Today is my brother Michael’s birthday.
Last year, he told me and our other brother Joe that he wanted to put on a rock show to celebrate his 50th birthday. To anyone who knows us, it should come as no surprise that what started as simply working up a few tunes to play amongst ourselves grew into a 4-hour concert experience journeying through time.
The initial idea was to invite everyone he’d ever jammed with, thinking it’d be worth it if only a few were able to make it. Amazingly, everyone was both available and eager to participate.
But then we had a problem: EVERYONE was available and eager to participate. How do we best coordinate this? Who plays what? What songs do we perform? When and where would we rehearse?
We ended up making a spreadsheet with every participant color-coded for readability. Over the course of 6 weeks, we developed set lists that comprised of a healthy mix of both original and cover tunes for each performing group, some of which haven’t been played in 25 years.
In the meantime, the venue and date were set: Oops Alley on December 28th, 2022. Leading up to the show, we setup shop at @gregorymichaelnicholas ’s house and had two full days of rehearsal.
Then, it was time to rock.
With an audience full of family, friends, and maybe a stray bowler or two, the show went off without a hitch. Multigenerational supergroups resurrecting long-dormant melodies, creating a rip in the space-time continuum.
A once-in-a-lifetime event.
A year later, I thought it’d be cool to commemorate that special night utilizing the multitrack recording we captured, courtesy of Chris Brooks.
Inspired by the Kiss Alive records, the final result became a double LP featuring 18 tracks showcasing all the immense talent and effort of everyone involved.
A once-in-a-lifetime event… that now can be relived forever.
Happy birthday, bro.
My bud Sean has an album out today called “The Macabre” but our brotherhood has been anything but.
We’ve enjoyed watching one another grow as songwriters, connecting on each others’ ideas since the beginning. The music he’s releasing has been in the works since 2019, and I’m proud to have played a part in bringing them to life as a performer and a producer.
Collaborators for life. Friends forever.
My dad (taking the photo), my brother (center) and I visited my uncle (left) this past weekend in Nashville. We’ve been working on an album full of tunes he’s written over his lifetime.
Uncle Mike’s quick-witted personality is as full of energy as it is enigmatic, just like his music… written and performed in a way not even the best musicians could transcribe or replicate. But having listened to (and learned from) his songs religiously our entire life, we felt somewhat qualified to act as translators, bringing his musical vision to life in the present-day.
During our session, we jammed on Pink Floyd’s “Time” — one of the very few covers he does but one he plays with such vigor, as if the music retains a deeper and deeper meaning to him through each performance.
And that’s exactly what his music does for us.
“The time is gone. The song is over. Thought I’d something more to say.”
10 years ago, we took a chance on each other and moved 3000 miles away from home to start anew. Halfway to our destination, we took a detour just in time to watch the sunset across the canyon.
It was here we realized we weren’t in Kansas anymore. The majesty of what we had seen was both exciting and a little frightening, symbolic of the journey we had just begun.
So much has happened since then, and yet, standing here again feels as if no time has passed. Still exciting and frightening. Just as magical as ever.
When I was 13, I wanted to be Neo (who didn’t).
I also started to make short films with my friends. This was more of a proof of concept that an actual teaser trailer, but I had a whole script written in my head for how the 4th Matrix movie would play out... unfortunately, I never got around to making it, but there’s still this 2003 gem.
Needless to say, I’m stoked for the new film.
