About_Old

As a military brat living overseas musical inspiration came to me in the form of 45′s played at pool side or in the teen clubs: “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks, “Paul Revere and the Raiders doing “Kicks”, the Hollies “Carousel” and “Bus Stop”, “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys and of course all things Beatle. Later at night I’d hang over at the Freeman’s where there would be a soul and R & B hit fest with James Brown, the Temptations and the “Wicked Pickett”. I was moved but I had no clue.

A few moves later as a teen in Virginia “Led Zep II”, “Through the Past Darkly” and “Are You Experienced” happened and I was compelled to pick up a guitar.

Fast forward to Radford College where an art degree was no hindrance in forming “Nasty Habits” later changing into “the Twist” as punk became new wave. Some college air play led to a couple hundred gigs or more in places as obscure and far-flung as Cleveland, Ohio (not the home of rock ‘n’ roll at the time), Blacksburg, Va. and Columbia, S.C., headlining opening for acts like R.E.M., the Suburbs, Translator, N.R.B.Q., and other acts even more forgettable.

I came to my senses (or lost my mind depending on what side of the rock fence the reader is sitting on) when the band moved to D.C. (basically to chase our girlfriends) and got a corporate gig selling an early form of (pre-internet) network access. The guitar was never down for long and I used my ill-gotten gains to finance an 8-track home recording studio recording my band “The High Llamas” (no, not the U.K. H.L.’s) and local faves “Mother May I”, “Radio Blue”, “Big Black Nun”, and other acts that will also never be forgotten. Some of these acts even made to the “Major” leagues proving that track count is no substitute for major rock action.

Of course I paid no heed to this myself when I decided to get 32 tracks of Adat, quit my job (I couldn’t relocate to New Jersey-I hate the Giants) and do the studio full-time.

Immersed in the pleasure and pain of protools I now continue to champion song, vibe and substance (not substance abuse, that was earlier) over technology although I gear geek with the best of them.

Mike Harvey
A c t i o n d a l e