Welcome 2024
2024 has officially busted down the door. Some are glad to see 2023 leave, for some others, it may have been the best year of their lives. Obviously, both of those perspectives are completely valid. For me, 2023 was a fine year - neither great, nor crappy. Quite a bit of good happened for me professionally, and a couple of cool things took place in my personal life as well.
First off, More More More had a banner year! We played some great shows and debuted at some great new venues. The decision was made in the latter half of the year to move away from the 80s thing, and mix in some 90s and even early 00s music. The response has been incredible and we’re super excited about the new direction! Let me know if you have any requests. I came down with RSV/Bronchitis just after Thanksgiving, and I had a rough patch for about a month there, but last night (New Year’s Eve) everything worked exactly as it should, and I was able to finish the year strong. It felt great! There’s more news pending in the M3 camp, so stay tuned for that. Lots of great rooms, lots of great music.
My acoustic work suffered a bit this year, as I was focusing more on the band, and a few other projects, which I’ll get to shortly. I realized around September that my set list was a little stale, so I added some more “modern” music (only about 15-20 years old). It’s been fun learning some of it…a little less fun learning the rest of it. But I needed the infusion of fresh material. I have a bunch more acoustic stuff this year, and I’d really like to get back into that scene. Playing solo acoustic is how I got my start, and it’s always going to have a special place in my heart. I love exercising those muscles.
In addition to M3, I also stepped up my trio game, FINALLY settling on the name Mike Newberry & the Availables. I believe I’ve mentioned it before, but I have a great stable of super talented musicians, and a growing and successful set list. We have a great time on stage, and when we have fun, the fans have fun. And that’s what it’s all about, right? Typically, I’m the sole guitar player. That’s been tough. I started doing trio work during COVID lockdown a few years ago, just because I needed the work. But in 2023 it really turned into “a thing”, even adding a 4th piece a few times. My guitar playing has improved by leaps and bounds and I’m really proud of the product I’m putting out. I hope to keep the Availables going strong in ‘24.
In my December post, I mentioned Ashweather, my original project with a couple friends. We’ve released and original (The Future is Burning) and a cover (Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)) since October, and we have four more tunes in the hopper in various stages of completion. It’s kind of a thrashy-power metaly sort of thing with some prog elements. If you enjoyed the stuff on my “Histrionics” album, this is the next logical step. I keep getting closer and closer to the music I hear in my head, and I’m super proud of it, and very excited. I’m not sure if we’re going to do everything as singles or compile them into a larger format, but I’ll keep you posted, so watch this space.
The most exciting thing in my personal life was the discovery of a “long lost” cousin out in Arizona. It’s a super long story, but the punch line is we didn’t know about them, and they didn’t know about us. Thanks to “23 & Me” we discovered each other and have been in communication for…well, a bit over a year now, I guess. We’ve been chatting and getting to know one another, and it’s been really great. Despite having two brothers and seven nieces and nephews, I have a relatively small and insular family. Only two cousins neither even remotely close to my age…almost no contact with Dad’s side of the family at all. Well, now there is. The cousin in question came out to DC for work back at the beginning of December, and Melissa and I traveled down to meet her. It was wonderful! We have quite a bit in common, and it’s just super easy and nice. She’s coming out again later this month. Sorry for the teenage-girl style excitement, but it’s been a super cool experience.
I’ve tinkered in the past years with writing stories. I have a couple of short stories that I’ve “completed,” though I still think about re-visiting them. This past summer I started in on two much larger stories (hopefully novel length). I’m about 25,000 words in on one, and maybe 30K on the other - no small feat considering I write everything long hand. It’s in the fantasy genre (everything I tinker with is). I pick at it when I can - usually during set breaks - and transcribe it into my computer after the fact. I add stuff and move it around during transcription, so it’s sort of like a second draft. It’s a fun, if nerve-wracking process, but I hope to finish these two stories (and more) and publish. Will that be this year? Probably not. I work slow, as it turns out. But never say never, right?
I think that may be everything. I’m looking forward to a great 2024 with lots of opportunities, experience, and adventures. Not the least of those is our forthcoming trip to Italy in June! I have a reminder set in my phone to post something here once a month, so we’ll see how long that lasts. Til next time!
