This is the title track from Whiskey Nights.  Originally it was harsh take on the political environment we live in, especially during the last 4 years.  I took a fresh look at when I went to record it for this compilation and changed it to be less political and more about life.  Also, I added a ton of new instrumentation that gave it a fresh popping groove.  Enjoy a little Whiskey Night.  Now to go and write the final track for this project.

Whiskey Night

This song was written new for this collection and was inspired by Eddie Haddad's Rhythm and Lead course at Guitar Mastery Method.  I wrote this around the time of Chris Cornell's death anniversary and was inspired by his vocal sound and the grunge factor.  I mixed that with some inspiration from The Tragically Hip and how they always have two guitars playing against each other in different sides of the mix, but they always work together.  Lyrically, this is a story of love lost, and using the idea of drowning in the sun as a way to cleanse and move on.  Not sure this was inspired by anything in real life, but I like the story told and the  idea of never giving up.

Drowned By The Sun

This is the newest track written in response to the continuing saga of lunatics and total disregard for science and fact.  It is true, these are the people who stop the rest of us from living as normal a life as we can.  They toy with their Gods and think it is just fine.  The truth is, they are bringing on The End of the World, not in the physical sense but in the ways that the rest of us have to change the way we can live so they can be free to play chicken with a global pandemic.

End Of The World

This is the start of my musical tribute to my mom who died in Feb of 2022.  This collection of songs is my therapy and as I slowly record all of the songs I have written, I hope to be able to weave this all into a story about our relationship and what she meant to me.  

The first four songs are now here including the new song, When the World Comes Crashing Down."  The three previous tracks have all been remixed and remastered with an updated mastering suite for consistency and to fix things that I thought were cool that annoyed me as I went on.  Enjoy these and share, comment, like if you want or hate them too.  This is art for arts sake for me.  Thanks for the listens

Numb

When The World Comes Crashing Down

Where We Belong

Living The Dream

I was literally sitting in a bar in Boston, thinking about my life.  I had a song that I wrote for this collection called Ghosts, but it needed something and what that was, was the first verse that I wrote in that bar in Boston.

Ghosts In My Head

This is a story about when my mom tossed me out of the house after a fight with her boyfriend.  It was an important moment for me as it started me on a journey to be the person I would become, focused, drive with the ability to always find a way.  I lived upstairs in a shitty apartment in Buffalo NY., with barely any heat and a bathroom that was less than attractive.  She knew better than me that I needed a wakeup call and putting me in this place was the start of something that made me the success I am today.  PS.  She hated that I was so focused on music way back then.  She was actually proud of the recordings I was making over the last 4 years and she played them for her friends.

I Live Upstairs

This is track 7 from my tribute to my mom who died in Feb of 2022.  This is my most complex recording to date.  It's the story of my love of music and my mom's ambivalence to it. It winds through loss and emotions turned celebratory when I cry out Bury Me Above Ground so I can still feel the music.  I hope you enjoy, share and play it.  I don't do this for anyone but me but I really appreciate real humans who listen and like.

Mom's Spaghetti

Bury Me Above Ground

This is a track that is based in the world we live in today.  We have never been so divided and it is  looking like there is no other way.  It's a take on social media keyboard warriors and those that immediately say right when someone says left.  This is the story of all of us that are Living a Life that is Damned.

Living A Life that's Damned

I wrote this a few years ago as millennials were getting crushed and blamed for being themselves.  I realized it wasn't just them that were lazy, drunk, stupid and out of touch.  This is the story of a Generation Lost

Whiskey Nights

Generation Lost

This is a song I wrote years ago but never liked the arrangement or the recording so I broke it down, updated the lyrics and I think it is a lot more relevant in the world we live in today.  Each verse tells a separate story of how thoughts and actions transition to the seemingly ordinary in the mind of the teller.  This is Ordinary Guy or my life in a nutshell.

Ordinary Guy

This is a new song that talks about getting pushed to your limits and planning an escape.  It's not about a real scenario but it a compilation of ideas that all were wrapped in this theme,

I'm Gone

This is my take on the year 2020.  I didn't have a lyrical idea when I wrote this.  In fact this is the first song I wrote music first and waited for the inspiration.  I'm not sure I got an inspiration.  Instead, I think I had a stream of consciousness thing that just poured through my fingers into the keyboard and a Word doc.  It isn't happy, in fact it feels dark, but I think that is offset by some hope in the lyrics.

Dying In The Light

This song grew from an assignment at Guitar Mastery Method where I am learning how to play more confident and better lead.  It was one of the first assignments in The Ultimate Guitar Blueprint class and was to write something creative.  When I first played around with this I had no idea what it was going to be.  It was a simple set of chords played slow and sounded really dark.   From there it changed keys, added words, melody, harmony and instrumentation and became this.  Lyrically, I think this is a great sing along song with a simple message and purpose that will let you forget about all of the issues of the day and the world.   It's A Simple Song.  Feel free to Sing it Loud

A Simple Song

This is truly the simple version of A Simple Song.  I've stripped this down to the original idea and acoustic part, added the bass and vocals with a tambourine.  This will be a bonus track with Whiskey Nights.

A Simple Song (Simple Version) Bonus Track

This is my art for arts sake page.  I have been playing cover tunes in bands across the country for years.  One day, I wrote a song.  Then I wrote a CD (It was bad).  Then I got to Covid and had some time, some new tech and some great guitar lessons from Guitar Mastery Method.  That is where Whiskey Nights came from.  Now I am working on my next project called Mom's Spaghetti.  I am building on what I have done and trying to be better at recording, engineering, mixing and mastering.  Oh, the writing and playing too.  Enjoy.  Share if you want to as well.  I play all the instruments, sing everything write, arrange, record and master.  I also love every minute of it.  

Thanks for listening.

Kevin Michaels

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