Musical
Adventures & Misadventures, cont'd
Meet
the guys that saved my musical life. Both of them would
probably roll their eyes and laugh, but I have to give credit where
it's due. After I decided Columbus, GA was where I'd try putting roots,
I knocked around town looking for some gigging and came up
dry and discouraged. I'd been introduced to John
(JD) Davis and John Camp a bit earlier by another local musician.
After my last abortive road band attempt, he called and
arranged for the four of us to work out some stuff for a battle of the
bands at a local pub. To our eternal gratitude, he was a
no-show at the gig, forcing us to do it as a trio. In honor
of that, we dubbed it "Flying Blind", and it worked so well
that with the exception of a few intermissions and
divergences, we've remained the same excellent bluesy/classic rock trio
since
1990. There's a strong connection
there, and it remains the standard against which I judge everything
else I do, musically. These two are also my
long-term friends in town. Thanks guys!
I've been part of a few other groups in the Columbus GA area since
locating here in 1990. I got a call to replace a
departing bassist in a country group, "Gary Cothran and Riversouth".
They already had a good sound,
featuring Gary Cothran's well-honed vocals and developing songwriting,
and it was obvious to me that the days before Gary moved to Nashville
were short. That's exactly what eventually
transpired, but not before we'd done a few impressive shows at large
clubs backing big-name artists. The best take-away
I got from this band was becoming friends with Brian Fowler, manic
mandolinist, guitarist and all-around fun guy. We later
worked on a project called "Idiot's Vision", with
founding Jefferson Airplane member, Bob Harvey and "San Francisco Blue".
"Wang Dang Doodle"
came about during a "Flying Blind" hiatus. John
Davis and I hooked up with a couple of other local guys that
we got along well with, personally and musically. We found
that what came naturally was a very rootsy, blues-based style and we
had a great time doing it. Willie Taylor and David Foster
rounded that group out. Best thing about this band
was that during one of our gigs, I met the wonderful woman who would
later become my wife, Karla.
Seems like John Davis and I end up doing lots of stuff
together....we mesh really well (he can tolerate me without
violence). For some reason we decided we'd like to do a
"party band" and make lots of money, so we enlisted a couple of other
local friends and formed "Next Big Thing"...one of those bands that was
just too good to hold together against the onslaught of marriage, kids,
and career.
Around 2000, I'd been playing upright bass and needed a good outlet to
improve my chops. I'd always loved bluegrass and the
whole culture connected with it, but I didn't know anyone who played
this music (or so I thought). One day my Mom phoned and
had me turn on the TV to see three guys playing bluegrass gospel
...once again, I'd happened on a band just as they needed a
bassist . As it turned out, they were family
acquaintances. Eastwind
Bluegrass Band formed in 2000, playing hundreds of shows, festivals,
private
events, and recording 3 cd projects which continue to sell well.
I left Eastwind in July of 2006 to catch my
breath, relax, and pursue some other musical ideas.
Well, thanks for reading this far....please check this website for news
and downloads of new original material I'm working on now!
See ya around,
Mike
I've been part of a few other groups in the Columbus GA area since
locating here in 1990. I got a call to replace a
departing bassist in a country group, "Gary Cothran and Riversouth".
They already had a good sound,
featuring Gary Cothran's well-honed vocals and developing songwriting,
and it was obvious to me that the days before Gary moved to Nashville
were short. That's exactly what eventually
transpired, but not before we'd done a few impressive shows at large
clubs backing big-name artists. The best take-away
I got from this band was becoming friends with Brian Fowler, manic
mandolinist, guitarist and all-around fun guy. We later
worked on a project called "Idiot's Vision", with
founding Jefferson Airplane member, Bob Harvey and "San Francisco Blue".
"Wang Dang Doodle"
came about during a "Flying Blind" hiatus. John
Davis and I hooked up with a couple of other local guys that
we got along well with, personally and musically. We found
that what came naturally was a very rootsy, blues-based style and we
had a great time doing it. Willie Taylor and David Foster
rounded that group out. Best thing about this band
was that during one of our gigs, I met the wonderful woman who would
later become my wife, Karla.
Around 2000, I'd been playing upright bass and needed a good outlet to
improve my chops. I'd always loved bluegrass and the
whole culture connected with it, but I didn't know anyone who played
this music (or so I thought). One day my Mom phoned and
had me turn on the TV to see three guys playing bluegrass gospel
...once again, I'd happened on a band just as they needed a
bassist . As it turned out, they were family
acquaintances. Eastwind
Bluegrass Band formed in 2000, playing hundreds of shows, festivals,
private
events, and recording 3 cd projects which continue to sell well.
I left Eastwind in July of 2006 to catch my
breath, relax, and pursue some other musical ideas.