Michael J's "Official" Blog

Musical Influences

2008-04-18T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

There have been a lot of people asking me lately who my major influences are and what kind of music I like to listen to for inspiration, so I thought it might be fun to share some of that information with all of you to give you insight into why I got started in music in the first place.

The list of artists who have been influential to me is quite extensive and it's actually an ever growing and changing thing as I continue to find new and exciting artists and bands all the time that inspire me and push me forward. I've decided to focus here on just the immediate people who made me want to sing, pick up a guitar, write songs and perform in front of an audience.

Enjoy!

MJ

Pete Townshend of The Who

Pete's unique electric and acoustic guitar playing and especially his songwriting are what drew me to him and his work both solo and with The Who. Quadrophenia will forever be one of my favorite rock albums of all time. One of my biggest influences in the songwriting arena.

The Edge of U2

The Edge is arguably my biggest influence guitar-wise. His innovative, yet very simple playing style and amazing use of effects still inspires and amazes me today. No one sounded like him before he came along...now just about everyone does to some degree. Without Edge and U2, bands like Radiohead, Coldplay, Muse and Snow Patrol wouldn't exist. I would easily put him alongside all the greats like Hendrix and Clapton. A living legend.

Alex Lifeson of Rush

Alex Lifeson's rhythm guitar playing is some of the finest ever. He made me realize that you can always find a more interesting guitar part to play than just strumming standard everyday chords... like 99.9% of the players out there today. Another true innovater.

Neil Finn of Crowded House

Neil is probably my favorite songwriter of all time. He is a master pop song craftsman. His haunting melodies and lyrics made me want to be a songwriter the minute I first heard "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House. I learned that the most effective songs are usually the simplest from Neil.

Bono of U2

My favorite singer hands down. Bono is among the all-time greats in the rock vocal department, along with guys like Mick Jagger. What I love about his singing is the looseness of it. Bono's vocal is never perfect in U2's songs, and in this day and age when most modern pop and rock singers rely on a piece of software called "Auto-Tune" to correct their pitch on recordings, he is absolutely a breath of fresh air. His singing is very "human"...full of beautiful flaws. He has a way of tapping into the raw emotion of a song that not many other people do and he makes it sound effortless. Being a singer myself...I can tell you that it is absolutely the most difficult thing to do. Another living legend.

Eric Johnson

I really don't care too much for flashy guitar players or guitar solos in the slightest, but this guy is the exception. I have had the honor of cooresponding with him on several occasions and I will tell you that he is one of the classiest, nicest guys in the world. I realized early on that I would probably never be as technically proficient as Eric (few people are), but his live guitar tone is one of the most awe-inspiring things to behold. What I love about his solos is that you can actually sing most of the melodies. He is a great singer and pianist also...believe it or not.

Jim Kerr of Simple Minds

Another of my favorite vocalists of all time. Jim Kerr's effortless delivery still gives me chills today. He is far less known than Bono...but I would put the two of them in the same category vocally any day.

Charlie Burchill of Simple Minds

Charlie's atmospheric sound is simply HUGE. He always plays for the songs and doesn't get in the way. Charlie made me want to run out and buy a digital delay pedal early in my life.

Johnny Marr of The Smiths and Modest Mouse

Johnny Marr taught me about experimenting with different and unorthodox guitar tunings. His chimy open string voicings were...and still are... a huge influence on my guitar playing. I wondered why I liked the new Modest Mouse record so much, and then instantly knew why when a close friend of mine told me Johnny had recently joined the band.

Andy Summers of The Police

Andy Summers is another guy who I learned the importance of simplicity from. His delicate, chimy, beautiful delayed washes of guitar were the perfect compliment to Sting and Stewart Copeland's driving reggae infused rhythms in The Police. Andy laid some of the sonic groundwork for The Edge who took the ball and ran with it.

Sting of The Police

Sting is an influence of mine vocally, but moreso as a songwriter. What I love about Sting is the simplicity of his songs and of his bass playing. I learned the importance of "space"...or "breath" in music by listening to The Police. Every note they didn't play was as important... or more so... than the notes they did play. I cover Message In A Bottle in my show each night and it's one of my favorite things to do.

Peter Gabriel

The consumate showman. I love his piano playing, his gruff vocal style and his songs. His music has some of the sexiest rhythms while maintaining an ethereal edge which always comes off as bigger than life. A huge inspiration of mine vocally and as a songwriter.

In memory of my friend Tony Cavagnaro

2007-09-09T00:43:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-02-04T00:15:00.001-08:00

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

2007-01-30T10:47:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-29T08:57:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-28T23:14:00.000-08:00

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.