Confessions of a Mock Star

Welcome to my site. I’m the frontman and principal songwriter for two original rock bands: Every Damn Day (EDD) and Mike Daly & The Planets (MD&TP). Some people find that fascinating; others find it pretentious; and still others have no opinion whatsoever. Each of those mindsets has a corresponding level of interest in the music we produce. It’s the people who maintain some level of fascination that keep us going,

While the entire endeavor clearly reeks of narcissism, it’s not all about attention-seeking. I write songs as a means of sorting out different life experiences, most of which are of the personal-relationship variety, past and present. As I wrote in a MD&TP song called “Find The Pleasure,” in all passion, there is pain. Songwriting is my opiate. By the time I’ve put together a set of lyrics and music and recorded/performed it, the level of impact on my psyche is dramatically reduced. And the even greater reward is having someone in the audience relate to what I’ve written. The universal aspect of music has carried me through many difficult times in my life, so if I can pay that forward to even one person, I consider that a success worth celebrating.

But while you’d expect that being in a rock band generates a number of cool stories, you never really hear many of the uncool ones. For example, if I tell you that EDD once played at the legendary CBGB and leave it at that, you might be impressed. But I’m the kind of person who can’t leave it at that, and if I didn’t tell you the rest of the story, it would feel to me like a lie of omission. Similarly I could tell your about the trek MD&TP took to southern Alabama, where we both covered “Sweet Home Alabama” on the beach and then performed at a rock club that has hosted many national acts. Good story, on its face, but I’d also have to tell you about the sand flies and the dead truck battery and the mile-long freight train and the headlining band suddenly dropping out because their drummer had a case of anaphylaxis….

So, in addition to keeping you abreast of what’s going on here music-wise, I plan to use this forum to suss out the many, many mishaps that have occured behind the scenes — some beyond our control, others self-inflicted, all frustratingly living within my genenrously proportioned cranium — as a means of eventually filing them away for safekeeping. I hope you’ll find it all entertaining. But if you don’t, please don’t tell me; it would legit hurt my feelings.