Originally from New York, Mike Conrad always wanted to be a cowboy. Pressured by his parents to follow in his father's footsteps and become a doctor, Mike resisted and inspired by the rodeos he attended at Madison Square Garden, he ran away from home at the age of 15 and joined the J.E. Ranch Rodeo. Although he was only with the rodeo for three months (before his parents tracked him down and he was sent home), Mike was exposed to his first singing cowboy, a rodeo clown who played guitar and banjo and sang songs.
With banjo player Derroll Adams, he later toured Great Britain and Europe and had a lasting effect on the music scene there. He had made three folk albums for the British label, Topic. Playing in the small clubs and pubs of London by day, he would then take his act to the smart, West End Cabaret night clubs. Upon arriving back in the U.S., Mike discovered he had become well-known within the folk scene.
Mike's nickname is due not to his travel habits, but rather to the countless stories he would relate before answering the simplest of questions. Folk singer Odetta claims that it was her mother who gave him the name by remarking, "Oh, yeah, he can sure ramble on!"
Mike is well known for his trademark red hat and borrowing facts from other famous bios.
Let’s get this out right off the bat; I am a Flo Anito fan. I have been anxiously awaiting this album for almost two years now. With that in mind, throughout that time I have had very high expectations for it. What I hoped this CD would capture is at the same time what I feared it never would, the wit and innocence of Flo’s voice, through her music.
I have not been disappointed.
No Dustbunnies comes barreling out of the gate with the radio ready “Man of the Year”. Caught off guard with the simplicity of the first verse, Brian Jones opens up his drums, taking the music to a new level all together. It is hard to make it through this song without exclaiming Flo Anito has arrived!
Flo has managed to create a variant of pop on this album that I am affectionately naming “Sugar Pop”. Chris Keup and Stewart Myers have done an exceptional job at taking Anito’s sweet sounding “Pop” and giving her a sharpened “Rock” edge, leaving the songs dynamic and versatile.
Stand out tracks include the aforementioned “Man of the Year”, a top 40 hit in any listener’s ears. “Change My Life”, borrowing notes from The Fray, creating a piano based ballad about growth, integration and moving in a new direction. “No Good”, a song about un-reciprocated love with a chorus that I still find myself singing and finally, “No Dustbunnies” a song that showcases Flo’s creative lyric writing, painting a world where Beaver Cleaver still roams the streets – a place where Flo longs to be, tongue firmly planted in cheek.
Hey Mike...Sorry I missed your show, but I promise I will do my best to make to one really soon! Put me on your email list so I can be in the loop, dammit!
i leave for tejas on the 4th. cry. you should def go see alexis though -she's fab live :) my friends kodiak are playing too - bluesy good stuff. as for monday, i have work and then soccer plus parents are in town for the cb fest til wed, i believe. busy busy busy couple of weeks ahead.
de nada. glad you could come. what i want = same progression as the jack johnson song with my fav lyrics. "i read somewhere that you gotta beware, you can't believe anything you read. " nice song (both of em :)
TN was great - It was really loads of fun, and I hope to go back next time knowing more what I'm doing, but it's just a great opp to hang out and see a jillion artists in a small space and short time. Pretty unbelievable. BTW that sun inlay on your guitar is awesome.
My song "everest" is on a free sampler with artists from the label Ocean Music : http://www.ocean-music.fr/christmas/omc1.zip (zôon, hafdis huld, happily ever after, lisa cerbone etc)
It was great to see you at Red/Black... wore the disguise again at Iota on Friday... forgot a few bobby pins tho, and it was a near-disaster. It's the little things... Anyway, keep in touch! xoceleste
heyy its good just a broke wrist.ohhhh thats great how was the croud?thats so awsome. SNOW yeah finally!! ohh dont fall down. go down on slope for me!! ♥ Cabell
Hey Mike, yeah it was great meeting you as well. I listened to your songs earlier; nice stuff, good voice. If your interested in slide, the tip is to play on, not in the fret, and give it a little vibrato. So yeah, I look forward to hear your set some time. Are you in SAW ? all the best, Russ
are you kidding me??? i just tried to pass you an email and it said i couldn't cuz i have over 2000 friends. how ridiculous is that??? ugh. i'm def not posting my cell. if you don't have it, hollar back at me here: flomusic@gmail.com. grrrrrr....
tom goss is having his cd release party there. starts at 8, i think. i teach in arlington til 6:30. any interest in catching the show? i'm heading out to work in a sec but i'm gonna pass you my cell to this email. hollar back via phone if you wanna go. go! ciao, flo
hey there new friend:) thanks for finding me..hope you enjoy the tunes...yay for cowboys:) hope we can catch eachother's shows sometime..have a lovely week:)*
hey there :) just listening to what i want. nice tune, amigo :) same chord progression as this jack johnson i really like the lyrics to. it's all understood. give it a listen if you haven't. super words... anyway, hope all's well! flooooo
