Mike Vincent: Blog

The weather outside in Baltimore right now (it's about 82 degrees at 9:30pm) just reminded me of my short stay in Manhattan when I lived in Little Italy for a summer. I sublet so I was only there a couple of months. There is something about the hot city air in the summer time; a mix of food, car exhaust, and probably garbage. Anyway I like it, so it's probably mostly food. But it brought back this memory of not being able to sleep on Mulberry Street, and getting up out of bed at like 4:30-5am and going out the window onto the fire escape for a cigarette. I remember the color of the sky before the sun came up, this really deep dark blue, but not nighttime sky. Similar to right after the sun sets, but different and mysterious. Anticipatory. I really love and loved NYC. It's clearly my favorite place in the world, although for me visiting has always been better. When I was living there I was brooding and I wasted a lot of money NOT pursuing music like I'd intended. On the other hand, I wrote MILES AND BRICKS right before I left, and it's based on the things I saw that night. That's another whole story, but it's one of my favs. I left just hours before the Northeast blackout (I think 2003), driving to Ithaca to pick up the master tape reels for what had been GLISTEN and what would become SOLID SKY. The power went out when I was on RT 17, and I began to get really nervous as most of the gas stations had no power, and thus no gas. I was also transporting some prosciutto for a friend in a cooler with ice(lol). I got to the Ithaca Holiday Inn and they had no power, so I couldn't check in. Anyways, power came on eventually and I got my tapes the next morning, and those tapes eventually made their way down to Virginia to be mastered, and thus, SOLID SKY.

Now in Baltimore, 6 years after SOLID SKY was released(rather unsuccessfully), I have finally obtained a personal studio suitable for making a professional recording. If you're curious, essentially, Digital Performer 7, MOTU 896, and an Aphex 207D (tube preamp). I can record at 96K and in 24 (or floating 32 bits). The preliminary recordings blow the 44.1/16bit non-tube recordings away. If this sounds like jibberish to you, it's like I went from a 3.2 MP camera to a 6.0 MP camera. It just sounds better. This means I can't use any of the tracks on the website that aren't on the album, because the quality just isn't there. So I'm planning on DIGGING DOWN and writing a new album and releasing sometime before next summer (these things take time). I could push for Fall but I think Spring is a much better time to release an album, plus work will be liberal enough for me to tour(or if not tour, at least play a little bit) in support of the thing (which I failed to do for Solid Sky). I'm writing this to try to hold myself accountable, and let you know I'm not about to quit. It's going to be a lot of hard work, and frustrating at times, but the only way for me to be satisfied is to finally do the work and record the album I've always wanted to. I doubt it will sound much like anything I've done before. Think electronica mixed with acoustic and electric instruments. It will probably be a solo album with a band feel, so that I'll be able to play the songs with a band if I decide to go in that direction. Production costs will be only about 5% of SOLID SKY! I'll keep updating on my progress.

These are the two main thoughts I wanted to lay down. Other than that, things are pretty good, I'm in a good place, have a wonderful girlfriend, and have a great job. I'm happier and more focused than I have been in years. I miss home, and I'm looking forward to playing a few shows (and an off the radar festival) in Upstate NY this summer. I'll update on that as well.

Also, I'll try to keep writing these blogs for a while. Whoever is still reading this, I wish you well and thank you for reading. Peace, Love, and Music to you.

~Mike