3/10/10 | Posted by Mike comments | Mike The HJ
Yes, it's America's favorite Karoke contest. For me it's just good televison. I understand the obvious issues people (mainly my fellow musicians) have with idol. Fake, plastic, fluffy, beautiful people, with not much as far as artist integrity goes float around a stage, giving seductive looks to cameras and sing to self important judges and white suburban american whoevers. What the hell do I like about the show again? Oh yah, first of all, say what you will, but there is some true vocal talent on that show. Also, the pure bravery that goes into singing karoke in front of millions, impressive. I have no stage fright or fear in performing the bands music on stage, but put me on the mic at Barnburners Bar and Grill in the suburbs and I will shake like and sweat like I'm dying. "Next up, here's Mike Hj singing the Brian Adams classic Everything I do, I do it for you, give it up for him!" God, I'm sweating and shaking just thinking about it.
One last rant about my beloved singing competition... I CANNOT STAND the singers in the audition rounds who cry their eyes out when they aren't selected saying things like "I really wanted to be a star" or "this was my chance, now what I do with my life" SERIOUSLY, you didn't get selected for a reality game show and it's the end of the road for your singing career? If you really love it and want it in your life, you put a bleeping band together and you work your ass off!! You make demos, you perform wherever you can, you do what my bandmates and I have been doing for years!! It's a really tough business, and sure if Simon Cowell and Fox can fastforward you to superstardom in a few months, great! Or else you do what we do in ST and unsigned bands and artists all over the place. You spend your money, time, blood, sweat and tears because you love it and making money or a careeer out of it would just be a really sweet bonus, like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. You get a thrill over someone buying your record of singing your lyrics at a show. You get a ton of satisfaction not only from the thought of being rockstars, but all the fun you have trying to be rockstars.
With all that being said, I still love the show. Guys perform tonight, I have a couple strong favorites, If you care, tune in next week for some in depth analysis and speculation.
Mike Hj.....out
3/8/09 | Posted by Mike Hjelden comments | Mike The HJ
Hi friends. We have completed drum and bass tracks for 6 songs. We did a pre-production session tonight and another coming on Wednesday. After that it's scratch tracks for 4 more songs. For those of you unfamiliar to studio terminology. A scratch track is a preliminary vocal track that sounds very scratchy like John Meloncamp or Gavin Rossdale. When you go to lay down the real vocal track, you stop singing so god damn scratchy! Anyway, the record is rolling along like an 18 wheeler delivering our new born child. Producer/engineer Drew is doing an awesome job. Danger has worn his little star wars costume to the studio one time, Jordan has played the drums in it one time, I have urinated on it twice. D has consumed animal bi-products at the studio 0 times. I have had Chipotle 3 times. Danger has had at least 2 taco salads. Dubs has suggested using the words crouton and piston in song lyrics 5 times. We have forced Drew to playback songs using a T-Pain/Cher effect on the vocals 11 times. We have giggled while listening to said effect 10 times. The 11th time we we're seriously considering using the effect on the record. We have used the word sick describing Jordans drum parts and Dangers gasciousness several times. (see taco salad statistic above) Drew has told off color and unfunny jokes about the special olympics 0 times, we're still working on that with him.
We're dying to play you some of this stuff live at St Clouds "The Red Carpet" on March 27th. Hope some of you can make it. An ST/Ready Goes billing will be worth the short trip, I promise!
Much Love, I'm out........Mike
12/4/08 | Posted by Mike Hjelden comments | Mike The HJ
To me it can't get much better than writing songs and getting ready to hit the studio. One of my favorite things about the music "business" is the creative process. Late last Thursday night, Aaron, Dan, and myself had one of those magical nights where everything we tried to do musically was working. A bridge became a chorus, a different chorus got put aside for later, a single note change transformed the entire feel of a song, it was just clicking! We keep going on and on about this new record we're working on, there's a reason for it. We have hope that people will love these songs as much as we do. Our sound is maturing and changing. It's like puberty, but the cool parts of puberty, not the Peter Brady style voice cracks and the embarassing and untimely boner parts of puberty! We crank away at this stuff, it gets stuck in my head, and stays there for days. I love it. If you're not down with catchy, contagious style melodies and choruses, please, don't buy it. Hell, don't even it sample it on my space. You wont get the songs out of your head and you will be pissed at us! Anyway, we can't wait for you to hear this stuff and hope it catches on like Michael Jackson's Thriller, or Frampton Comes Alive, (did he ever do a studio album?)
eternally greatful for your support and friendship
Mike Hj
