So SXSW was a little crazy this year.....to say the least. I won the Austin Music Award for Best Drums/Percussion, officially came out with The Black Swan AND played multiple shows with 7 different artists/bands -- porterdavis, Gurf Morlix, Ray Bonneville, Bukka Allen, Amilia K. Spicer, Will T. Massey, and Brian Ashley Jones.

I had a great time in all the performances and interviews. I feel truly fortunate to perform with so many wonderful and varied artists! Meeting the folks @ Music Fog was definitely a highlight. Check out their cool blog at www.musicfog.com -- I played on 3 different sessions with them at Threadgills World Headquarters.

Still trying to catch up on sleep, but it was all worth it.....I wonder what next year will bring.....???

So I'm catching up on a couple of posts here....I've been so busy this year, it's been tough to keep up with everything!

I was fortunate enough to perform @ 'The Salute to Heroes Ball' for the Presidential Inauguration in D.C. I was chosen along with 20 other 'Mystery Entertainers' from around the country to perform my Perceptionism during the cocktail hour for the 1200 attendees of the black tie affair, held at the Rennaisannce Hotel in downtown D.C.

It was truly an honor to take part in such a historical event, and particularly alongside so many talented performers!

There are a few photos posted in the Photo section.

My friend Eric Holland and I have designed,created, have a patent pending and now have for sale a new drum unlike any other in the world. It's called The Black Swan and has been a loooooong time coming. Check it out @ www.theblackswandrum.com

Had a great time @ FA in Memphis this year!!

Saw the best guitar playing I've ever seen in my life (James Burton)...in his 70's and he's still the best (maybe even better than ever)!!! Truly amazing to see such a master and legend. He was sitting in with Rodney Crowell, Will Kimbrough, Jim Lauderdale, and Albert Lee....definitely my favorite show of the conference....and right before porterdavis played our official showcase.

I played 4 official showcases with porterdavis, Will Taylor and Strings Attached, Amilia K. Spicer, and Ray Bonneville. Truly an honor and a pleasure to play with such great artists (and people). There were of course many un-official sponsored late night shows too....a vey busy, but fun weekend of GREAT music.

Nice to see a lot of old friends and make some new ones....too bad there wasn't much time to actually hang out.

More to come soon.......--MM

Just got back from Atlanta where I had a little vacation time with my folks and worked on a record with Rebecca Loebe. Looking forward to the final CD...it was wonderful to work with Becca and producer Will Robertson. We had a lot of fun and created some nice music at Tree Sound Studios -- check out some of the pic's on my Photo page.

THE 411 ON MY FALL '08

Earlier in the fall I did an EP with Cellist/Vocalist/Songwriter, Najeeb. Looking forward to hearing that when it comes out....
Continued playing live shows with Will T. Massey, and did a few with my new friends Bukka Allen and Sally Allen as well. My band porterdavis has been busy working on a new CD with producer Gurf Morlix....more sessions with him this month (December '08)...woo hoo! I also did a song at Screen Door Studios with Colin Gilmore in November. Hopefully it will turn into a whole record, I had a great time tracking his song "Goodnight Lane"!!!
PASIC came to Austin in early November, and I performed with the Berklee West African Drum and Dance Ensemble for the opening show. Caught up with some of my teachers from Ghana (Bernard Woma and Nani Agbeli) as well as some teachers and friends from Berklee, and the drum community at large.

Last (but most certainly not least) my special custom drum is almost ready. The conversations and early inception began almost a year ago with my good friend Eric Holland. Tommorrow we'll be looking at the prototype and hopefully making only a few minor tweeks.....I'll post more info here as it develops. I'm so excited about this!!!

I think that's enough blabbin' for now....although there's always plenty more I can go on about. Those have been some of the highlights of my Fall '08 heading into Winter...I feel very fortunate and grateful!! Looking forward to 2009 being even better!!!!! --MM

So this month I'm doing a few Texas dates with songwriter Will T. Massey in celebration of his newly released CD "Wayward Lady" I played a variety of percussion on almost every track of the album.  I've placed the song "Peace Train" on my streaming player here, so check it out!

I'll be doing one show with  Austin songwriter Nathan Hamilton down in Conroe,TX later this month.....hopefully hurricane Ike won't cause to much trouble in the area, and all my friends down there will be okay. I always enjoy playing with Nathan. After our show, he'll be heading off on a tour in Europe for a few weeks...I'm jealous!

One of my newest adventures includes taking some acting classes for the first time in my life....so far so good. Looking forward to learning more about the art and craft.

ANYWAY - some other fun projects in the works. I plan on having some Perceptionism T-shirts by the end of the month, and I'm recording with a cellist, Najeeb, on his solo project next week--more on that later.

Time to go enjoy some Austin sun! --MM

Had a great trip to Salmon Arm, BC Canada with porterdavis! Such a beautiful part of the world with some very friendly Canucks. We played at the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival. The line-up was terrific, and we had some great shows, and got to catch a couple as well. Some highlights, for me, included catching Vieux Farka Toure and The Neville Brothers on Sunday night. Also, I enjoyed seeing and meeting the Swedish sisters of Baskery, right before our morning workshop with the phenomenal Chris Smither .

The weather was nice, although it was a little warmer than I thought it would be that far north....record highs for Salmon Arm according to the locals. The travel days were long, many connecting flights, but ultimately everything went fairly well. All and all it was a nice adventure north. I posted a few pictures on my photos page, for those so inclined.  I really look forward to going back, and hopefully will be able to spend more time exploring  the area next time around.

I'm back home in Austin for a little while, after having a great vacation! Spent some quality time with family and friends. Went to 2 weddings, saw some beautiful landscapes, caught up with old friends, made new friends, and made some great memories along the way.

I put some pictures from part of my vacation on the Photos page....I'll let them tell the story. I unfortunately became less diligent the second part of my journey ( in MD and D.C.), but had no less of a great time.

I'm also becoming more tech savvy, as I've joined team iPhone, and am now on Facebook, Skype and Twitter. Come find me if you dare!

I must say it's pretty cool to re-connect with old friends, and stay in touch with people in a way that wasn't possible just a few years ago. Especially for those of us who travel frequently.

Until next time.....

So I guess today's the first official day of summer, but with MANY days with the temperature in the triple digits here in Austin, it feels like we've been in it for a while now.....ughh...but....I'll still take it over the cold winters of Boston!!!

porterdavis has been busy writing new material for our next CD....it's been going great, and I'm looking forward to getting in the studio in the fall....looks like Gurf Morlix will most likely be our producer....a great musician as well as a very nice chap. I played a last minute gig with him and my friend Amilia K. Spicer a couple of weeks ago, and had a blast!

Earlier this month I played a fun show with The Nasty Clan -- it was their first show and their drummer had bailed....I was available to do some rocking, so.....check 'em out when you get a chance.

The Perceptionism and Hypnosis shows have been going great....to find out more about that side of my life, check out: www.theperceptionist.net

Look for me on Will T. Massey's newest CD too...not sure when it'll be out yet, but I'll be sure and put more info up as I find out.

The dust has finally settled here in Austin after SXSW. I took it easy this year and actually had time to see some old friends and check out some music. porterdavis had an excellent showcase at Antone's. Some friends I got to see (and hear) include Son Lux, Kaki King, and Drop Sonic -- All old friends from Atlanta doing very different, but very cool projects. Check 'em out!!

Besides seeing my friends, there were a couple of highlights  for me. First was the Daniel Lanois showcase at Pangea and second was the discovery of the band Why? Both shows inspired some new ideas for me, which is always exciting!

Aside from SXSW I had a couple of great Perceptionism shows at Art Outside. Thanks to everyone who came out! Also, I finally have my non-musical website up and running. Check it out at: www.theperceptionist.net It's pretty basic right now, but I plan on adding more content in the next few weeks.

I put up a couple of pic.'s from the WC Clark / porterdavis session I participated in earlier this week. We recorded a WC Clark song with the man himself for a compilation CD called the Welcome Home Project. It was  such an honor and a pleasure to work with WC - a legendary artist and true gentleman. Should be a very cool CD when it's all said and done. I'll put up more info as it progresses.

Enough babbling for now...time to go enjoy some of this gorgeous weather here in Austin! --MM