time.

Just finished the first leg of the Records 10 project. A ten song record with lyrics printed for those who are heard of hearing. For The Birds will be ready April 10!

6th Annual Hackett Hod Rod Show

So I'm playing a set at the Hackett Hot Rod show in Aril. It's an outdoor show (all ages) at the Hackett City Park in Hackett, AR. Show is on Saturday, April 17th and I'll be playing a one hour acoustic set starting at 10am.

Stick around to hear the Cabbage Heads afterward!

Updates Too

Well, rock n' roll. Still getting my head ready for the record. It's been really nice to relive some of these songs. I can almost remember being that innocent. And I feel fine. Some feelings in me are not hard to find. I can't wait for you to hear where I've been and how it fits with where I am now. I know you'll be quite pleased. Thanks to everyone reading these posts as the site gets off the ground and the music finds it's way to all you very special people.

Love,
MS