Mike Parrish : iSOUND.COM™

Stats

Plays: 1729 Views: 3546
Formed: 2004 Official Site: www.mikeparrish.net iSound Site: www.isound.com/mike_parrish

Biography

Friends / Fans

JS (Joerg Sommermeyer)	Freddie Brown-Nashville Country
Karen Collins	Southern Pride
Vicki Lee	younger dryas
Total: 42

Sounds Like

Artists:
George Strait

Genres:
Traditional Country
Honky Tonk

Mp3s

Song	Play	Download	Add to station	Comments	Price	Rating(1-5)	Album
My Blue Guitar		N/A	Add to station	Add Comment	Free	Not Rated	[Single]
Wild and Free		N/A	Add to station	Add Comment	Free	Not Rated	[Single]
Rodeo Angel		N/A	Add to station	Add Comment	Free	Not Rated	[Single]
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Biography

Audio clips available at www.mikeparrish.net ......... I was raised in Enumclaw, WA. a cow/logging town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Motorcycles, horses, hunting, camping and fishing were all a part of everyday life. For as long as I can remember I’ve been listening to country music - Johnny Cash, Hank, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline, Waylon & Willie, Loretta Lynn, Kris Kristofferson and in later years, George Strait, Hank III, Dwight Yoakam, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis and Clint Black. These are some of the folks who made country music what it is today, and to me that’s the ONLY country there is. It’s my yearning for the good ol’ stuff that has driven me back to the bare roots of country music that I remember when I was a kid. Regrettably, it wasn’t until the summer of 2000 that I started playing the guitar. Once I had learned a few chords it seemed natural to me to sit down and try to write a song. May of 2002 marked the birth of “Alone”, which later found itself the first of ten tracks on “Rye Whiskey Why”. How the CD ultimately came to be is a long story – here’s the short version. In Sisters, Oregon (August 2003), I met Chris Booher (former keyboard player for "Asleep at the Wheel" and owner of Patriot Recording Studios in Burleson, Texas) and showed him the lyrics I had written to date. I had just six songs at that point but it was enough to raise his eyebrow a bit. By January, I had recorded a rough demo at home of four of the songs and sent them off to Chris. After hearing them, Chris encouraged me to come down to Texas and record them, which I did in April of 2004. Four songs were recorded in that session - "Alone", "My Blue Guitar", "Lonely Fool", and "Rye Whiskey Why". Chris had lined up an all star cast of players for this session as follows: Chris Booher - fiddle/keyboard, Ron Jones - bass/acoustic guitar, Gary Carpenter - pedal steel/dobro, John Sharp - background vocals, Derek Spigener - drums, Tommy Nash - electric/acoustic guitar, and Aarom Meador as project engineer. I came home from that session very pleased with the results and also the compliments from the musicians regarding the unique style and flavor of my lyrics. I had decided at that time that I would return as soon as I was able and finish a full 10 song CD. At the time, though, I had only written 9 songs so I spent a few days with an idea that had been rattling around in my head and completed "Cinder Road". On June 23rd the "Rye Whiskey Why" CD was finished and soon after was sent out for duplication. (The talent of Reggie Rouffer on fiddle was added as well for the second session in June). At that point I considered the project to be complete up to the initial expectations I had, but I knew there was still work to be done to polish it up to a higher standard. Eight months later, February 2005, I once again returned to Patriot Recording and re-recorded the vocals on all ten tracks. Randy Elmore’s fiddle and Stefani Little’s background vocals were added to the project as well. Another new face was engineer Jai Hutcherson, who re-mixed and mastered the tracks in March. All in all there were dramatic improvements to the CD across the board. I don’t know if a project like this is ever really finished. I’m already itching to go back and raise the bar a little higher but that will have to wait for now. Perhaps a second CD will be a more likely path from here – I have five more songs written thus far with a dozen more in various stages of “not done yet”. Regardless, of where this train goes, I’ve found this venture to be nothing short of pure fun. I’ve met some great people along the way as well. In closing, I’ve tried to incorporate interesting writing and old fashioned country sounds into this CD. (To me, there’s just nothing like the sound of twin fiddles and a steel guitar at the hands of masters) I hope you find this music enjoyable. Heck, my mom likes it and she claims she’s not just saying that ‘cause she knows me. Mike Visit my website www.mikeparrish.net to listen to audio clips.