vocalists

Spring Has Sprung

Mike Nobody alternative, america, amphetamine reptile records, art, atheism, autobiography, capitalism, censorship, Christianity, comedy, conservative, conspiracy, constitution, copyright, corporations, creationism, creativity, cults, democracy, Democrats, depression, detroit, diy, dollar, drummers, Earth, economics, economy, election, entertainment, environment, experimental, fat, fiction, free speech, freedom, God, greed, grunge, guitarists, hardcore punk, hate, history, independent, internet, jazz, liberal, libertarian, life, lo-fi, Mail, marijuana, mash-up, mashup, mental health, metal, Mike Nobody, money, Movie, movies, music, musicals, musique concrete, noise, noise rock, north america, nwo, oligarchy, orwell, outsider art, outsider music, Pen Pals, politics, pop, propaganda, psychedelia, punk, puppets, Republican, Republicans, rock, sale, sample, sci-fi, science, science fiction, Socialism, space, study, stupidity, technology, television, theater, tv, Uncategorized, united states of america, usa, vocalists, web, world trade organization, wtc, wto, YouTube, zines

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I was watching some YouTube videos lately.

I got very annoyed.

Other bands are doing stuff that I wanna do.

But, they keep beating me to it.

I hate when that shit happens.

Maybe it is just that everything has already been done to death and we keep repeating and reinterpreting what came before us.

I dunno.

I know that, financially, I am gonna be screwed for the foreseeable future.

I am robbing Peter to pay Paul for as long as I have to.

I seriously doubt that I will break even before summer begins.

I keep putting off working on and publishing the zine until I can get ahead a little.

But, that doesn’t look like it is going to happen very soon.

I may do a cheaper version, than what I had in mind, until it begins to pay for itself.

Just a thought.

I will probably raid my boxes of old tapes that I have in storage and dig around for some incomplete material to finish.

I have a lot of it, going back nearly forty years.

Since I have been tinkering with the analogue multi-track machine, maybe I will include some fresher stuff with it, too.

I dunno.

A guitarist whom I have not played with in years contacted me and is eager to jam again.

So, maybe he can give me a morale boost and help me get my shit done.

Maybe.

I am always willing to jam with other people if they are interested.

I need to find somewhere that I can paint and make loud noises too.

Maybe somebody can help me with that.

Valentine’s Day

Mike Nobody alternative, america, art, atheism, autobiography, copyright, corporations, creativity, democracy, democratic, depression, detroit, diy, dollar, entertainment, experimental, free speech, freedom, grunge, guitarists, hardcore punk, independent, internet, jazz, liberal, libertarian, life, lo-fi, Mail, mash-up, mashup, mental health, michigan, Mike Nobody, money, Movie, movies, music, musique concrete, noise, noise rock, north america, outsider art, outsider music, Pen Pals, politics, pop, psychedelia, punk, puppets, remix, rock, sale, sample, sci-fi, science, science fiction, Socialism, space, study, stupidity, technology, television, tv, Uncategorized, united states of america, usa, vocalists, war, web, YouTube, zines

David Bowie R.I.P. (1947-2016)

Mike Nobody Bowie, creativity, David Bowie, music, outsider music, psychedelia, punk, sci-fi, UK, vocalists

Dead Bowie 2016

Well, this is just great.

Lemmy dies at the end of 2015  (age 70) and now David Bowie’s death starts off 2016 (age 69).

Everybody is dying!

You had better appreciate people while you can.

They will be gone sooner than you think.

An inspiration to millions of fans, he made whatever music and art he wanted to whenever it suited him.

He didn’t follow trends.

He created them.

Truly, a one-of-a-kind individual.

He had been diagnosed with liver cancer eighteen months earlier, fighting it until the end.

And just to show how devoted he was to his music, his art, and his fans, he literally wrote and produced his final album from his death bed.

Take THAT you lazy bastards!

Bowie’s producer Tony Visconti wrote:

He always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way. His death was no different from his life – a work of Art. He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn’t, however, prepared for it. He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us. For now, it is appropriate to cry.

Timmy Vulgar

Mike Nobody alternative, america, amphetamine reptile records, amrep, art, atheism, autobiography, comedy, depression, detroit, diy, experimental, fast food, fat, free speech, grunge, guitarists, hardcore punk, independent, internet, kung fu, liberal, libertarian, lo-fi, metal, Mike Nobody, money, Movie, movies, muppets, music, musicals, musique concrete, noise, noise rock, north america, outsider art, outsider music, psychedelia, punk, puppets, rock, sci-fi, science fiction, united states of america, usa, vocalists

Timmy Vulgar ca-f-humaneye

Life is funny sometimes. It lands some odd coincidences in my lap a lot, it seems.

I had never listened to The Clone Defects, although they have been around the Detroit scene for a number of years. I did not know that guitarist / vocalist Timmy Vulgar was also in a bunch of other local groups. He has been around the block as much as I have (and then some). I also did not know that he & I had met before, when he was in his first band The Epileptix. I still have their debut 7″ EP that I purchased from him. We talked about the band Chrome and guitarist Helios Creed a little bit. That is all that I remember from our encounter.

Anyway, I got an invitation on Facebook to see his most recent band Timmy’s Organism play at the UFO Factory next month. I did a little research, and dang! This is my kinda guy. Mostly, he plays a kind of psychedelic punk and employs the style of low budget freakishness that I am known for. If he ever needs a bassist, or wants to collaborate, I think I am up for it… if he is.

Timmy Vulgar tim

Comparative Anatomy

Mike Nobody alternative, art, drummers, entertainment, experimental, grunge, guitarists, hardcore punk, independent, jazz, lo-fi, michigan, Mike Nobody, Movie, movies, muppets, music, musicals, musique concrete, noise, noise rock, north america, outsider art, outsider music, pop, psychedelia, punk, puppets, sci-fi, science, science fiction, television, theater, tv, Uncategorized, vocalists

Comparative Anatomy_n

Comparative Anatomy are another group that I have liked for many years. Their 2010 CD Mammalian is really good. I have been waiting ever since for a follow-up album, which never seems to come.

They are an experimental drum & bass band from Charlottesville, Virginia. Known for their elaborate costumes, absurd humor, simple but diverse textures and unique sound, the band has become known in the experimental and noise rock scenes for their outlandish performances. Their early work has been referred to by reviewers as a “patchwork, cut-up style” similar to bands like Mr. Bungle, but recently they have created their own unique sound with robotic sounding bass lines, frenzied loops of animal samples, and beat-focused drums. To date, they are the only band to consistently use animals for vocals, recording their sounds in a variety of settings and programming them to the music, often altering the sounds and layering them in their more recent work.

Comparative Anatomy started as an experiment in 2009 between the two main members, Sir Puffers Rabbinald the Third and Ron Chickenbaby. At this time, the band name was not yet chosen. The original line-up went through several guitars and one real drummer, all of who were eventually eliminated. After deciding to work alone, the group took a different route, eliminated guitars altogether and moved away from the quirky, death metal sound where they started as well as completely scrapping vocals. Their musical direction began to take an experimental, drum & dual-bass approach utilizing special tunings, a drum machine, and various samples from a variety of sources. They’re known for its odd humor, which relies heavily on absurdist and quasi-dadaist dialogs with the crowd and symbolism focusing totally on animals.

During live performances, Comparative Anatomy is known for wearing costumes, which were at first simple designs made with dismembered, stuffed animals, but eventually became elaborate and full-body pieces hand-made by the two main members featuring everything from top hats to black metal guantlets. In addition, their live act involves a set of films and animations created by the band that follow the music and are projected behind them on a giant screen.

Another cool thing about them that I like very much is that they tour in a refurbished ambulance, playing their music over the PA system as they approach their performances.

If you ever wonder what a Mike Nobody solo performance looks like, without a real band onstage, this probably isn’t far from it… minus the costumes.

Comparative Anatomy_____________908875_n

Jobless Zine Tapes

Mike Nobody alternative, america, art, atheism, autobiography, business, comedy, depression, detroit, diy, experimental, fat, freedom, grunge, guitarists, hardcore punk, independent, internet, jazz, liberal, libertarian, life, lo-fi, mash-up, mashup, metal, Mike Nobody, money, Movie, movies, music, noise, noise rock, north america, outsider art, outsider music, politics, pop, psychedelia, punk, puppets, remix, rock, sample, sci-fi, science, science fiction, tv, Uncategorized, united states of america, usa, vocalists, zines

FUN

I applied for another job again, Value World (aka Value Village).

Not sure if it will do any good.

They were the only place that required applicants to apply in person, instead of online like everywhere else.

I later walked to the store for pop & bread and actually did some housecleaning today, too.

Wow!

I’m on a roll.

♛ ★★★★★★★★★☆★☆★☆★☆☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★★★★★★★★★ ♛

I am feeling kinda brave and pulled the Roland workstation out… seeing if I could operate it at all.

I may dig through some boxes of old tapes and see if there is anything that I wanna work on again.

I may lift some material directly from them for the zine.

Maybe.

I am thinking that I will just keep accumulating material as I go along.

Then, when I have enough cash to publish I will put a new issue out, hopefully every three to four months.

It would be easier if I had some extra income for this.

But, I am working with what I have for now.

Thee Urban SpaceCat CassetteZine may be printed by a company that did Death Cat comics, Ka-Blam is their name I think.

It seems like they work in all sorts of volumes with good quality.

The tapes may be recorded, mixed, mastered, and dubbed totally DIY, though.

I am undecided if I want to get them made at a duplicating plant or just dub them myself.

I guess it depends what the demand is for them.

If I get too many orders I will have to go with the duplicating plant.

I am making a distinction between the CassetteZine and the RecycleTapes, though.

The CassetteZine will use fresh normal bias cassettes, probably Sony.

They seem to be the most readily available.

RecycleTapes are hard copy recordings of Mike Damn Nobody’s noise albums, dubbed on reused tapes and re-labelled by me.

I may have to create new artwork for the older titles.

I cannot find the originals.

I was thinking of when I want to take my recordings into a legitimate studio.

Money is a factor, of course.

But, when I am ready, I am thinking that I may only release vinyl singles and EPs like that for awhile.

If they do well, I can compile them onto CDs later.

The Weirdos are an LA punk band from way-y-y back.

They released only vinyl singles for twenty years before they put out their first full-length album.

“Weird Al” Yankovic says that he will no longer release full length albums.

He is only doing singles now.

It seems like that is the direction that the music industry will be going, eventually.

I haven’t been in a record store for years.

So, it is a little tough for me to gauge.

♛ ★★★★★★★★★☆★☆★☆★☆☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★★★★★★★★★ ♛

I am probably gonna upgrade my my video capture software and get a chromakey program added to it.

I need to get a green screen or some fluorescent green paint.

I have a few leftover projector screens that I could paint if I had something for fabric, that wouldn’t crack and peel off.

Hello!

Video Mike Nobody alternative, america, anxiety, art, atheism, autobiography, blues, country, creativity, depression, detroit, diy, electronica, entertainment, experimental, funk, gospel, grunge, guitarists, hardcore punk, harsh noise, heavy metal, independent, Influences, internet, jazz, LGBT, LGBTQIA+, liberal, libertarian, life, lo-fi, mash-up, mashup, metal, michigan, Mike Nobody, Movie, movies, music, musique concrete, new wave, noise, noise rock, north america, outsider art, outsider music, Pen Pals, plunderphonics, pop, pop art, prog, progressive rock, psychedelia, punk, punk rock, puppets, R&B, rock, rockabilly, sample, sci-fi, science fiction, stupidity, united states of america, usa, video, vlogging, vocalists, zines , , , , , , ,
“All the various styles are organically connected to one another. I’m an additive person—the entire storehouse of my knowledge informs everything I do. People are so obsessed with the surface that they can’t see the connections, but they are there.” ~ John Zorn

“Cute, cool, and creepy”, is how I have been described by some folks.

Usually, I am classified by my contemporaries as an outsider artist-musician.

Davin Brainard (time Stereo) and Warren DeFever (His Name Is Alive) shared their observation about me that I don’t intentionally TRY to be perceived as weird, I just naturally AM, making comparisons to Wesley Willis and Daniel Johnston. I guess that I will just go along with those descriptions.

Outsider Artist / Musician;

  • Music, Art, and Zines
  • Videos, Movies, and Multi-Media
  • Voice, Tapes, and Noise
  • Bass, Baritone, and other Guitars
  • Keyboards, Computers, and Custom Instruments
  • Plunderphonics, Electronics and Junk Percussion

I enjoy creating what I usually refer to as “Prog-Punk Noise-Rock”, kind of a strange postmodern pastiche of styles mixed together. I have collaborated with plenty of other artists over the years with wide degrees of proficiency in many genres.

I have been obsessively into art and music my whole life; drawing, painting, playing with tape recorders and making noise. I built my first guitar from a badly beaten-up body & neck that I found in someone’s trash. A friend’s dad gave me the electrical guts from an unknown 1950’s guitar. Additional parts were improvised from pieces of found junk and purchased from a music store.

When I was a twelve year old kid, back in the 1980’s, I was just a runt of the Detroit hardcore punk / heavy metal scene . Lacking enough money to buy any good equipment, I purchased a cheap microphone at a pawn shop, built a homemade mic stand, and passed myself off as a vocalist. I sang in whatever groups that I could find, gaining experience and learning whatever that I could. Mostly, it was shitty cover bands, playing in basements, getting yelled at by uninvited drunks that we suck. Eventually, I improved my bass & guitar skills, playing in many short-lived groups that went nowhere.

I was a writer / photographer for The Jam Rag, a widely-read local music paper, while still a teenager and made friends with other artists along the way. During the 1990’s I was a cameraman, roadie, and occasional collaborator with Princess Dragon-Mom, Mog Stunt Team, His Name Is Alive, etc.. I also performed in a few experimental noise groups; Edible Audio (with drummer Mick Stone of 500 ft of Pipe) and Bionics (with John Nevermind of Fresh Farm Raised Catfish), etc.

The Island of Misfit Noise began in the summer of 1998 with only Mystic MarshaKat and myself. She played keyboards & guitar. I played bass & guitar. Both of us were former members of N2-Submission, backing band for The Impaler “Detroit’s Vampire Poet.” Our duo’s name changed a couple of times, before settling on the IOMN.  Other musicians came and went during a period of 15 years, with she & I being the only constant members of the group. She also left in early 2013. MarshaKat and I remain friends. She may continue to assist in some capacity, just not as a full-time band member.

I resurrected the IOMN as a recording project in late 2014, with collaborators from Michigan to Australia. We exchanged material back-and-forth until some music was completed. The style that we made is very freeform. A few collaborators from the IOMN have joined me in other projects.

MickeyBugsBand_1

♛ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ Prog ☆ Punk 🐱 Noise ☆ Rock ☆ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ♛

Some of my current projects;

  • Island of Misfit Noise began in 1998 as a musical group, with a constantly rotating membership. It has since evolved into, generally, a “Mike Nobody Collaboration Project”, expanding into; music videos, film-making, performance art, and comic books. I will continue to add material to this as I go along, with additional contributors.
  • Theee Urban SpaceCat (Cassette-Zine) is a publication of my artwork, ramblings, stories, correspondences, miscellaneous found objects, music, commentary, and anything else packaged with a cassette tape of my recordings (compact disc optional)… whatever they may be. It is an outlet for all of my artistic endeavors, combined into one package, modeled after decades of correspondence with my friends.
  • Mike Damn Nobody is my experimental noise project; incorporating tape loops, circuit-bending, custom instruments, and anything else available. Recordings are available on RecycleTapes (cassettes that are handmade from repurposed materials) and digital download formats.
  • MykNobody is a handle sometimes used when I am Painting, Drawing, creating Visual Art, etc.

This post was a little long, containing influences, gear, personal info, etc.. It has been relocated to About / FAQ / Press – Details.

Subscribe to this blog and I will show & tell you more about the past, present, and future. If you want to check out upcoming events or new stuff available, and get some freebies, add yourself onto the mailing list in the sidebar. There is also a Ko-Fi fundraising link there for anybody who wants to support my creative efforts.

Thanks!

Mike Nobody =^.^=