Michael VM, the happiest man on earth, 2017

Album Review

Beginnings, ends, loss, change, new beginnings. That's life. We don't move through all of those phases with the speed or ease that it takes to write them down, but they touch all of us at one point or another. Michael VM (neé Mike V) was the fearless leader of the New Jersey-born The Everymen for over six years. In the annals of rock music there have been few, if any, bands more appropriately named. The Everymen ground it out, releasing 3 albums and a slew of EPs, playing over 200 shows per year to both packed houses and empty rooms, and bringing it every night with the determination and abandon of a band that didn't have the powerful connections or big-money backing of some others. After doing their best to punch their way to that big break, The Everymen decided to call it quits sometime in 2016. The Everymen's farewell show this past May stands as one of the wildest, most joyful things I've experienced since starting this site.

Through all of that, Michael VM experienced big changes -- devastating loss, disappointment, and the elation of new beginnings. Thoughts and feelings piled up as he criss-crossed the country with his rock and roll band. Finally, Michael and his then-fiancé made the big decision to leave the Northeast -- the place where Michael had deep roots -- for North Carolina. The move opened up the floodgates of creativity, and the result is Michael VM's first solo album, the happiest man on earth.

In some ways, the happiest man on earth couldn't be more different than Michael VM's work with The Everymen. He trades wild, Jersey Shore-influenced rock and roll for mostly subdued Americana. He delivers his lyrics in a sometimes whispered drawl. In other ways, though, this is pure Mike V -- honest, straightforward, from-the-heart.

The album sets the scene with "His Name Is Jesus," a short, live recording of some gospel singers. Things then move into "Old Friend" and "Oh Susie," two tracks that -- atmospherically anyway -- remind me a bit of the work Cat Power did on The Greatest when Chan Marshall worked with The Memphis Rhythm Band. On "Old Friend," Michael VM speaks to someone (maybe himself) with whom he's lost touch over the years. "Oh Susie" deals with Michael's despondency following the loss of his mother. The song itself, though, is a sonic party. It features handclaps, whistling, and a saxophone. It's possible to celebrate those we've lost even in our darkest moments of missing them.

The middle section of the happiest man on earth becomes somber. Michael VM looks wistfully at his past on "Neon Light (A Song For Tuckerton)," addresses his decision to start anew in the South on "Chapel Hill" and "Nothing Good Happens After Midnight," and expresses anger and grief at the loss of his mother on standout track "Before The Moon."

Things turn hopeful in the album's final third.

"Handyman Blues" is a song with which I can identify. It features, simply, electric piano and Michael VM discussing how he's "a writer, not a decorator." "It may look like I'm just reading the paper, but these ideas I'll turn to gold dust later." "Before The Sun" uses the same lyrics as "Before The Moon," but the arrangement and the entire feel of the song convey a sense of acceptance and relief instead of anger and resentment. Both "A Girl Named Lou, Pt. 3" and "The Sinking Ship" feel darker, but both also give off the "you and me against the world" vibe that comes when two people are in it for the long haul together.

Michael VM headed to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record the happiest man on earth at Cypress Moon Studios with Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes), Albert Rothstein, and Jamie Sego. Joining him for the sessions were Joe Garner (bass), Jonathan Oliphant (pianos / organs), Jeremy Gibson (drums), Kimi Samson (viola), Caleb Elliott (cello / guitar), Scott Zillitto (sax / backing vocals), and Andy Baxter (backing vocals). The result sounds amazing. It's also authentic and honest, just like everything Michael VM (or Mike V) has done before.

the happiest man on earth is out now on Suah Sounds.

Best of 2013 Installment of "What Does Mike V Think Of...?"

Year-End Lists

Starting next week, we're into full holiday high gear. It's been a fun year here at CoolDad Music. I've heard some great stuff, seen some great shows, and met some really fantastic people. I'll be putting together at least one year-end post of my own, but I'm going to try and get a few more perspectives on the year up here as things wind down.

Before getting started, I decided I'd get Mike V's take on the whole concept of year-end lists. He has some opinions as you might expect, and -- Bonus! -- he even threw in his own list of top albums of 2013.

Mike and The Everymen have been great friends of the blog throughout the year and have been taking a well-deserved sort of mini break as they get ready for 2014. With their second full-length LP in the can and a newly-signed record deal, though, I'm sure they'll be coming back stronger than ever.

CDM: We're coming to the end of the year, so that means -- probably any day now -- we'll start to see everybody's year-end lists for albums, songs, whatever. NME will put out something deliberately annoying and unbelievable. Rolling Stone will include a bunch of records that nobody under the age of -- well, my age -- will have even heard of. P4K will drag their list out over the course of a week or more. What do you think of year-end lists?

MV: I think -- like with anything in today's hyper-circuit of content -- setting yourself apart and, unfortunately, getting those clicks is as just as important as the content itself. So maybe it is up to the NME to do something completely fucking stupid (such as claiming that The Strokes debut is THE FOURTH FUCKING GREATEST RECORD EVER FUCKING MADE) or Pitchfork to roll out their list over days and weeks or The Rolling Stone... well... actually The Rolling Stone list is about as relevant as T.J. Hooker.

Since most people practice in the same general circles and most common-minded outlets will generally be publishing somewhat similar lists, people have to do something to set themselves apart from one another. So what can you do, right? You can come up with some scheme to make your list stand out from the rest. In the end, it is what it is I guess.

As for the lists themselves, I've always loved year-end lists if they proved interesting, a little different and have opened my eyes to something new. But who really wants to read the same fucking year-end list over and over again (looking at you Pitchfork, Consequence Of Sound, Stereogum, et al)? When the holidays start to roll around, I tend to troll metal boards, hardcore and punk sites, and experimental destinations for year-end stuff. I could probably tell you what Pitchfork's top 25 are right now, so why not go out of my comfort zone and find that black metal record I never knew I needed, ya know? I'm not on those sites every day, so having that filter makes getting those outsider goodies that much easier. On the negative side, of course, year-end lists always give me a sense of which outlets I should probably just stop reading. Example: The Rolling Stone proving to you time and time again just how fucking out of touch they are by lauding Katy Perry, Kings Of Leon and Sting to no fucking end.

But of course there is no better year-end list than that of your music loving pals. We used to make each other mixtapes. Now we just send each other links. Might as well make each other lists. Ask a pal what his favorite records of the year are. He might just open your eyes to something even Pitchfork hasn't heard about yet.

Having said that, here is ol' Mikey's Best Of 2013 list... in no specific order.

Yo La Tengo - Fade (Matador)
Marnie Stern - The Chronicles Of Marnia (Kill Rock Stars)
Rhye - Woman (Loma Vista)
Anna Calvi - One Breath (Domino)
Charles Waters Quartet - Chroma Colossus: 13 Visions Of The City (Amish)
Washed Out - Paracosm (Sub Pop)
The Brooklyn What - Hot Wine (self-released)
Potty Mouth - Hell Bent (Old Flame)
King Khan And The Shrines - Idle No More (Merge)
Joel RL Phelps & The Downer Trio - Gala (12XU)
Queens Of The Stone Age - …Like Clockwork (Matador)
Brother JT - The Sveltness Of Boogitude (Thrill Jockey)
Stephen Malkmus And Friends - Ege Bamyasi Record Store Day Exclusive (Matador)
Ovlov - Am (self-released)

Time for Another Installment of: What Does Mike V Think of...

...Music Festivals

It's a rainy Friday, so that means I'm feeling particularly lazy. I did manage to cobble together a review of the excellent upcoming album from London's Shopping, which you can check out over at Speak Into My Good Eye. After that, though, I'm kind of spent. That makes it a perfect day to turn things over to Mike V.

This weekend is weekend number 2 of the Austin City Limits Festival. The CBGB Music and Film Festival is, right this minute, in its second year in New York with CMJ following closely on its heels.

The Everymen have played a few festivals in their time, so I decided to ask frontman Mike V his opinion on the whole festival thing. See what he has to say about making a living as a band and the corporate dystopia in our future.

CDM: Z. Cole Smith of DIIV said earlier this year that SXSW was a "glorified corporate networking event" and "bullshit." You've played -- and been well-received at -- a few festivals this year. What do you think of music festivals as a band? As a music fan?

MV: Well, before I get into anything I have to point out that you should probably take anything that Zachary Cole Smith says with a pretty decent grain of salt. One cursory glance over this completely asinine Pitchfork interview (and his subsequent actions) prove that much.

Having said that, he is right on this point. It is a corporate shitshow. Vans this and Converse that. Doritos, Fader, Vice, Coca-Cola... fuck. Even Goo Goo Clusters had their own day party this year (which is awesome because Goo Goo Clusters fucking RULE). But that's the name of the game these days. And it ain't just in music. It's everywhere. No longer to do we have Comiskey Park, Shea Stadium, Cleveland Municipal or even Giants fucking Stadium. Now we have the M&T Bank Stadium, The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, and -- of course -- MetLife Stadium (much to the Jets chagrin, I'm sure). Corporations are so deeply ingrained in our culture that, one day, we might actually be listening to commercial jingles as radio entertainment (SEE: Demolition Man) or wearing shirts adorned with Reese's Pieces and Clorox logos (SEE: Idiocracy).

But back to SXSW. There has to be some sort of conflicting ideology when a "punk" or "indie" band (sarcastic quotations) are playing inside of a fucking giant Doritos vending machine. There has to be some sort of disconnect when a DIY or die band is playing a show sponsored by Spotify. And there is. There is a major disconnect when a band you saw play in a basement last summer is now main support at a major sponsored party. But what's the easiest way to bridge a disconnect? Cold fucking cash.

Would I want The Everymen to be the face of Mountain Dew? No. Would I take $10,000 to play a forty five minute set at the Mountain Dew / Goodyear Tires / Rdio / Stay Free Maxi day party? Absofuckinglutely. Some bands use these "money shows," as they're called, to finance entire tours or albums; and so long as the artist in question has no moral or ideological opposition to the sponsor, then no one should chastise them for taking the money and running. We're all trying to make a living here, and until you have that fat stack of cash on your table (and maybe rent to pay back home or even a family to support, say), you should hold your fucking tongue about corporate sponsorships. Don't like the corporate presence at SXSW? Play the show. Take the money, and then find yourself a basement show to play for the real kids out there. Or just play the basement show. Collect your gas money and head on out.

So to put it more plainly, I have no problem with these greedy corporate fucks. And I have even less of a problem if they wanna give me a few grand to play my guitar for less than an hour. I was gonna do that for free anyway.

What Does Mike V Think Of...

...The 1990s Revival

In this installment of "What Does Mike V Think Of...," I ask The Everymen frontman his opinion on the recent revival of the sounds of the 1990s.

I was in my twenties during the 90s, so they represent an important time in music for me. As a result, I find myself having to be careful in determining whether I like some new sounds because they're good or because they remind me of the past. Mike does have a way of putting things into perspective.

CDM: I think it's safe to say that we're in the midst of a 1990s revival. There's a big movement going on the lo-fi side of things; and at the rockier end, bands are drawing on influences like Dinosaur Jr, My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins, and -- especially -- early Weezer. It seems like there is some new, shoegaze, grunge, or sludge (all usually adding "-pop") band popping up every day.

So, what do you think of the 1990s revival? What do you think of nostalgia in music, in general?

MV: In the same way that I'm wary of reunions (Find a new fucking band to like, man. There are so many out there. And they could probably use the money more than Kevin Shields.) I'm always very wary of trend revivalists. It speaks to a certain malaise of its creators, but most importantly the music has no room to evolve. Music evolves because of people thinking outside of the box and people pushing limits and testing boundaries. Elvis becomes The Beatles. The Beatles become Led Zeppelin. Zep becomes Television. Television becomes The Pixies. The Pixies become Nirvana and on and on and on and you get the idea. But if people are out there, creating a style of music that has already lived out its shelf life, then what more could they possibly do to further that genre? Probably not much. We already know exactly where punk rock ends. And that's ok because there are myriad reasons genres come and go. It's the beautiful life cycle of music. It's a living thing and to be kept alive it needs to adapt. So maybe I'm just saying that, in a way, trend revivalists are killing music. Maybe I don't know what the fuck I'm saying. But maybe I do.

I think -- other than that whole disastrous glam revival of the early-aughts (SEE ALSO, but avoid at all costs: The Darkness, Jet, Velvet Revolver) which I wholeheartedly consider the worst thing to happen to music since Otis's plane went down -- that this 90s fuzz nostalgia is fucking lame. It just rings so incredibly false and hollow, and what is most egregious is the complete lack of songcraft in this new fuzzy generation. Pavement could write the fuck out of a song. Dino Jr could write the fuck out of a song. MBV and Eric's Trip could write the fuck out of a song. The fuzz and the lo-fi nature of the recordings was a reflection of where these bands and labels found themselves at the time. Surely you recently saw Nirvana's first contract make the net rounds. $600 from Sub Pop. Six hundred dollars. You can't make In Utero for six hundred dollars. But you can make Bleach. And while those sonics may have been an artistic choice to some extent, they were more a reflection of the environmental constraints that forced bands like Archers Of Loaf to make Icky Mettle sound like Icky Mettle. So this new batch of post-SST slackers are taking their cues from that seminal time in rock history, and dressing up their mediocre tunes in walls of fuzz and scuzz, but most of them are forgetting to take the time to write the goddamned songs.

So, while I do get some kicks from some of those fuzzy revivalists (actually pretty much just Milk Music), I really can't wait for it to be the new 2000s again. The world could use another Interpol. But hopefully not another Darkness.

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Thanks, again, Mike.

To Mike's mention of Milk Music, I'll add California X and Waxahatchee, among others, as some 1990s-influenced acts who are really bringing the songs along with the sounds.

The 2012 album, Hot Cakes, by The Darkness is available now in all the usual places.

New Feature: What Does Mike V Think Of...

"Applause" vs "Roar"

The Everymen are always busy. They recently released a great EP of Jonathan Richman covers called Hey Who Wrote These Songs? They're putting the finishing touches on the full-length follow-up to 2012's New Jersey Hardcore, and they maintain a relentless touring schedule that will see them doing a live performance of The Mario Opera (Yes. That's a rock opera based on Super Mario Brothers.) this Saturday at Joe's Pub.

The Everymen's leader, Mike V, is one of our friends here at CoolDad Music and a man with opinions. One need only check out the in-depth interview he did with me for Speak Into My Good Eye to realize that Mike is not afraid to take a stand on something.

I thought, therefore, that it would be fun to get Mike's opinions on some of the pressing issues of the day, musical or otherwise. Mike graciously took some time from his busy schedule to participate. For our first installment, I decided to go with something musical.

I should say that, while Mike V and I agree on a great many things, all I did was ask the question. Mike V's opinions are all his very own.

CDM: I know you're a Katy Perry fan. Both she and Lady Gaga released singles from their upcoming, sure to be huge, albums recently. They're battling it out (along with Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus) for chart supremacy. Lady Gaga even went so far as to announce a contest via Twitter encouraging her fans to purchase the single. The prize is a trip to meet her at London's iTunes Festival:

"The 2 fans w the most purchase/gift screenshots, radio requests, 'Applause' selfies/video, will fly international to meet me+watch the show!"

So, very simply, "Applause" vs "Roar." Discuss.

MV: In the past few years I've warmed a bit to Lady Gaga. I still think she's an idiot (but my opinion doesn't carry much weight so who cares) who has pretty good tunes and the most benign voice on earth. In other words, she's a 21st century Madonna.

Much like Madge she's all style, no substance with a crack team writing good tunes for her. And -- most importantly -- she really can't sing either. Her brash image is really what's made her.

But I can't take seriously any major artist on a major label selling albums at major retailers who try and retain some sort of artistic, political or genuine stance (*cough* Rage Against The Machine *cough*). You're a pop star and you're a creation of a marketing machine that's trying to sell as many records as humanly possible. And you know what, that's fine. Accept it. Own it. That's why I love Katy Perry. And Kelly Clarkson. And Christina Aguilera. They don't try to pose and they don't try to pretend and they don't play punk rock dress up (*cough* P!nk *cough*). They realize that they're more of a commodity than they are an artist. And they own it. And that is far more real than any protest song Zach De La Rocha's ever written.

Katy Perry, on the other hand, is a genuine talent. Girl can shake the walls with that voice and I'll take true talent and craft over stunty zaniness any day.

But you asked me about the songs so let's get to the songs.

"Applause." It's not really a song. That's not really a chorus. And that's what pop songs are about, right? Hooks. Choruses. Singing along. Right? "Applause" is just kind of a drone with words and a stupid video reminding us, yet again, that Lady Gaga is such a freak. You can do better, Gaga. You've done better.

Katy's kind of in the same boat here. Um. Whatever. This hook sucks shit. Not to mention that it's about 12 bars long. So yea. Kind of snoozy. It makes me wonder: Are people even trying anymore? Between this and the fucking remake of Red Dawn I feel like we as a creative species have just given up. But then I listen to the new Queens Of The Stone Age record. And I am calmed.

But I guess that's it this year, huh? This is the year pop music abandoned hooks. From the great songs (that Bruno Mars jam) to the sorely overhyped ones ("Blurred Lines." Which, by the way, I'm surprised that no one's pointed out is a fucking blatant rip off of "Sexy Back." That song ruled.), most pop music of this past year is completely and remarkably devoid of the hooks that make pop tunes so great. I guess we'll have to wait until next year for another "Crazy" or whatever.

So it's a push. Both of these songs fucking suck. If you need me I'll be listening to "Firework."

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So there you have it. Watch this space for future installments of "What Does Mike V Think Of..."

Thanks, Mike.

Interview with The Everymen's Mike V Coming Next Week

I'm an Interviewer Now

One of my favorite records from last year was The Everymen's New Jersey Hardcore. As much as I love dream-pop, pop punk, surf rock, jangle pop, shoegaze, psychedelic rock, electro pop, americana folk punk, or whatever, I think we're all programmed to have a soft spot for pure, unadulterated rock and roll. Nobody is doing that better right now than Tuckerton, NJ's The Everymen.

The Everymen's fearless leader, Mike V, answered some questions for me just as the band were preparing for their inaugural tour through the American South that will take them down to South By Southwest. Topics ranged from New Jersey to The Everymen's musical philosophy to Superstorm Sandy to Jonathan Richman, the subject of The Everymen's upcoming tribute EP.

Mike V on New Jersey bands:

"...the one thing that is inherent about Jersey bands is our blue collaredness. Our work ethic is unmatched. You can probably find bands better than Jersey bands. You can probably find bands sexier than Jersey bands. But you will be hard pressed to find a band who can outwork a Jersey band."

The Everymen live that philosophy, producing a constant stream of recordings, touring relentlessly, and leaving it all on the stage when they play live.

The rest of the interview should be up in the CoolDad Music section of Speak Into My Good Eye just in time for The Everymen's arrival in Austin. If you'd like to read more about the passion that Mike V has for music, life, and his home state, delivered in his own unmistakable style, then you will not want to miss it.

I think I could get used to this just writing up a bunch of questions and letting some really interesting people do the rest of the work for me.