Michael K.: News

I'm starting to book some more acoustic duo gigs with my producer and friend, Todd Kreuzburg. I've also been writing some funky new stuff for the the band to play. Look for some fresh band gigs on the horizon!

I started a blog:

http://therealmichaelk.blogspot.com

It's not necessarily about music; just life in general.

Also, search for "THE POPULISTS" on iTunes and download the new EP!

Just a quick note to wish you and your loved ones a very Merry
Christmas.

My gift? I wrote a new Christmas song that I played live for the
first time last week at the Annapolis Christmas show at Rams Head
Annapolis. I decided to do a quick one-take acoustic recording here
at home to share with those interested... that makes THREE original
Christmas songs for me... maybe by next year I'll have an album
ready... eh? Anyway, you can check out the tune under the MUSIC
section of my website, http://www.Michaelk101.com - Let me know what
you think.

OTHER NEWS:

The blog bug bit me and I started one of my very own. This isn't
necessarily music-related but rather all things Michael K. So if you
wanna catch up with what I'm up to between these here info-mails, you
can check out:
http://therealmichaelk.blogspot.com

There's already some funny DJ adventures and family funnies up there.
Enjoy!

MY FIRST GIG OF 2009 -- JANUARY 21st at the 8x10 Club in Baltimore.
I'm part of a new Singer/Songwriter Showcase that will happen monthly
but ONLY if YOU (locals) show up! Please mark your calendar and plan
to attend. It'll be an early night (7-11pm) and there'll be a lot of
other talented singer/songwriters there besides me.

Again, Merry Christmas and thanks for your support and interest in
2008. I promise you'll be rewarded with a phenomenal NEW ALBUM in
2009!

I'm looking forward to playing some more stripped-down acoustic gigs to give me an opportunity to get my head around all these new songs I've been writing and recording. October 21st at b.b. Bistro looks like a lot of fun and I'm certainly excited about debuting at the Wonderland Ballroom in D.C. on Sunday night Oct. 26th. Hope to see you at one of these gigs. Enjoy the autumn leaves!

Watching the news reports today of all the memorial services taking place at ground zero NYC, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA. brought back all the sadness and anger that I felt this day seven years ago. I couldn't help crying a little when I watched young children paying homage to their father who they lost or the parents describing their only son or daughter and how much happiness they brought to everyone. These are brave souls who, year after year, gather to commemorate and relive the horrors of that day and honor the memory of their loved ones' life that was cut short. I think of all the heroes who saved lives that day only to end up perishing themselves.
In spite of all the horror of that day, what resulted was good old-fashioned American courage, compassion and resolve. Families became closer, strangers became friends, adversaries became willing partners in change and hope.
God Bless the USA and God Bless all who lost or willingly sacrificed their lives on 9-11-01 so that America is STILL the land of the free and the home of the brave.

NEW SONGS TO HEAR! YEAH!! Last November, me and the band traveled all the way to Lusby, Maryland to KMH Recording studios and spent the entire day recording six songs. I brought the unmixed tracks back with me and handed them off to my producer, Todd Kreuzburg. Over the past few months he and I added new guitar parts and vocals and VOILA!
Six new, never-before-heard songs ready for your ears. Now, I don't want to keep you waiting until an actual CD comes along so I've posted two of the songs on my website for you to check out. In a week or two, I'll post two more, etc. Check them out. Let me know what you think.

And so I've saved the best news for last....

My song, After the Rain (Bring the Sunshine), has been picked up and
placed in a soon-to-hit-theaters movie called AMERICAN VIOLET. This
is my first "big screen" song placement and I'm excited to actually
hear how they used it. No word on the exact release date, but I'll
keep you posted.

In closing, I have to birthday/anniversary shout-outs to share.

First- HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:

1. My Father-in-law, Ake, in from Sweden this week to celebrate his
60th.

2. My darling little girl, Cadence, turning 4 on Saturday

3. ME!! I turn 13 for the 3rd time on Sunday!!

And least but not last, I am truly honored and blessed to celebrate
six loving and wonderful years of marriage with my best friend and
true soul mate, Asa.

Take care and I'll keep posted on any upcoming gigs, CD releases, and
movie premiers!! :-)

If you've never been to ROEDOWN... well... what can I say. It's an experience. It's like the rural version of The Preakness... but MORE. Whereas at Preakness you can expect to find an infield of morbidly intoxicated nearing-adulthood college students getting sunburned beyond recognition, at ROEDOWN you'll see friends and family just hanging out, sippin' a brew, eating a burger and enjoying the scenic countryside, the horse racing and THE MUSIC. It really is a great time. The only mitigating factor every year is THE WEATHER. Ah yes. The weather. Being that ROEDOWN is always held in early-mid April, the Maryland weather always plays a factor. 2005 & 2006 were might temperate... 2007 (on Easter Sunday!) was miserable. This year, I'm forecasting NICE weather. So, here's the deal. We show up and slap all our equipment/PA on a plywood stage set in front of a big red barn and then proceed to... um... ROCK!! -ok, only between horse races. When we're NOT rockin' we're hangin'. Drinking beverages... eating good food... talking with good and NEW friends. It's a party, people. Plain and Simple. If you can make it, we'd love to have you. If you can't... there's always NEXT YEAR!!! Here's the scoop:
http://michaelk101.com/guest/ROEDOWN2008.pdf

Hey, check out the newest Austin Grill in Rockville with me tomorrow night. I'll be playing a singer/songwriter showcase hosted by Bob Sima. Austin Grill has great food and a nice vibe.

36 Maryland Avenue, Unit A
Rockville, MD 20850
301-838-4281
http://www.myspace.com/austingrillrockville

Hey kiddies!

The band has been busy in the studio trying to get together some songs for a CD. In the meantime, check out our myspace page and the new upcoming gigs on the calendar!

Just some quick shout-outs...

Happy Birthday to my beautiful baby girl, Cadence. She is the big "3" today. Time flies... I can still remember anticipating her first steps. Now she's faster on her feet than her old man. You can see pictures of Cadence and my son, Lucas here: http://www.am-fm.org -click on the Rock-n-Roll Golf Tournment Pictures link. Lucas and Cadence are the blondies.

Happy Birthday to me tomorrow!! August 10th. I'm a few years past 21. We'll leave it at that.

And then there's August 11th.... I picked this day -the day after my birthday- to make one of the smartest decisions of my entire life. Five years ago on this day, I married my soul mate and best friend, Asa. Knowing how minds get feeble with time, I thought it was smart to make it the day after my birthday so that I'd never forget it. But the truth is I'm reminded every day how blessed I am to have her in my life. She's a terrific mother and a wonderful wife. And anyone who has her as a friend -as I do- will agree it is indeed a privilege and an adventure!

Now to all you other August Birthday and Anniversary Honorees, CONGRATS! I hope you're as happy and blessed as I am.

See you at the next show:
http://www.Michaelk101.com/courtyardgig.JPG

Time flies! It'll be August soon; can you believe that? I swear the older I get, the faster time flies. And summer is my favorite time of year by far. I can deal with the humidity, the heat, the mosquitoes... all that more so than snow and cold weather. The warm weather and sunny days energize me. Ah well, there's still time to catch some warm weather shows. Check the calendar and I hope to see you soon! In the meantime, check out some cool links:

http://www.penseyeview.com
http://myspace.com/coldhotcrash
http://myspace.com/jandtodd
http://myspace.com/armyofme

With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is
worth reflecting on the death of a very important person (which
almost went unnoticed recently).

Larry LaPrise, the man that wrote "The Hokey Pokey", died peacefully at
the age of 93.

The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin.

They put his left leg in....... And then the trouble started.

(Shut up. You know it's funny.)

Thanks to all the new friends that said "hi" at the CWF Summer Fest as well as the Marriott Courtyard Gig. What a great turnout! And great weather too. You guys really energized our spirits so look forwar to more great shows coming up!

Ah, a whole day of great live music, awesome food, cold beer, and a wide variety of arts & crafts... Yes, it's that again... Eastport-a-Rockin' #11. We'll be there. Will You?
Here's a secret... there's an afterparty... a Luau... at Heroes Pub in West Annapolis.

Keep checking the Heroes Myspace page... http://myspace.com/heroespubannapolis

And, uh, check out
http://eastportarockin.com

Michael K. & the Populists will be opening for Jimmies Chicken Shack THIS FRIDAY @ The Whiskey 1803 in Annapolis. You can purchase the tickets NOW - ONLINE - Here:
http://www.missiontix.com/index.cfm?venue=-wk

Find out more about The Whiskey 1803 - Annapolis's freshest, rockingest new live music venue here:

http://www.myspace.com/whiskey1803info

Michael K. & the Populists will be opening for JIMMIES CHICKEN SHACK at The Whiskey, 1803 West Street (upstairs from BF Biggens) in Annapolis. THIS FRIDAY! Doors open @ 9pm sharp and it's $12 to get in. GET THERE EARLY - Jimmies Chicken Shack usually sells these small venues out quickly. Also playing, a band called "86 the Effort" --

Check out The Whiskey's Myspace Page for all the info and more great upcoming shows. ->
http://www.myspace.com/whiskey1803info

click the link below to visit our MySpace page and ADD US AS FRIENDS!
http://MySpace.com/MichaelKandthePopulists

New pix from our Rams Head Onstage Show and the 8x10 club in Baltimore. I'll be posting new pictures as they come in from our fab photog. Mr. Charles Funk -- http://charlesfunk.com

Keep checking back -- we have TONS of pix!

It was an amazing set, an amazing show, an amazing night. We opened for the fabulous Jordan Page on Thursday night at Rams Head Onstage in Annapolis. The turnout of people was phenominal and you could almost taste the zen energy and love in the room. Despite a bunch of technical problems discovered at soundcheck (most notably, my amp died), we pulled off an amazing set of 10 originals that pretty much brought the house down and put everying in a great frame of mind for Jordan.
Thanks Jordan!
Thanks Rams Head!
Thanks to everyone who came out... we plan to do again soon... this time as the headlining act.