Stripping It Down

September 18, 2015September 21, 2015 Mike Nobody alternative, art, autobiography, depression, detroit, diy, grunge, guitarists, hardcore punk, jazz, lo-fi, metal, michigan, Mike Nobody, music, musique concrete, noise, noise rock, north america, outsider art, outsider music, pop, psychedelia, punk, rock, sample, Uncategorized, united states of america, usa

"Our life is frittered away by detail... simplify, simplify." - Henry David Thoreau — “Our life is frittered away by detail… simplify, simplify.” – Henry David Thoreau

I am stripping my rig down a bit.

Still a work in progress.

I am trying to fit everything onto the pedalboard.

There may still be a few things sticking out.

Ideally, I should be able to set up my gear in about ten minutes, give or take a few.

Fewer parts, fewer complications.

Gotta think like a NASCAR pit mechanic, in & out.

“The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain.”

– Scotty (Star Trek III: The Search For Spock)

My equipment has evolved a lot over time.

At one point, I had a built-up a huge Frankenrig from two old PAs, some preamps, and pieces of my current Mini-rig.

I got inspiration for my setup from a bunch of different bass & guitar players; Bootsy Collins, Chris Squire, Cliff Burton, Greg Ginn.

Some players have elaborate switching systems, with tons of pedals and rackmount effects.

Some players have truckloads of gear, insane shit.

Sonic Youth had a different guitar for EACH SONG.

I am trying to pare it down to whatever my live sound will be.

What do I REALLY need?

Other effects and sounds that I use I will probably just record samples of.

This changes the dynamics of composing quite a lot.

It is gonna sound way different than if I had everything plugged into the bass.

You can sort of hear how this is shaping my sound, so far.

But, this is for demonstration purposes ONLY (sorry that I got fat):

This is an unfinished song that The Riverviews were working on a couple of months ago.

I might re-purpose it into an Island of Misfit Noise song, if Mike Hayes doesn’t mind.

Stripping down the mini-rig.
Trying to find a compromise between my “live sound” and “studio sound”.
The strings are long overdue to be changed.
But, I haven’t got enough money for replacements.

The Shapeshifter Who Fell To Earth

September 18, 2015September 18, 2015 Mike Nobody music

Bowie-Album-Cover-Final-Major-Project-For-University

Actor / singer Meatloaf was interviewed once about his music career. He corrected the interviewer, though. He said that he was an actor, who happened to play the role of a musician.

I think that is the best way to sum up David Bowie. He is a shapeshifter. Each album is a new role to play. He changes his costume and persona. He becomes a new character each time.

I don’t think I could do that. Maybe its a stubborn streak of honesty. I am just always myself. Some friends I used to have would tell me how they “grew out” of certain kinds of music. I don’t really grow out of anything. I just keep expanding my vocabulary. I kinda look at my musical tastes like the Borg, assimilating everything in sight.

So, maybe I have more in common with Locutus of Borg than David Bowie. I dunno.

bowie_wallpaper_by_radioheadedlove-d37p2p6

Bowie the-many-faces-of-david-bowie

I think somebody else likes David Bowie, too.

Staying jacked-up on coke for a few decades probably had something to do with it, too.

I’m A Loser, Baby (So, Why Donch’ya Kill Me?)

September 18, 2015September 18, 2015 Mike Nobody autobiography, grunge, guitarists, Mike Nobody, music, nirvana

My Name

Besides artists from the outsider music genre (Wesley Willis, Daniel Johnston), I have also been compared to a few other people. It didn’t always annoy me. Some comparisons were flattering, I thought. But, this is kind of how I came to be known as Mike Nobody.

Corey Feldman:

Frog brother truth justice american way

Honestly, I do not know where anyone got this from. Is there a physical resemblance? I dunno. Maybe a little. I guess there are worse things than being a Goonie, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, or one of the Frog brothers from “Lost Boys.”

Thurston Moore:

Sonic Youth - Thurston

I didn’t mind this one very much. Kenny Mugwump ( bassist / vocalist for groups like Princess Dragon-Mom, Mog Stunt Team, Loudhouse) made this observation a few times. I don’t know why. Maybe, like Thurston Moore, I know a lot about music history and collect a lot of it.

Beck Hansen:

A few pen-pals made a comparison between me and Beck, a couple of times. This is quite funny to me. I began using Mike Nobody as an ironic commentary on the whole Grunge / Loser thing. When asked what my musical style is, I used to jokingly tell people that it was just “Beck, with a bass.”

Kurdt Kobain:

At the peak of Nirvanamania, I do not think hardly a day went by when someone didn’t tell me, “Oh, my GAWD, you are just like Kurt Cobain!” AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHH! This annoyed me to no fucking end! I was followed and constantly harassed by a Cobain-obsessed stalker for months and months. I ended up fucking her, just to make her go away! I eventually had to move TWICE to lose her. I know that I should feel bad for saying this. But, it was kind of a relief when he died. That is about when those comparisons stopped happening.

On the upside of this, it landed me a role in a biopic about him, a few years after his death. The movie began as an independent film, then got bought by HBO (who increased our budget by a LOT). But, it seemed like the script was being rewritten every week. The story that they were going with became more fictionalized and ridiculous each time (Kurt Cobain becomes a zombie?). I got fed up with it and quit. Production fell apart shortly thereafter. However, the project started up again when they brought in Gus Van Sant to direct. The finished movie became “Last Days”. It stunk. My only regret is that, if I had stayed in the movie, I could have met Kim Gordon (bassist / vocalist from Sonic Youth). She had a role in it too.

No one ever called me by my given name, not even as a child. I later discovered that my surname is a lie (I never liked it anyway). So, I only felt like my middle name, Michael, was my real name. What eventually made me settle on using the pseudonym Mike Nobody was the recommendation from Rob Wright (bassist / vocalist from NoMeansNo) to keep it, after I sent him a letter with that as my name. Hey, it was good advice. So, it has been my pen & stage name ever since.