2015 - What a year!!!!

Well, Well, Well!!!!

How did that happen? How did a whole year pass by so quickly? I am dumbstruck. Yet, it seems to have happened. I am assuming it is not because I haven't been paying attention but because I have simply had a busy year.


Photo Credit Diana Dumbadse Photography

It was a landmark year for me. 14 countries, 2 x 50th birthday parties, 1 new house, 1 new company and 0 new recordings!!!

First of all I am sorry for not getting my act together to get a new album to you. I am seriously distracted by so much other stuff. I am not going to promise anything but my intention is to record this year. I have designs on a special project and if I can get it started in the coming month or two then we should have something ready for you later in the year.

i really should've gotten it done this year, but you see this year I decided to stop and smell the roses...well not exactly stop as this is something I have not been able to do, ever.  No, I slowed down somewhat to do some travelling. Sure, I had international concerts that brought me to the neighborhood and while I was there i took some time out and hiked, strolled, ate, drank and laughed my way through Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia, Sri Lanka and many more.

My favorite stop this year and any other year, for that matter, was Cambodia. It made it's way into my heart very quickly with temples, spicy food, hiking in the jungle, cold beers at the setting sun but mostly the gentle beautiful people. I cannot wait to get back there.



I headed to Ireland a few times as usual only this time I got to celebrate my 50th birthday with family and friends, some who i hadn't seen in 25 years. What a wonderful time it was. It is hard to describe what I feel about Wexford. I will never live there again but it will always be my favorite place. I belong there and all is right with the world when I am at home.





The day after my 50th,  I headed to Dublin to meet fans on my first tour to Ireland. I was such a treat for me to host everyone on our musical tour. It was also a treat to become a tourist myself. I forgot how gorgeous my own country is. The concert in Wexford and the reception in my honor at the National Opera House was very special I will treasure the award given to me by Wexford County Council, always. I will always treasure that tour. The first of many. Hope you are coming this year.



My next international stops involved concerts in Scandinavia with a new Ireland based band and crew. I was nervous about working with these musicians but i needn't have worried. I had picked the most talented and easiest people to work with. They were a joy. I was privileged to work with such a cast and crew and our shows were a huge success particularly in Denmark which was screened for Danish TV channel DK 4.



So I am home and packing my house up for a move to a beautiful home that we have found. I couldn't be more excited about it. i have made Ames my home.....for now. I like it here. I get to live the simple life. We have found a beautiful place that needs some work but nothing we can't handle. I can't wait to get decorating.

 Add to that, on January 1 I officially begin a new role as Founding Partner of Venuworks Theatricals with President of Venuworks, Steve Peters. This is something I have wanted to create for many years and will define my working life for years to come. Venuworks has created a Broadway and National tour portfolio that we now hope to build on. I could not be more excited.

We have two very exciting productions that we are working on.



Please don't be concerned that I am giving up the singing. I love my shows. I love my band. I love my job. I am not giving it up.


Not really sure how or why I got to be so lucky, but I am. I have a great career, beautiful family and friends, an army of people who support my singing, a life long partner and good health. May you all be as happy as I am. May 2016 bring you all you wish for and may we continue to walk this road together. Thank you for being there for me. I hope whatever I bring to the table gives you some peace and joy.

Love

Michael

FINALLY - THE T SHIRT

FINALLY, here is the link for the custom T shirt. Just message me on facebook if there are any problems

T SHIRT $25

SIZES

S - L 28" W 20" M - L 29" W 21" L - L 30" W 22.5" XL - L31" W 24" 2XL -L 32" W 25.5"

T SHIRT PLUS MICHAEL'S BOOK  $35

SIZES

S - L 28" W 20" M - L 29" W 21" L - L 30" W 22.5" XL - L31" W 24" 2XL -L 32" W 25.5"

Summer Stuff

Hi Everyone

It is for sure a lazy, hazy crazy day of summer. Not a fan. Everything slows down and frankly that is all very well and good occasionally but not something I want permanently. I simply have too much to do.

I am heading to Nashville next week to perform at a private event. Looking forward to seeing everyone in my management's office. They are a great team of people and it is always a lot of fun when i stop by.

Well, just to keep y'all informed(i'm so southern!)............

 Today, I have an important meeting with a potential producer for the album. I am a fan of his work and apparently he wants to work with me too so let's hope that we are on the same page. It is a slow painful process but it is coming around. I want to get into the studio so BAD but my schedule as a producer has been getting in the way lately. I seem to have bitten off as much as i can chew. I am, I might add, chewing as fast as I can.

The full schedule of the MY IRELAND TOUR 2016 has been set and we are now confirming hotels and dates which is a complicated process, as essentially we have to block book hotels in the hope that all you guys want to sign up. From the looks of the facebook page and the emails I got, i think we will have a full tour next year. Plenty of return passengers which is a good sign and new fans wanting to come to Ireland with me. We are still aiming at early June.

I am planning for the fall which looks CRAZY right now. So many airports in my sights. I will probably leave my house mid October and return on Dec 20, by the looks of things. During that time I will hit 8 countries. Exhausted just thinking about it. I really am gettin' auld. However, the thoughts of performing in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands is so much fun. I visited Amsterdam at aged 20. Little did i think I would return all these years later to sing in the biggest theater in town.

We apparently have a lot of new fans on facebook looking to get my albums, book and dvd so I thought i would do a little summer special for everyone. Delighted to be getting so many new fans from South East Asia.

We have a few different offers available.


For the new fan or to send the whole package to a new fan, we have the AUTOGRAPHED SUMMER PACK which includes Michael's book, the dvd of his PBS special and a copy of his last album Danny Boy - The Songs of Ireland - all three available for $40, almost 50% off the total retail price. Click the BUY NOW button.

Michael's book Secrets of an Irish Tenor is available for order at $25. The book will be autographed with a personalized message. Please specify who the book is for in delivery address if you are sending it as a gift.

I hope you are enjoying the summer. It won't be long before we will all be complaining of the cold.

Big Love

Michael

Autographed Copy of Secrets of an Irish Tenor

Sunday Morning

Well, what a week that was. I'm exhausted and exhilarated.

Just a little note to say hi on this Sunday morning after an eventful few days in American history. I really have been quite absent from Facebook and twitter and wanted to let you know why.

First of all, i have been consumed with my new project, a brand new album. I am planning a departure from the norm. This will be an album that has no connection to my past recordings. It is a gamble in that fans may dislike the change but it is a change i must make for my own well being. I think however that it will be amazing.

Right now, my management and I have been looking at producers that I have wanted to work with. We are looking at people from genres with no connection to Irish music. We want it to be innovative for an Irish artist.

As soon as we make a decision, we will start making announcements. I am kind of obsessed with it, right now.

I have been working with Paddy Homan on our new I AM IRELAND project which debuts at IBAM in October. We had a preview performance last weekend that was a huge hit and look forward to rolling it out on October 10. Tickets to be released soon. In the meantime we shoot a video on July 10 and will have something for you to see by the end of the month.

Celtic Illusion is playing dates throughout the summer(their winter) in Australia. They play Tasmania this weekend. We should have an announcement on it's first international tour in the next few weeks. Contract is being negotiated now. It promises to be a hugely busy fall and winter for me.  In the meantime, Anthony Street has been adding amazing illusions to the show that I cannot wait to see.

In October I head to Ireland to, OF COURSE,  go to the Opera Festival in Wexford but also to rehearse my new ALL IRISH band for the European dates starting in November. It is a huge departure for me. I am essentially a YANK with an Irish accent when I am at home so working with all Irish musicians is exciting for me. We head to Sweden, then Denmark and I am hoping to add Netherlands this week in a very exciting venue. There will be a reunion with some of my Riverdance buddies too.

I am not deserting Mellad and my US musicians as in December i head back to play dates in Florida, Texas, one of my favorite venues Camplex in Gillette, WY.

About two weeks ago I had just returned to the US and was settling into a quiet lazy summer when on my Facebook page someone place the words "YOUR[sic] DEAD. I laughed aloud and kept reading through my page. I had work to do on the new album and all that entails. I researched producers, listened to new songs, thought about writing something new and that evening, after a full day, i made dinner.

I started to think about the post, about the person who posted and the implications. At that point it hit me that someone was threatening to kill me.I did some research with my CT friends and found that this person had posted aggressively before. I then realized that really i had just glossed over it and figured it was time to do something about it. I reported it to FACEBOOK who immediately took it very seriously and I blocked said person.

It turns out that this person is probably harmless but words are powerful. Everyone around me, friends, family and management said it was time to take things a lot more seriously than in the past.

After discussion with my management i decided that I needed to add an extra line of security in my social media. I have tended to underestimate the strength and resourcefulness of my fans. They have over the past few years gone from easy going and not hugely serious at all, to people who spend their time finding out where I live, show up at my doorstep(albeit with gifts), sending suggestive emails, send "unusual" gifts in the mail, contacting my family to the point of scaring them, stalking my partners work and obsessing about my whereabouts.

I get it. I get it that i have a bond with fans. We connect emotionally through music and sometimes that line becomes blurred. Sometimes also that line can change from connecting to obsessing. I downplay it to ease the mind of my friends and family, to underplay my successes, to be, well, Irish. We don't like over connection. We don't love taking anything too seriously.

I have over-connected to fans for a few years mainly because i didn't realize what I was doing, because i didn't take my own success seriously at all and because i didn't want anyone to think i had notions about myself.

I have the best fans, most with the best intent, most with nothing but love, most with absolute devotion and kindness. One or two take it to a different level.

This week because of the Gay Marriage debate people have expressed themselves very concretely in discussions on my own page and others. I have been called a sinner, I've been compared to a pedophile and been lovingly told i am going to hell, all by people who have called themselves fans for several years. I let them. I have seen it before but did nothing. No doubt though, whether i respond or not, it hurt me deeply.

Do me a favor. If you don't agree with me and we fundamentally have completely different beliefs, don't be a fan. i want you to be happy and seeing my posts are not going to make you happy. Find someone else to follow who doesn't speak out(there are plenty out there close by who think exactly like me but are too afraid of losing fans so they say nothing.)

I have started communicating less and less openly as i used to. I know some people are upset about this but I have to. The sheer numbers of people who email me everyday has increased dramatically, the intensity of those emails has also multiplied. There are now people who love me but hate me because of my relationships with other artists. There are people who are jealous when i speak to other fans more than i do them. There are fans who only communicate by private message and never post on facebook publicly because they think we have a more private relationship. The are fans who think because i interact less, it is their fault.

Facebook is supposed to be fun. I love it but of late i am loving it less and less. So I ask you all to get some perspective. Close your laptop, go for a walk in the sun, write me a letter and send to my PO BOX. In Ireland we say "Take it Handy", in the US you say "CHILL OUT"


Right now, it is Sunday morning. I am reading the New York Times. I have my problems with this rag but Sunday would not be Sunday without it. This afternoon, some DIY, which i know you will find hilarious but I actually like it.

For me though, it is back to some peace. Yes, That's what I wish you. PEACE.

New Print of Book

New printing of the book is finally in.
for your copy order here.

Book Sale

Today we are selling the last of the first pressing of my book. I've had so many emails this week from people looking for it.  All these books will be autographed or personalised with a message if you leave instructions.


1.

First print book, autographed. $20 plus P & P

 

2.

First print autographed book plus choice of Beyond the Star or Danny Boy - Songs of Ireland  $30 plus P & P

3.
First print autographed book plus autographed DVD of PBS special, Beyond Celtic $40 plus P & P

4. Autographed CELT album plus Danny Boy - Songs of Ireland  $25 plus P & P




5. Autographed DVD plus Danny Boys - Songs of Ireland $30 plus P &  P

Website Down

Hi Everyone

we are currently working on the website so to keep you up to date, I thought i would write a wee blog for you. I apologize for the inconvenience. We should have the website up and running in the next few days. We lost all our files to the inter webs and are now trying to find them all. SO ANNOYING.

I had no time for the post Christmas blues as we headed straight into APAP in early January. APAP happens once a year when all the theatrical presenters in North America and abroad gather in New York to look at what shows they are presenting in the coming year. I showcased there for the first time in many years. Usually, I don't love it as it is kind of awkward for artists to present their wares to theaters, so to speak, but this year was the exception. We had so much fun. Lots of WBA artists gathered to showcase in a cool club on the West side. Blues, Rock, Country, Cabaret artists all in one room. I got to hear great artists from Lee Roy Parnell to Scotty Bracher, so different from me but inspiring and so talented.

I was also there as a producer. I met with Anthony Street, from Melbourne, as we are presenting Celtic Illusion for touring, worldwide. We also are working on a new project. I won't share too much except for the name. ECLIPSE will begin touring in the coming year. I brought one more new project to the table called I AM IRELAND. A one man show starring Paddy Homan, the celebrated Irish singer. It is a fantastic celebration of the 100 years of Ireland's independence in 2016. I am so honored and excited to be a part of this production. We debut the show in Chicago at the IBAM Festival in the fall. Tickets for that go on sale on February 1st from the IBAM website.
This is my year to produce. I get such a kick out of working with artists i believe in. Anthony and Paddy are people that inspire me and it gives me great joy to see their work get the credit it deserves.

I promise to record this year too, probably over the summer. I know i have been neglectful on that front but I had to follow my gut and that is where it led me. However, now that the book is done and dusted(first pressing sold out!) i can now focus back on recording.

I thought i would do a video chat on Monday February 2nd at 8pm Central. I will post the link over the weekend. We can catch up on news, talk about 2015, you can ask more questions.

I leave for Australia in early April to work on the Celtic Illusion tour. It should be FUN and hopefully I will see some Oz sunshine before it heads into their winter. I will celebrate my 50th birthday down under. There is an official party elsewhere....actually there are a few. I may have to run the Concern 5K in Australia depending on my dates. Either way, I am running. I am taking my first holiday in years then, somewhere in Asia. I need some adventure. Not sure how much time off i can take before the urge to work kicks in.

Booking for the Ireland trip in May continue to come in. I am thrilled with the response. It is going to be a lot of fun. I STILL have ladies looking for roommates on the tour so message me if you are interested.

Planning has begun for my first European dates in a few years. First date to be announced is Aalborg in Denmark on November 29 and I am excited to be bringing an all new european band with me. Great to be playing such a fantastic venue as I haven't played Scandinavia before.

I have some March date before i leave for Oz.

March 6 Yavapai Center, Prescott, AZ GOOD SEATS AVAILABLE
March 7 Dell E Webb Center, Wickenburg, AZ SOLD OUT
March 8 Chandler Center for the Arts, Chandler, AZ LIMITED SEATS

OK - I am off to get on that treadmill!!!! UGH!

ML xo