CHICAGO TONIGHT, TONIGHT

i just found out i'm doing an interview and a performance on "CHicago TOnight" tonight....i guess it starts at 6pm cdt...on channel 11....

hope everybody had a great xmas...i had a great one.... but there always needs to be a little drama in the Murphy household....my neice who has had some struggles, in the past...totaled my parents car on new years eve....the day after she wrecked her boyfriends car....she went to the hospital but was released...and is fine.,...only problem is that she is suffering from an acute case of jackass.....

New Years eve sold out i see....pretty cool.... i have a couple of xtra tickets so i want to do a contest to see who wins these tickets..... i'm assuming only people in chicago will participate....but what lyric appears in both "Ashes and Beneath the AShes....you can write to me directly at michael@michael-mcdermott.com
i will check the answers by tomorrow at noon and will pick the first two correct answers to win tickets for you and a guest....

may we begin?

healing

so just got back from Philly and had a great, great time there....if i wasn't such a "chicago" guy if i didn't have " chicago" tattooed on my forehead i'd move to philly....many thanks to..troy, gary, dennis, theresa, adam, donna, karl, bruce, kim, noreen, danny, my band, and all in attendance at WCL...for making it so great...
i was pretty hyped on the joint and considering the level of hype i still dug it....

just listened today to an advanced copy of Dr. Paul Fleischer's new cd set called " Wounded" its something he and i worked on ...me, music and him doing...affirmations and guided imagery...its really great...i listened to it today and though i've never done affirmations...it was pretty cool....the guided imagery part....they said not to do while you drive...but i did it driving anyway...it was so relaxing and i'm considering doing that before shows....a half hour before i go on....seems like it might have the same effect that yoga would have...a centering, relaxing, meditative state....it will be for sale soon...just not sure how or where...but i do the background music and there is a companion disc of songs of mine....

thanks everybody...will check in before xmas....hope everybody has the spirit...peace be with you all,
m

displacement

man, has it been two weeks since i last posted....where has my mind been?....certainly not with me...not sure where exactly....adrift....at what point in your life do you accept who you are and stop struggling to be who you are not? i guess before you get to that answer...the question you should ask...is ....."who are you?, who am i ?" Should you know? why do you have to? if you don't, are you directionless....? seems like through life there would be constant changing and redefining who it is you want to be....but what if thats not the case...what if you DO know who you are.... should you embrace that...even if there are certain qualities or plenty of them, that your not pleased with.... is trying to wage a battle on those things( those shortcomings) being untrue to your true self??
or is just accepting your shortcomings, your imperfections and saying, " to hell with it...thats who i am" is that just laziness and a desire to sweep all the mess of your life under the rug. To bury your head in the sand and pretend your still perfect.

just wondering

God bless....
m

december the first

woke to snow on the ground this morning....smiled.... but damn its december....had the show at double door the other night with peter himmelman and minnie driver....got there for soundcheck and was quickly introduced to minnie who said ,..." i've heard so many great things about you" we talked a bit about the world cafe place in philly ( which i'm playing in a couple weeks, she said, its amazing) anyway...talked a bit and i saw himmelman come in...a man i'd be aware of for some time....i watched him walk around the room while minnie was soundchecking and i approached him for an introduction....wel chatted a bit and he seemed like a great fella....
my set was fine...played 20 minutes....so it was over before it really began but i played...arm, hellfire, wall, long way to heaven, 20 miles....

peter apparently said to my manger, " he's way too good to opening for us" which was nice....

had many friends there and it was a great time.....

peter and i ended up talking about religion and life for about an hour after his set...and was such a wonderful conversation for a very intuitive and insightful man....we talked about doing some shows together in the future...i would be very happy about that....
when i was leaving i went to say goodbye to minnie and give her a hug and though she was about to do a shot of what appeared to be jagermeister....we hugged and she said to me, " amazing set"...i replied, " what are you talking about? you werent' even back from the hotel when i got off stage "...she appeared suprised and in her english accent said, " i know...but i got your cd now "...i then said...." i'm just teasing you...good meetin ya"

my manager also informed me that the european label wants me over there doing some shows....so i was thrilled to hear that....that will be a dream come true.....

little else to report...oh the barn of barrington was a great night....sound was weird in the place but i enjoyed the performance....was kinda fun to do some stuff i hadnt' played in a while...upside down, belong, smoke.etc.

hope everybody is safe and healthy....God bless.

m