Mike Waite C.D. Release Concert

Happy 2008! I have been reeling from a great holiday break that was highlighted by the long awaited Mike Waite C.D. release concert on December 28th. The band was big the venue was packed, and the music was some of the best I had ever been involved with. We, (meaning Mike Waite, his wife Erica, Jared Smith, and Ryan Staples), had been planning this concert since June, and since we all live in different cities, the main mode of communication was over the internet. Jared and Mike were in charge of the musicians, Ryan was busy getting the C.D. mixed and ready for the release, Erica organized a bunch of dancers, and I dealt with the theater and sound logistics. We all had a part in promotion which included setting Mike up with a myspace page, (http://www.myspace.com/hatchofthemayfly), writing a story for the various local Marquette publications:



We also did a live radio interview on Sunny 101.9 at 7:30 in the morning the day before the show. Later that day, we had our first and only rehearsal with the full lineup of musicians and dancers. In all there were 10 musicians and around 12 dancers. Here is a small picture of the musicians right after the show:
Back Row L to R: Bob Mahin, Ben Imdieke, John Churchville, Jared Smith, Tom Laverty, Dave Ziegner (back), Carrie Biolo. Front Row: Stephanie Whiton, Mike Waite, Ryan Staples.
It was a long rehearsal, but very fun and there was a ton of energy and excitement building for the show. The next night was the kind of night that got me into music. Mike started off the night with a short set of his solo stuff, then the second half of the show was the whole band. We played the entire C.D., and I was amazed at how close it came to re-creating the actual sound of each song. Oh yea, I guess I should mention that the final cut of the C.D.'s didn't make it out of the printers in time, so there wasn't an actual C.D. to release. So the company sent 500 ep's with just 5 songs on it in blank cases that got individually decorated by some of Mikes friends. It was a happy medium. It would have been nice to have the C.D. that night, but the show went so well, that people didn't seem to mind.
It felt like everyone in the audience of over 600 people were all friends, family, and people that all had some sort of personal connection to what was happening. Backstage before the show, the trombone player Bob Mahin made the statement "this is real community". He was right. Since leaving CalArts to embark on my professional music career I have always believed that the most important roll a musician can play in society is to help build a sense of community, and Mike's show accomplished that better that I could have ever imagined. I am very proud, honored, and lucky to be a musician from Marquette, Michigan.
Thanks for reading, and I will let you know when the C.D.'s are ready!

John