at the 6:30 mark in this video Michale Graves says something very important.
while talking about how he is so glad and lucky to have gotten the chance to touch the legacies of both the Misfits and the Ramones he says that he would rather sit home and be poor than go out and take advantage of them.
it is just that feeling that i think separates Michale from so many other musicians, even ones i love. he plays his music because he believes in it. and it is not as though he is only playing in living rooms across the nation, he gets booked into some fairly well sized places, places better than my bands have played. but that honesty, that purity, comes across in his music. he doesnt pretend to be smarter or hipper than he is, he doesnt act tougher or more aware of the occult, he doesnt lie and play songs he hates just to pay the bills. Michale is a honest man. and a damn fine musician as well.
i remember when i found out one of my favorite singers was only playing shows to make money off his more profitable music. i have no problem with people working to pay the bills. i wish i could pay all my bills with my music, but there is something so dishonest and disgusting about a man who goes up on stage and lies to the faces and hearts of an ocean of fans. if i had known i was being lied to when i saw him sing i wouldn’t have gone in the first place. Michale doesnt do that. Michale sings his songs with all the passion and love he had when he wrote them.
i have seen Michale a few times and each time i have seen him i have felt his words deep within my bones. each time i have seen him i left smiling like never before. here is a man who is so dedicated to his music that he is willing to give up the bigger paying jobs just to do what he truly believes in.
so thanks Michale.
from a long-time fan, thank you.
i’ll always be first in line for your new music.
Tags: gotham road, graves, michale graves, misfits, ramones
