Is there ever an ideal time?

Soooo... how are you? How's your year starting off? Good, I hope... As usual, it's been awhile since you've heard from me, and I'd LIKE to say it's for some brilliant, larger-than-life reason... maybe that, unbeknownst to me, a wealthy aunt decided I'm her favorite and gifted me a small island off the coast of Dubai... or maybe a group of friends took it upon themselves to rally support and get me elected US Ambassador to Papua New Guinea... buuuuut... unfortunately, that isn't the case. Just life. Same as I'm sure it is with you, life seems to go by in a blur, and I woke up today thinking 'wait... it can't POSSIBLY be February already...?' But, oh yes. Yes, it can. Which means, six weeks have passed, and I'm already behind on my big plans for the new year. Awesome. :)

Anyway, I digress. The point of this message isn't to bemoan the passing of time but rather to acknowledge that I've finally figured out what my problem is. (no comments, please... I'm making a point here. :) Ok, so, here it is... I'm always waiting for the IDEAL time. The ideal time to post a blog... the ideal time to release an album... the ideal time to start on my taxes... (mmmm... I'll take 'never' for $500 please, Alex. :) Seriously, I live in a world of romantic ideals, and whereas that idealistic nature drives a lot of my music... it's a bad way to do business. And, an even worse way to keep in touch with you. So, rather than giving you the usual 'here's when I'll be releasing X' (and quite possibly letting you down on that), let's just say that moving forward... I'm gonna surprise you. New music. Video blogs. Shorter newsletters... (again... no comments, please. :) As long as you're ok with more rough edges, I'll fight my perfectionist nature and put things out more often. Deal?

Ok, so, before I go, I did want to give you a quick update on a couple of things. First, as to the monthly releases... I'm really sorry for stopping them so abruptly. The reason was, quite simply, that you kept asking for the full album. :) Seriously, I got a flood of emails saying 'Love the clip of the new song! Can't wait until the album comes out so I can buy it!' For all the time and effort that went into releasing each song individually, I'm back to thinking a full album just makes more sense. Not surprisingly, I've always favored that approach, but given the way most people buy music these days (song by song), I figured you'd prefer the latter. Nope. I underestimated that you'd actually want to buy all the songs... sorry for that. I'm now back to working on the album as a whole, and at some point, I'll surprise you with the release date. :)

Secondly, for awhile now, I've been meaning to thank the people at ASCAP for asking me to be part of their songwriters workshop. Because of their generosity, I spent the better part of October and November traveling back and forth to LA to meet with producers and publishers, write with some really talented songwriters/artists, etc. It's been a LONG time since I've done any co-writing, and it was an amazing experience to focus on writing songs for other artists and styles. I'm honored they included me, and I'll definitely keep you posted as we finish some of the songs...

So, that's it for now. I hope you're doing great, and if you live in DC or Baltimore... yeeeeeeeeeaaaaah... hang in there. At least you'll be able to go sledding well into July, right? :)

Gavin


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Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas...

Ok. So, you haven't heard from me in over two months, and as such, I sat down yesterday to write you one very long, very detailed update as to what I've been doing recently... but, did I, in fact, write you said update? No. And, why, you ask? Because I quickly realized two things... First... the holiday season is fully upon us now, and you probably wanna read a long, detailed account of my recent life about as much as you want the credit card bill arriving in your mailbox January 1st. :) Second (and more importantly), I've been completely MIA on my monthly releases the past two months, and I figured what you'd RATHER have... is new music. (HUUUUUUUUGE apologies for dropping the ball on the monthlies, by the way - I promise I'll fill you in on that soon)

So, that said... I spent yesterday recording a Christmas song for ya:



http://christmas.gavinmikhail.com

(as always, if you get it through that link, you can choose either a cd or mp3-quality download)

Because the song was a spontaneous thing, it's ONLY AVAILABLE through my store (not iTunes, etc.). So, yes, you have to use your credit card. But, let's be honest here... it costs next to nothing and your credit card probably hasn't found it's way BACK into your wallet for a month now... So, what's one more purchase? Especially in the name of Christmas? Hmmm? :)

Ok, so I'll leave it at that for now... I hope you're having an amazing holiday season, and if you're still awake at 4am on Christmas Eve... feel free to gimme a call. I'll most definitely still be up putting together bunk beds, a bike, and various other not-so-easily-assembled things for Christmas morning. (oh, how I wanna be a kid again... being a grown-up is too much work :)

Gavin


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New song - "Beyond You"

Hey there - hope you're having a great weekend...

So, we just released my new single "Beyond You" - you can listen to the song HERE.




...and if you purchase through that link (the Gavin Mikhail Store), you can choose either a cd or mp3-quality download (both versions also include cover art and lyrics).

The song is also available through iTUNES and AMAZON.

Two quick things to mention... First off, thank you SO MUCH for your response to my request for artwork submissions. More than a hundred of you offered up your artwork/photography for the cover, and quite frankly, I was blown away by your level of interest. Thank you... In the end, Kristina and I went with a painting by an artist named Marios Trichas - based in Greece, Mario's artwork is stunning, and I'm honored he allowed us to use it. If you have a free minute, I highly recommend checking out some of his additional paintings/photography HERE.

(side note... because I'll be releasing a new song at least every month from now on, there will be MANY more opportunities for your work to be used. We're already lining up the artwork for the next two releases, so if you're interested and haven't already submitted, please contact Kristina Katrus at kristina@gavinmikhail.com)

Ok, so the second thing is that this song is the first full-production track from our trip to Peter Gabriel's studios. Given that I've released a lot of acoustic work over the past six months, I figured it was high time to return to the big sound of my first two records. :) Huge credit goes Jeremy Lutito (drums), Paul Rippee (bass), and John Nathaniel (guitars/keyboards). From a production standpoint, John especially shaped so much of the overall sound of the song. From his layered guitar work to vocal effects to mixing and mastering the track, he did an amazing job, and I'm so thankful he offered to work on it. If you have a free minute, you can hear more of his work as both an artist and producer on his MYSPACE PAGE and PRODUCER WEBSITE. Thanks, John...

So, that's it for now. You'll get an update on my songwriting trips to LA soon, but for now, thanks for listening, and if you have a free minute to leave an iTunes or Amazon review, I'd really appreciate it...

Thanks again, and have a great rest of the weekend!

Gavin

ps - we recently re-uploaded the video blogs from Peter Gabriel's studios, and you can see the tracking of 'Beyond You' HERE.


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My son, the party, and the lost files...

Ok... if you're someone who likes to get right to it, I'll start this email off by letting you know that we've decided to bump this Thursday's song release 'Beyond You' to NEXT Thursday, October 15th. I apologize in the BIGGEST POSSIBLE WAY for the schedule change, but given the unusual circumstances (detailed in the story below), hopefully you'll understand... Ok, that said, onto the story we go... :)

So, over the past couple weeks, we've been wrapping up the first new full-production release, and this past Saturday was spent putting the finishing touches on the vocals. Around 4 o'clock, happy with how everything was sounding and ready to take a break, I decided to call it a day and go get ready for a birthday party friends of ours were having for their daughter (side note: nothing says 'party' like a 2-year-old Disney princess themed soiree... awesome... :). At any rate, as I was shutting down the studio, I figured I'd backup the files, a process that usually takes about 5-6 minutes. So I hit start, turned around, and headed up the stairs. Encountering my 2-year-old son, Renn, about halfway up the stairs, he glanced at me as if to simply say 'Hey Dad... just headin' down to the office... got some paperwork to catch up on...' Now USUALLY... I never let him go down to the studio by himself. Between the drumkit, piano, and various other pieces of gear, there are about a thousand things for him to destroy. But we were already running late, and since I'm the REASON we're always late, I figured it was more important to just get ready fast and grab him on the way out. And I mean... c'mon... how much could he destroy in 5 minutes anyway? (can you tell where this is going yet?)

Ok, so a few minutes later we're ready to go, and my wife (always leading the charge) is the first one downstairs. In a moment that couldn't possibly have been more slo-mo-movie-esque had it been scripted, I hear Barb shout 'Oh, no NO, Honey! That's Daddy's compuuuuuuuuuuter!' Immediately rushing down the stairs, I see my son, huge smile on his face, banging his hands up and down on the computer keyboard. 'I play piano, Daddy!' he shouts at me in unadulterated glee... Running to my computer (not unlike a gazelle fleeing certain death on the African grassland), I immediately notice something missing... two words... BEYOND YOU. No files. None. Zero. Gone. Now, if you've ever had that moment when you're finishing the last paragraph on a 10-page paper and your computer crashes on you... you know how I felt in that moment. :) My stomach dropped to somewhere around my ankles, and shaking, I began searching frantically for the missing folder. Scanning the hard drive, I noticed that although the folder was THERE... it was much SMALLER than it had been before. i.e... most of the audio files were missing. And, upon opening the project file itself, my worst fears were confirmed. Renn had managed (in what HAS to be a statistically remote combination of keystrokes) to not only stop the transfer midway but summarily delete most of the original song as well.

Sooooo, yeah. Let's just say I didn't make it to the birthday party, and the rest of the weekend was spent trying to recover files and rerecord lost tracks. As I told a close friend last night... love my son, I really do. But right now? Mmmm... not so much. :) At this point, the song is back on track, but we definitely need a bit more time to get it to you. Thanks for your understanding, and if there's any moral you can take away from this story... here it is...

RENN + IMPORTANT THINGS = BROKEN

:)

Gavin

ps - when we have more time, I'll share the Renn-started-the-blender-with-the-top-off or Renn-thinks-colored-glue-enhances-our-white-couches stories. 2-year-old boys... oh so easy to manage. :)


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Your artwork for my next release

Hey there... hope you're having a great Monday...

So, I released a new song a few weeks ago, and as usual, you were unbelievably supportive (thanks for that)... For the cover art, we went with a design originally created for my 'Like Normal People Do' album, but with so many new songs coming out over the next few months, I realized... we're gonna need a lot more artwork. :) Which is where you come in! The next few songs will be released on October 8th, November 12th, and December 10th, and we'd love to use those releases as an opportunity to showcase your work. So, if you're an artist, graphic designer, or photographer, and you'd like your designs/photos to be considered for the cover art, please send an email to Kristina Katrus at kristina@gavinmikhail.com. She and I will be working together to choose the artwork for each new release, and she can explain how to submit a sample of your work.

Thanks again for all your support, and we hope to hear from you soon!

Gavin

ps - if you yourself aren't an artist but know someone who might be interested... please pass this email along! And, if you haven't already seen the artwork from my September 10th release, you can see it HERE.


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New Song - "Wrong About You"

Hey there - hope you're having a great week...

So, as promised, my new single "Wrong About You" came out today...

You can listen to the song HERE



...and if you purchase through that link (the Gavin Mikhail Store), you can choose either a cd or mp3-quality download (both versions include cover art and lyrics).

The song is also available through iTUNES and AMAZON.

I chose to go with an acoustic track for this first single... no reason other than the fact that I thought you might like the acoustic version, and it just felt right to release it. Have no fear, though... new full-production songs (drums/symphonic strings/guitars/etc.) coming soon... :)

As always, thanks for listening, and if you have a free minute to leave an iTunes or Amazon review, I'd really appreciate it...

Thanks again, and have a great rest of the week!

Gavin


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New songs for you...

Ok. So, I gotta say... you've been incredibly patient. Amazing really. I haven't put out any new songs for quite awhile, and yet, you've continued to stay loyal and supportive. As an independent artist, that's an unbelievable gift, and I sincerely hope you know how much it means to me. Seriously, thank you...

So to be perfectly honest, as I started writing this, I wondered... should I explain why it's taken so long? Should I bring you in on the process in order to (somewhat) justify my ever-so-slow release rate? Because yes, I have my reasons why it's taken so long. And, even more so, yes, you're entitled to an explanation... But at this point, none of that really matters, does it? What matters is that I can finally say to you... here ya go. New songs for you. So, yeah... let's just go with that. :)

This coming Thursday, September 10th will mark the start of a new release schedule for me. Something I've never tried before... (haha - yeah, that sounded a bit too Criss Angel Mindfreak... awesome... :)). Anyway, in an effort to make sure you're never again asked to wait three years between releases, I'm giving myself... let's call it... a workout regimen of sorts. :) From now on, I'll be giving you SOMETHING new on the 2nd Thursday of every month - one of the 15 new full-production songs from the Peter Gabriel studios trip... acoustic versions of new songs... live tracks from the Munich and Chicago concerts... SOMETHING. Inbetween the monthly releases, time permitting, I'll be putting out extras - remixes, instrumentals, additional acoustic tracks...

The new material will be available through the usual online outlets - iTUNES, AMAZON, EMUSIC, etc. In addition, the songs will be available through THE GAVIN MIKHAIL STORE both in mp3 format (standard-quality download) as well as in the much higher-quality wav format. (For you non-techno-geeks, a standard-quality mp3 song file is about 4mb... a cd-quality wav of the same song is about 40mb. Both playable from any computer, ipod, etc.)

So, that's it. For a more in-depth explanation of this new release schedule and how it came about, you can read my recent interview with Musicnotes on the MUSICNOTES BLOG.

Thanks again for everything.

Gavin

ps - if English isn't your primary language, you can now read these newsletters in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. Just choose your preferred translation in the upper right hand corner.


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MYSPACE