Monday, January 17, 2011

How To: Get To Know Mike Dreams

A month ago…
I received an odd email from the booking manager & owner of The Cabooze. Odd in the sense the email wasn’t meant for me. It was a forwarded message. These things are always hard to interpret… you have to cut through all the mumbo jumbo bullshit in the beginning of when/where/what time zone the email was sent, who it was sent from, who it was sent to, blah blah blah. Finally got down to the bottom of it… it was an email from Mike Dreams to the booking manager questioning why his name wasn’t on the online line up of acts for Jan. 21st. Good question, the guy’s opening the night, his name should be on the f’n website’s lineup.

The Cabooze’s booking manager replied that there’s only so much room on the website’s panel, as well as the tickets, that there wasn’t enough space to fit everyone’s name. “F----n hell John”, I thought. Kid’s got yarbles goin' behind my back (the promoter's back) to email the owner of the joint as to what the hell is going on with the line up.

Flashback one year ago…
A bundle of texts barreled my direction the night of a lack luster show at the Ugly Mug. I was promised we’d be playing the gynormous/f---ng awesome/Hollywood-esque upstairs room (aka the RocBar), however it was not to be. We were slated for the less than gynormous/slightly ok/Detroit-esque downstairs room. The show was a bust, who cared… sadly I did… and thought I was the only one.

The texts still came rolling in. Finally deciding to check them, I discovered it was Mike Dreams, who was also opening the night for us at the Ugly Mug. “Am I on the list?”, “Do they know that Mike Dreams is performing tonight?”, “Do they know my name?”… very basic, simple questions. “F---ng hell John, give me a moment to reply!”… I called him back. The phone rang that not so frequent ring (nowadays all real-time dialogue is held via text) thinking to myself “Shit, these people better know who the f*ck Mike Dreams is!”. How could they not??? Even better question: Do I know who Mike Dreams is? Apparently not.

I just dug the kid’s sound. He’d make a shitty PA sound like Madison Square, the tone of his voice declared & claimed attention like a bank robbery, like the Rock, like a gun. Sincerely, I understood him as a performer, but as a person… perhaps I’ve overlooked & underestimated.

Two months ago…
Mike Campbell, Prof’s manager, book keeper, boy genius, and gravity for all things Stophouse Music Group related, fought for every inch of merch table at The Varsity. He barely broke sweat, face, or confidence in running all over the city and piecing together everything for his poster-rapper and client, Prof. In those moments, jea, I’ll break sweat, I’ll crack, I’ll get downright vulnerable… not Mike Campbell. The man show’s no mercy, compliment, or fear in the eye of the storm. Him & I thrive on it, however I look like I’m going into labor when providing for my artists, whereas he looks cool & effortless as a Spyhouse barista.

The show began. Bass pushed from the stage to the distant merch table at the front door. That declarative, familiar voice struck the microphone once again (because I booked him;) Mike Campbell looked up, turned to me, “Hey, who is this playin’ right now?”. “Who?”, I replied, just wanting him to repeat it again (call me “asshole” here). “The opening act, who’s on right now?” I grinned, making the final markings on giveaway mixtapes, “Oh, him? Yeah, that’s Mike Dreams”. I pretended it was nothing, smiled and went back to merch work.

In the light of such grand talent, even the unimpressed have to pay homage.

Currently…
Passing over the recent email between Mike and The Cabooze.. I laughed. C’mon, don’t you people know who Mike Dreams is? The question is the simple reason I keep booking him. I think everyone should know who Mike Dreams is or at some point give themselves the opportunity to.

One of the few artists in the city that could take stage in NYC and not miss a beat. You’d be late for the show if you missed him as the opening gong to this Friday’s show at The Cabooze.

Mike’s on at 9pm Sharp, here:

Adv Tix: 

Watch This: 

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