by Mike Errico | Aug 17, 2017 | audio, Minor Fits
Ultimate Classic Rock (how cool a name is that?) has an exclusive premiere of my cover of “You Shook Me All Night Long,” which will be available everywhere on August 22nd. (Psst: It’s available on the CD version of Minor Fits and also as a download on the PledgeMusic campaign.) If you know me, you know I’ve played this for years, but it’s never gotten a real strong recorded version until now. Although he doesn’t usually work in the same hard-rock vein mined by AC/DC, Errico tells Ultimate Classic Rock that his long-standing love for the song is real — and his clever approach to playing it has its roots in his years as a young musician making ends meet by performing covers at a dive bar on Bleecker Street in New York City. “I didn’t want to be a human jukebox,” explains Errico. “To me, if you want to hear a song done ‘right,’ go to the original and listen to it. But I was so confused about how to start out in music that I decided maybe I could tolerate doing covers if I twisted up a bunch of songs I liked and injected my own personality into the gig.” The result, he says now, was “maybe the worst, most confusing, set in the world” — one that spanned reinvented versions of everything from Stevie Wonder‘s “Sir Duke” to musical numbers, Sinatra songs, and Ozzy Osbourne‘s “Crazy Train.” “Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing,” he admits. “I just knew I wanted to play.” Read More: Hear AC/DC’s ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ Covered as a Waltz...
by Mike Errico | May 25, 2017 | audio, Minor Fits
There are ONLY TEN DAYS LEFT in the Mike Errico PledgeMusic campaign, and If you’ve joined, you get everything first. If not, HERE’S YOUR SHOT. “Trusted,” Heavy Americana from Mike Errico’s forthcoming album, Minor Fits LISTEN HERE WHEN YOU JOIN THE CAMPAIGN – AND THANK YOU! “Trusted” started as a friendly challenge from the Acoustic Guitar Project, an online platform in which a single guitar travels from musician to musician, and each person gets a week to write and record an original song only using a tiny handheld recorder they provide. “It was fun to do, but the original had a folky, ‘train’ beat. [Producer] Jamie Siegel heard it and suggested pushing the rock foundation he heard in it. I went back to the drawing board several times, following his recommendations, and after a couple of revisions, we landed in that big, “Heavy Americana” zone that I wanted for Minor Fits. Lyrically, the song is an exploration of trust, as well as why we have so much difficulty with it. “What we think of ourselves is what we project outwardly, and if that lens is smeared, that’s when we get into trouble. But there’s a great unburdening in seeing things for what they are, and that’s what I was hoping to do—you know, without screaming and breaking things, which is usually my first reaction,” he says, laughing. “I’ve left a trail of songs that’ll back me up on that.” Over eight albums, Errico has remained inspired by the challenge of making art while making a living. “Over the years, I learned to be versatile, and to gain as many...
by Mike Errico | May 22, 2017 | audio, Minor Fits
“Here’s to the End of the World” A pop-rock drinking song for the apocalypse from Mike Errico’s forthcoming album, Minor Fits Best option: Hear it/download it (and everything else!) when you pre-order at Pledge Music Second best option: Download it at Bandcamp Third best option (provided you also click FOLLOW on my profile): stream it at Spotify, Apple Music, or SoundCloud Popdose Premiere/Interview: “Here’s to the End of the World” Popdose Premiere: Mike Errico, “Here’s to the End of the World” “It captures all that I appreciate in Errico’s music. The entrancing and oft solemn quality of his earlier work mixed with the electric guitar fueled passion of his later output…coupled with clever wordplay that can be both incisive and biting.” – Twangville “His lyrics are dripping with truth and passion. The song goes down smooth. If you’re a fan of that electric guitar Americana style, you’ll like this one.” – Ear to the Ground “A supremely gifted performing songwriter” – Performing Songwriter “’Here’s to the End of the World’ is a barroom-style pop-rock drinking song toasting the apocalypse,” explains Errico. “I thought we might need one. It owes debts to The Pogues, Beatles, and my own ample time spent drinking and singing at bars.” Although the song may feel like a response to the present political climate, it was written well over a decade ago. “I never released it, but it stayed with me for years, as if it were waiting for the properly apocalyptic moment. I thought it might be weird to go back to retrieve a song, but I was inspired by Radiohead, who put out the...
by Mike Errico | May 16, 2017 | audio, Minor Fits
“The Arecibo” The second single from Mike Errico’s forthcoming album, Minor Fits This record is being funded by a Pledge Music campaign. Join in and get exclusives, videos, the music (of course) and much more that you can’t get anywhere else: JOIN THE PLEDGE! BUY “THE ARECIBO”: BANDCAMP (RECOMMENDED) | ITUNES STREAM IT (AND PLEASE CLICK ‘FOLLOW’ ON MY PROFILE!): SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC “[The] electric guitar fueled passion of his later output…coupled with clever wordplay that can be both incisive and biting.” – Twangville “A supremely gifted performing songwriter” – Performing Songwriter First single, “My Sinking Ship” featured on Spotify as part of New Music Friday —– This is a fun one, and I’m so psyched to share it with you. Here’s the official story: “The Arecibo” is forward-looking rock and roll reminiscent of Eagles of Death Metal or Jack White. Propelled by honking bari sax, it is retro without being throwback, and is one shade of the varied exploration of Americana pop-rock storytelling from Errico’s eighth release, Minor Fits. The song is inspired by two themes that combine to create one of the more unlikely double entendres in pop music. “Years ago, I fell in love with the 90s sci-fi film Contact, and I have a series of songs that were inspired by it. There’s a Spotify playlist of them, actually. Arecibo is a city in Puerto Rico, and the site of the Arecibo Observatory—the world’s largest radio telescope, and the spot where Ellie Arroway (played by Jodie Foster) scans the sky looking for extraterrestrials. I won’t get into the film too much, but they assemble a craft—that looks...
