I Will Answer Your Questions

On tonight's RawRhythms show (info in previous entry), you can comment and ask me questions that I will answer live. Or, if you aren't going to be able to watch the show, you can post your questions/comments right now by going HERE.

At 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific, you can watch the show HERE.

RawRhythms

This Monday night, I'm doing a live performance and interview on RawRhythms, an hour-long internet music show. I'll be playing 6 songs. You can send in comments and questions for me that I'll be answering live! Tune in at 11pm Eastern/ 8pm Pacific to thestream.tv.

Love Stinks

In honor of Anti-Valentines Day, CDBaby has created the Love Stinks playlist, featuring my album "The House We Built." In their own words:

"Do you think candy hearts and pink balloons are for sentimental suckers? Here are some songs about loneliness, breakup, and divorce for those of us that love to hate Valentine's Day."

CD Baby Editor's Pick!

CDBaby has chosen my new album, "The House We Built" as their Editor's Pick, and they are featuring it on their front page. Here's the full review:

"A confessional piano-pop album about divorce doesn’t sound like a very cheery audio affair, but thankfully this keyboard wiz (who currently performs with Miley Cyrus) has the good sense and talent to set his lyrical melancholia to bright, bouncy melodies. Behind the earnest, emotive vocal delivery and aching falsetto there is infectious optimism. Mike Schmid’s sound is reminiscent of a smoother Ben Folds Five, a more ambitious version of The Fray, or Scott Fisher if he were to use more electronic elements in his production. This album is a must-have for any fan of modern, dreamy pop-rock."

Thanks so much to the folks at CD Baby for their support!

Podcast Features

The first episode of F-Stop Beyond, a photographers' podcast, has featured "To Show You My Love." Check it out here. Also, the ETC podcast has featured me again, this time using "Born Yesterday." You can check that out right here. Both songs are from my "High Cost of Living" album, available on iTunes and CDBaby.

Keyboard Magazine

I am featured in this month's Keyboard Magazine. The article focuses on the Miley gig, and the gear I use. You can read it online here.

The magazine is available now at newsstands everywhere.

TV Guide

You may remember this picture that I took on the tour:


It is now being featured on page 39 of the current (July 21-August 3) issue TV Guide magazine, in the cover story about Miley and her big cool life. Check it out.

Hooray for Hollywood

The band and the dancers flew back to LA for the premiere of our 3D tour film. I took my parents. The three of us walked down the red carpet, and paparazzi were snapping pics of everyone but us. Which was, honestly, a relief. Everybody was out, from crazy screaming fans to big Disney stars (that I've never heard of).

When we arrived inside the El Capitan, we picked up our chunky 3D glasses and popcorn, in a big plastic Hannah Montana sand pail, with a handle.

I did think it strange that we all got super dressed up and spiffy, then proceeded to ruin the look with our big popcorn pails and glasses.

The movie itself was absolutely phenomenal. We were all very impressed. It was hilarious and fun and eye-popping, and really reflected Miley's personality perfectly. The filmmakers were very generous and gave copious and equal screen time to all the band members. I highly recommend everyone see it 18 times. Of course, I feel like I look like a total spaz in it, but I always hate to see myself in pictures and movies. Hopefully, you'll feel differently.

Body Double (AKA Shut Up Already!)

Okay, I just have to chime in about this body double scandal. For those of you who haven't heard, OK Magazine has published this story:

According to several fans who dished out hundreds of dollars to catch the young singer perform live on her current sold-out national tour, it appears Miley may be using a not-very-convincing "Hannah" double to cover for her during a mysterious mid-song disappearance from the stage.

"When it got the to bridge of the song "We Got the Party," her dancers began to crowd around her," one ticked-off Miley fan tells OK!. "Then they covered her with a black sheet and she went through a secret door. Within a second, a new 'Hannah' came out of a different door wearing oversized white glasses. The whole time this was happening Miley's vocals were still playing. The new imposter had her back turned while she danced, trying to hide that fact that she was not Miley Cyrus. At this instant I became very suspicious."

"Needless to say I was furious!" says the irate fan. "I paid good money to see the concert. I was disappointed and I felt like I was played for a fool."

This story has become sort of a big deal, and people are accusing Miley of being a fake. Let me state for the record that Miley is the real deal. She sings her heart out every night.

Let me also explain how entertainment works. Entertainment is not reality. We're putting on a show here. Doubles are used frequently in big shows like this to speed transitions. This does not mean that Miley is lipsynching. Miley sings the entire song but the last chorus, which is strictly a logistical solution. Think about it from the perspective of executing the show yourself. If Hannah has to come back out as Miley in ten minutes, and in that ten minutes, has to remove the wig, change clothes, and do her Miley hairstyle, an extra two minutes becomes very important. So she needs to get off stage early, but there's no way she can be singing while she's changing her clothes, so it must be pre-recorded. There's no way around it. These things happen all the time. People are comparing this to Ashlee Simpson, which is wrong. This is how these big shows are put together. But the difference is, most artists don't have exclusively teenage fans who don't understand how shows are assembled.

Miley is not on stage lipsynching. And as OK Magazine said, the double is not that convincing, and the dancers are obviously covering Hannah in a black sheet. Not really scandal material so much as a tiny show detail to notice. No one is trying to cover this up.

Long story short - hey kids: you enjoyed the show, right? Miley entertained you. Right? Leave it at that and stop accusing the most genuine, talented, sweet girl in the business of being a fake. Don't you have homework to do?

Hot Off the Presses!

At the show in Hartford, Kay was visited by some friends from the Boston Globe. They wrote a fun behind-the-scenes article about Ms. Hanley's pre-show preparations. You can read it here. It's all about The Hair.