I'm Still Here

Yes it's true. I have not vanished from the face of the planet (does the planet have a face?) and the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated (I'm just a little bit dead).

In all honesty, I have just been really busy: Miley gigs, recording sessions, bingo night at the Eagles' Club... You know how it is. And the sloppy, cyanide-filled icing on the cake is I recently acquired a cold. I realize that I got a bit of a reputation as Mr. Sick Face last year (while sloshing in the petrie dish we call a "tour bus"), but this year, I haven't gotten sick since the end of said tour in February. So let's look at it like "celebrating eight months sober...from viruses."

But I assure you, the tap has not dried up (okay that sounds a little gross segueing from virus talk). New blog entries coming your way shortly. Find something to hold on to. We'll pull through this together.

Stripped Is Live!

Many thanks to my reader Shannon, who pointed out that our episode of Stripped (read my original post here) is now live at iheartmusic.com. The whole band got some serious camera time, and it's quite an enjoyable, intimate show. Check it out, yo.

Beatz 'n Rhymz 'n Lame Requestz

Dear Rappers of the World,

Please, I beg of you, stop requesting that I "put my hands in the air like I just don't care." There are only 3 possible outcomes here:

• I will not put my hands in the air, because I just don't care
• I will not put my hands in the air, but feel guilty about it
  
• I will put my hands in the air, signifying that I most certainly do care, or else I wouldn't be following your instructions

I have never in my life seen anyone throw their hands in the air in order to signify their lack of care. This does not happen.

So stop asking.

Kosher Dumplings & Unkosher Music

I had a beautiful show at Genghis. Thanks to all the lovely folks that came out, listened, bought my new album and just generally reveled in the Jewish Chineseyness of Genghis Cohen.

Here's a pic I took from the stage during the show:

Shiny Happy People

(Pic courtesy of Robyn Horton)

With my supremely talented and supremely kind friends Andrea & Jan Stolpe.

Andrea and Jan went above and beyond the "friend call of duty," as Andrea hocked merchandise and collected cash for me, while Jan chauffeured my car around and roadied my gear offstage, so I could be free to talk to audience members afterwards. I'm grateful to have such awesome friends.

Additional Cuteness

Here are a few more fun moments from my week with Noah: looking in the mirror, playing with hats and practicing our holler. The third and final clip is the cutest thing ever.

In the Pack N' Play

Ya know, just sittin' in the pack n' play, listening to the Pixies, sayin' "hi".

See Me Live This Saturday!

Do you want to:

-Hear great new music?
-Bask in the glow of Mike Schmid (and buy his new CD)?
-Have some critically acclaimed Chinese food?
-Sit in a pew for no apparent reason and pretend you're having mixed drinks in church?

Well, boy are you in luck! You can do all these things this Saturday night at Genghis Cohen!

Details:
Mike Schmid @ Genghis Cohen
Saturday, September 6 - 8:30pm
740 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Everything In Its Right Place

Sometimes, you see a thing on a shelf. And that thing belongs on another shelf.

Also, toaster pastries are totally fun to play with in their shiny silver wrappers, so that's why the box was empty: they were scattered throughout the room.

Eating & Dancing

Eating is fun and dancing is fun. So why not combine them? That's certainly Noah's philosophy.

You will also see in this video, that he:

• Loves Regina Spektor (thanks Mom!)
• Doesn't love a water bottle in his pasta
• Can totally do that spoon thing himself (no help needed!)

Be sure to stick around, as the dancing gets even better towards the end.

On the Playground

Ah, the sweetie. I had an wonderful time getting to know Noah better. Early in the week, we went to a playground, and I learned that he:

• enjoys a good jog now and then
• can be hard to keep up with while enjoying said jog
  
• is quite adept at climbing stairs and turning wheels
• loves observing people (especially girls), and saying "hi" to them in the sweetest voice you'll ever hear
• enjoys loud rocket balloons
  
• is the most adorable thing ever created (oh wait, I already knew that one)

More video coming!

The Week-Long Hug

All this week, I've been up in Washington state (Tumwater, to be exact), visiting my sweet little Noah. He is truly a miracle, and we've been having a great time playing, eating, sleeping and playing some more. It's quite a wondrous thing to watch him experience the world. I'll post some pics and more details when I get back home.

During the custody proceedings, I'm only allowed 2-3 hours with Noah per day, so there is a lot of waiting. Which is boring. At the moment, I've actually stooped to watching MythBusters in my hotel room. This is because I've run out of fun things to do in Tumwater, of which there are about three: go to a park, go to a movie and...okay, two. I could also go for a drive at 10 miles per hour and then pull out slowly in front of oncoming traffic, which seems to be supercool around here.

Just counting the seconds till I get to see that perfect boy again.

New Album Now On iTunes

For those of you that prefer to buy music digitally, I'm happy to announce that The House We Built is now available on iTunes for your listening pleasure. Click the button below to open iTunes.



And after you hear the whole album, I would love it if you would leave a review!

Honking Fail

Hilarious. I absolutely hope this is for real.

Today's the Big Day!

Yes yes y'all. The time has come. My new album is out! It's waiting for you at CDBaby. There's a 30% discount if you buy more than one. Tell your friends!

In conjuction with my new record, I also have a brand new website! Very excited. Check it out - mikeschmid.com. Thanks so much to my web designer, Sarah Camp (at Bravos Media), for her hard work to get this ready in time for release day. Kudos!

The Teen Choice Awards

The ceremony was held at the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal Studios, and it was a veritable cornicopia of celebrities, Dippin' Dots, and fancy swag.

Mostly, we:

• Rehearsed
• Waited around for hours
• Got bored
• Ran to the theater and saw Step Brothers (no masterpiece, but a great way to waste some time)
• Hung out in the green room (I literally rubbed elbows with Scarlett Johansson)
• Got bored
  
• Hopped on stage
• Played the song
• Left the building

In that time though, I saw Posh & Becks, Katharine McPhee, that long-haired dude from Lost, the Jonases (nice to see them again), LL Cool J (Nadia desperately wanted a picture with him), a bunch of teenage celebrities I've never heard of, Fergie and those Davids from Idol.

Another day at the office. Yawn.

Connie Kim @ Tangier - Prepare to Be Amazed

Connie Kim creates some of the most beautiful and unusual music I've ever heard. Her songs conjure a world of voodoo dolls, talking fruits and circus performers, as heard through an antique victrola. She's playing Wednesday night at 8pm at Tangier in Los Feliz. I'll be on keys, melodica and glockenspiel, and we'll be joined by a string section and band. She puts on a spellbinding live show. You won't be disappointed.

FNMTV

Pete Wentz hosts a video premiere/live performance show for MTV on Friday Nights, called FNMTV (pretty clever right? Oh, "not so much?" OK). It's nice that MTV is actually playing music again, though.

We performed "7 Things" and "Fly On The Wall." It was a live broadcast, so it involved lots of pre-scrambling and then a quick blast of show, and then the inevitable let-down afterwards.

Teresa the choreographer.
She tells the dancers to jump, and they say "How high?"

My super-new, super-awesome rig, courtesy of Roland

Nate on a perch.

SuperFreakVashon attempts to protect his secret identity,
while Kay and Nadia nurse inner ear infections.

I finally landed myself in the padded room.

Pre-Order My New Album Now!

My brand new album, The House We Built, is available for pre-order at CDBaby.com. You can purchase it now, and it will ship to you on Tuesday.

You can also hear clips of every song on the new album at mikeschmid.com! Just click on the MEDIA tab.

I am very excited about this incredibly personal project and I would love your support!

Once you receive your copy of the album, let me know what you think by writing a review at CDBaby, or commenting here.

Stripped

Miley was invited to perform on ClearChannel's Stripped, an unplugged show for radio and the internet. I'm not sure yet when it's going to air, but you can check iheartmusic.com repeatedly and obsessively till they put it up.

The show was taped in the historic Capitol Records building. While we were there that day, Aretha and Rod Stewart projects were happening in other parts of the building, and pictures of Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole lined the halls. This place is kind of a big deal.

It was an intimate show for a small audience of contest winners who flew in from all parts of the US. They were mostly young children, who were ridiculously adorable. They sat in reverent adoration of Miley, as she sang her heart out and chatted casually with the band.

I invited my parents, since they haven't been to a show in awhile.

Me and my Dad in the control room

My friends, Janie and Gary were also in town, so I invited them as well. You can read Janie's account of the taping on her blog.

Nadia and Drunken Zoolander

We had a lot of fun, and put on a good show. if I do say so myself (dusts off collar). It was a nice change to play these big pop/rock songs in a stripped-down acoustic context. It's a testament to how good the songs are, that they held up so well. Also, that grand piano I was playing had some seriously awesome ghosts in it. You could just feel the history on the ivory.

Shiny Happy People

Afterwards, Jamie (who was the Musical Director for the day, as Stacy was in NY) and I hung out in the studio and lent our ears for the mix session, which went late into the night. I was just happy they asked.

Stewboss and Rob Giles! Fun Times!

Tonight, I'll be playing keyboards with the Americana band Stewboss at Universal CityWalk. We've been having a lot of fun in rehearsals, and I'm excited about the show. If you're into Tom Petty, Wilco or the Wallflowers, you'll love yourself some Stewboss. It's gonna be a beautiful night of rocking out, so come check out the show, stroll along the 'Walk, grab a churro, see a movie, or try flying in that weird fake skydiving thingy.

Monday night (August 11), Rob Giles is doing his monthly residency at Molly Malones, and he's invited me to join him on stage. I'll be playing some songs from my brand new, soon-to-be-released album, The House We Built. And honestly, I'm just so happy that I get to watch Rob play. He's pretty friggin' amazing.

And if you come to either (or both!) of these shows, please feel free to introduce yourself to me afterwards. I love meeting my readers. Cause without you guys, this would just be a diary.