The Real Memphis Mike (don't settle for imitations)

I've only ever copped one guitar solo from a record. I prefer to improvise, and this goes back to when I first started playing. I doubt I'd ever even heard of improvising at the time. I'd already tried my hand at various instruments, to varying degrees of success. I started on piano. Too much sitting still. I tried violin but for some reason, after a few weeks I was pushed to the cello. This was fine by me...until I broke a cello. So I next opted for something a bit more durable. TRUMPET! (coronet, to be precise) I enjoyed this but again, my thoughts on the subject were never really involved in the equation. Our school's marching band had quite a reputation, and my brother played tuba, so it was assumed I too would excel on tuba. Wrong. 2 or 3 weeks in and I skipped my happy ass out of the school band.  Next up was drums. Having spent most of my childhood listening to classical music, I was starting to pay attention to songs on the radio, or stuff I heard blaring from m...

I've been gigging professionally (meaning I get paid to do it) since 1979. Some shows were better than others, some days I got paid more than others. But a gig is a gig. If you're a musician and you're getting paid to do your thing, it's pretty awesome. For large parts of the 1980s, I made my living gigging. I was mostly playing in punk and rockabilly bands, but as you can guess, that's only ever gonna pay so many bills. So, I played in country, Top 40, funk, wedding bands, whatever was paying. I did some session work when I could. That's a particularly tough gig to get. Unless you live in NYC, Chicago, or LA, your options on that are limited.  When I was 19, a drummer friend called me about playing bass in a blues band. Let me tell you, Ohio in the mid 1980s was not exactly a hotbed of blues music. Even with the popularity of SRV and the Fab T-Birds at the time, there were surprisingly few blues bands. As a lifelong blues fan, I was definitely interested. One o...

 The Killer is gone but he'll never be forgotten. A friend and I have had a decades-long, friendly, dispute over who was the real 'king of rock & roll', Elvis or Jerry Lee Lewis? * My friend is a diehard Elvis fan. Not quite one of the 'Elvis People' , as my old friend Billy Poore and I would say (meaning the cult-like followers who, to this day, believe he's alive and may well be the 2nd coming of the Lord) but fanatical enough to overlook the over-the-top ridiculousness of Elvis' post Army career. I mean really, the bulk of those movies were trash. The music was just as bad. "Do The Clam" and "Edge of Reality" come to mind. Sure, he had a few good songs here and there ("Burning Love" and "Suspicious Minds" were both great!) but the majority of it was a snoozefest. Elvis could have claimed the crown and held on to it if he hadn't been so good at following orders. He always had someone to tell him what to do a...

 They say you should write what you know. OK, sure. If there's one thing, I know it's this: I know and/or have known a lot of cats called 'rockabillies'.  I've never once in my life sat down to write a song about anything in particular or anyone in particular. The few times, early in my writing career, that I did try to write a song about a particular person, place, or time...it never went anywhere. So, I stopped doing that. Oh sure, I might get a line or two written, but the song would just be a snooze. Or I'd find a cool riff or a nice lick and pfft...no words. I decided to let the songs find me. One, it's easier that way. Two, I've found that if it gets stuck in my head, more'n likely a song will get stuck in someone else's head. By now I've probably written a few hundred songs. Most have only ever been heard by me and maybe, just maybe, one of the cats or dogs I've cohabitated with over the years. I was about 19 or 20 when I decided t...

*Note: People have said for years I should write a book. In reality, I'm too lazy and not interested in disturbing the sleeping demons. In the meantime, I'll occasionally post blurbs like this. - MM  I like writing/playing/listening to instrumental music. Lyrics often, to me, get in the way of the song itself. In writing an instrumental, the toughest choice is what to call the piece of music. I rarely think about it until it's finished. Then, I consciously try to keep from sounding pathetically self-important. Music should be fun. The trick is to write and play with emotion without bogging down the listener with your bullshit. I recorded an instrumental piece on my BFTD album. Up until we were getting to release it, the song had no title other that "Jazzy Thing in D". That's how we discussed it in the band. 'Hey, let's do that jazzy thing in D again'  It was eventually released as "The Incredibly Swingy Jazzy Thing in D" simply because I ...

 To hear my friends tell it, they're all going to hell. As they all keep leaving me behind, I get the feeling the joint's gonna be full before I get there. Now before anyone throws in their two cents worth on the subject of death, dying and the afterlife, you can just stop. Having once been declared dead, I have a bit of unique perspective and a minor level of expertise. Many have asked me "What happens?" Simply put, I don't have the words to describe it, but I can tell you, it ain't the crap you see on TV or read about in your favorite periodical. I buried my dad earlier this week. I feel like I'm failing at grief at this point. He was just shy of 88 years old. He'd lived a long life, and more importantly I guess, he lived it the way he wanted to. I think I should feel sadder than I do. We were never as close as I would have liked, but he was still my dad. If you think you're going to read horror stories about a shitty childhood, sorry, not happ...

 Most people know I enjoy a cold beer on occasion. Some think that I live on bourbon. Not unlike my youth when most people viewed me under the misconception that I was forever high (I've never particularly cared for smoking weed) the notion that I drink a lot is more myth than actuality.   Back in my younger days, however, if you saw me out and about, I was probably drinking. If I was doing a show, I was drinking. In the studio working on a session, I was probably having a few. If you saw me in a bar, I was definitely on my way to blitzville.   I wouldn't say I had a drinking problem as much as it was a way to deal with boredom, anxiety, and being stuck in a small town in a shitty, bigoted, redneck state. I've never done well with small towns, and I can honestly say that I've never much cared for the state of Ohio. Sure, I have family there that I love, and I have some dear friends there that I also love but...the state as a whole has never been a good fit for m...

 You might be an asshole. You might not. You might be an asshole one minute and not one the next. There are times when I'm an asshole. In fact, it's a running joke between my better half and myself. I'll often say to her, "Babe, your old man is really an asshole." She'll usually laugh, agree, and then ask, "What did you do now?" I don't try to be an asshole. I guess you could say it comes naturally. I try to be kind, and understanding, and tolerant. But...some days I'll see or hear something so blatantly ignorant or ridiculous that the asshole in me comes bubbling to the surface. Some days I'm amazed at my ability to contain the asshole in me. Today is one of those days, although, it's still early. This morning, a friend, out of the blue, started messaging me diabetes memes. As a diabetic, I've pretty much seen all of them. Especially the Wilfred Brimley ones. When I was diagnosed with diabetes, I started up The Wilfred Brimley So...

 If you've been playing along with the home version, you already know what all's been going on. For everyone else, here's an update. On February 5, 2022, I performed my last ever show with my band MEMPHIS MIKE & THE LEGENDARY TREMBLERS. After 27 years, thousands of shows, a number of recordings, and achieving more than I ever thought possible, it was time to call it a day. Aside from the rock & roll fun and excitement, there was also a lot of headaches, heartache and drama. Life, in general. Over a quarter century of my life fronting the same band, doing mostly my own songs. Don't get me wrong...it was great! I wouldn't change a second of it, but it wasn't without its downsides.   In 2001 I was treated for cancer.  In 2002 I was declared dead for 7 minutes and spent a week or so in a coma. I got a good album title out of it though... In 2006 I had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized.  In 2007 I suffered a massive heart attack, was essentially forced...