In memory of my friend Tony Cavagnaro

I was devastated and shocked to learn that a longtime musician friend of mine, Tony Cavagnaro, from my hometown of Rochester, NY was killed on Friday night, September 7, 2007. I'm posting this news story (below) about his death for any of my friends who knew Tony and didn't know about the accident, and to honor his memory.



I knew Tony Cavagnaro for over 15 years going back to when I bought my very first "Marshall" guitar cabinet from him during the time when I was in my former band Exploding Boy. We became fast friends. Our bands did many gigs together through the years, and we also shared a whole slew of mutual friends in the Rochester community of musicians.

He was a sweet, kind, gentle guy with a great sense of humor and a boundless passion for music. Despite the fact that we recently only ran into each other every few years, he always greeted me with the same smile, and the same warm personality... almost as if no time had passed at all. We always picked up right where we left off. I will miss him very much.

My heart is with his family, his friends, and his bandmates during this difficult time.

Local rock band leader killed in car crash

Bennett J. Loudon
Staff writer

September 8, 2007 8:57 pm — Anthony E. Cavagnaro, leader of the popular Rochester rock band Buddhahood, died Friday in a one-car crash in Yates County.

Cavagnaro, 41, was driving from his home in Pulteney, Steuben County, to Rochester to meet bandmates before heading to a gig in Buffalo, said his wife Jan Mater-Cavagnaro.

Cavagnaro, who was best known as Tony, was heading north on Middle Road in Potter about 6:30 p.m. when his car went off the west side of the road, crossed the other way and went off the east side of the road. The car hit several trees, according to a news release from the Yates County Sheriff's Office.

Cavagnaro was wearing a seat belt and the air bag deployed. He suffered a severe head injury and was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff's office said.

The crash is under investigation. An autopsy will be done at Soldiers and Sailors Hospital in Penn Yan, Yates County.

New Website!

Hello everyone,

Just wanted you all to know that my brand new website launched today! MichaelJMusic.com is now interactive, and has many new features including message boards, a music player, videos, and a brand new store that is stocked with every song I have available.

There will also be new stuff added during the upcoming weeks, so please keep checking back! Stop by the message board, introduce yourself, and say hi!

Check out the site here: www.michaeljmusic.com

Peace,

MJ

"Extras" with Ricky Gervais

I recently got turned on to this great show called "Extras" starring British comedian Ricky Gervais (the guy who created "The Office"). The first season is available on DVD and the second season is currently airing on HBO. This is a really smart and funny show and is absolutely worth checking out if you have some time.

MJ

Check out my friends Matt Collins, Elvio Fernandes, and Ace Young

Hi everyone,

I'm a complete novice to this whole "blogging" thing, and to be honest, I find it to be quite narcissistic and self-indulgent. However, as an emerging singer/songwriter in this day and age, it appears to be a necessary evil.

Most of the time I'm going to just try and keep my fans updated on the various "goings-on" with my career and all the things that are inspiring me and/or irking me at any given moment. Hopefully this will be interesting to all of you who care enough to come here to read it.

So...rather than rant on about something today, I'm going to use this forum to tell you all to check out a few musician friends of mine who are really worth listening to.

Matt Collins: www.myspace.com/mattcollins
I recently co-produced Matt's debut CD "Short and Sweet", and also played all the electric guitar, bass, piano, and keyboards on it. Matt is a very talented singer/songwriter who won't be a "well-kept secret" for very long.


Elvio Fernandes: www.myspace.com/elviofernandes
Elvio is a really talented singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who I know from back home in Rochester, NY. He sings in a great Rochester band called Uncle Plum and is co-writing some things with me for my upcoming CD release with Soundplay Records.

Elvio has also been working with Ace Young, who many of you may know from last year's "American Idol". "E" co-wrote Ace's current hit single "Scattered" which is climbing the "HOT AC" charts as we speak. Check out Ace's myspace page here: www.myspace.com/aceyoung and look for the single "Scattered" on I-Tunes.

That's all for now kiddies. Have a great week and feel free to drop me an email either on "myspace" or michaelj@michaeljmusic.com, if you have any questions or topics I might want to consider for my upcoming blogs.

Peace,

MJ

Great music

John Mayer's "Continuum" was recently recommended to me by my good friend Elvio Fernandes and I felt the need to recommend it to all of you in return.
This is some of the most refreshingly real and honest music I've heard in a long time. I'd put this next to "Eyes Open" by Snow Patrol as my top pick of 2006-07.
John's musicianship and true lyrical genius are simultaneously mindblowing, beautiful, and devastating, especially in tracks like, "Waiting On The World To Change", "I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)", "Belief", "Stop This Train" and "Slow Dancing In A Burning Room".
Amidst the mediocrity of what seems like an endless queue of disposable emo bands and manufactured, formulaic "hit" songs, there are still artists like John Mayer creating meaningful, timeless music that will be around long after we've all forgotten who most of the current "look-alike"-"sound-alike" bands on the radio and TV are.

It's comforting...really.