MOST PEOPLE DON'T have a shot at making their childhood dreams come true. Especially if those dreams revolved around becoming a superstar soul singer.
The story of Mingering Mike — an imaginary soul superstar — has been chronicled worldwide, with lectures in Amsterdam, features by NPR and the New York Times, a 2007 book and accompanying reviews in the New Yorker and, of course, ample coverage in Express and The Washington Post.
It's a story that's a bit hard to wrap your head around when you first hear it. Between the years of 1968 and 1977, a lonesome kid who dreamed of making it big as a singer, songwriter and producer drew fake record covers, complete with fake song titles, in order to made a fake career for himself. Over the course of his "career," he recorded more than 50 albums, managed 35 record labels and wrote, produced and starred in nine movies. All imaginary, of course.
In 2003, record collector and DJ Dori Hadar found a collection of hand-drawn cardboard records at a flea market. Mingering Mike had all his work and tons of personal belongings in a storage locker, and after he missed a payment, the company put his stuff up for auction.
A private investigator by day, Hadar set out to track down the creator of these whimsical but intricate objects.
The once-unknown Washington, D.C., resident was suddenly thrust into the spotlight — and Mingering Mike was no longer an imaginary star. (Though he prefers to keep his real name concealed.)
While most of Mike's career existed only on cardboard, he did record some songs on a reel-to-reel recorder with his cousin, the Big "D." Last October, the Vanguard Squad released the original recording of "There's Nothing Wrong With You Baby" on vinyl and with original artwork.
More than 30 years after its original recording, Mingering Mike was finally a legitimate recording artist.
His artwork and story was gathered together and published as "Mingering Mike: The Amazing Career of an Imaginary Soul Superstar" (Princeton Architectural Press) and Hemphill Gallery in the District, had an exhibit of his original artwork and albums.
But even though Mingering dreamed of making it big in his youth, he is wary of the attention. He makes public appearances only in disguise, which can consist of wigs, facial hair, sunglasses and other accessories. Photos of him are hard to come by, and the ones that exist are of him in costume or with his face obscured.
Still, Mingering Mike is starting to appear out into the public more frequently — and in March, he made his live debut at the SXSW Music festival.
While Mingering Mike didn't perform — that's still a little too much limelight for him right now — he MC'd the showcase for Ubiquity Records. He roused the crowd throughout the night (in full getup, of course, and this time with a Jheri curl wig), but the evening's highlight was when kindred spirit Darondo took the stage, 30 years past his due, as well. Mike, standing offstage, was completely caught up in the moment as he watched Darondo — who opened for James Brown way back in the day — do his thing.
On the last day of SXSW Music, and a day after his debut, Express caught up with Mingering Mike. As we ate some Tex Mex, visited some record stores and drove around a now-desolate post-festival Austin, we chatted about SXSW, politics and disguises.
Continue Reading "An Imaginary Superstar in the Flesh: Mingering Mike" »
WASHINGTON, D.C., AND AUSTIN, TEXAS, might be separated by 2,000 miles, but that didn't stop a host of D.C. bands from making the journey down to take part in the annual SXSW Music festival.
After four days, 12,500 conference attendees, 1,700 performing bands and an awful lot of beer, Express contributor Katherine Silkaitis caught up with six local acts to find out what they thought of the mayhem.
Susan Hsu, Exit Clov
» EXPRESS: What was your overall impression of the festival?
» HSU: It's a mix of insane fun and downright absurdity. Thousands of bands crammed into a one- or two-mile radius, a lot of style, ego and talent, a lot of rock 'n' roll cliche, and everybody wants to be homecoming queen.
Express contributor Katherine Silkaitis wraps up her SXSW Music festival visit.
HEY KETTLE, HOW'D YA LIKE SXSW?
I apparently have more in common with Mr. Redd Reed than I'd like to admit. At the risk of sounding crotchety myself, I found myself at more than a few shows I didn't care to be at.
Whether they were pop-punk shows that catered to the Hot Topic / dyed hair / blue-nail-polish youngsters or shows where the artist simply didn't show up, I still took the relative disappointments in stride.
Except for Vampire Weekend.
Express contributor Katherine Silkaitis is blogging from the SXSW Music Festival; this is her third posting, and she'll wrap up her stay in Austin on Monday.
THERE'S A BIT OF AWE associated with being in the presence of Lou Reed.
Watching him at Thursday's keynote address, it was hard to get over the fact that this is a man who helped change rock 'n' roll the world over. Hell, he has an ol' adage associated with him: Not many people bought Velvet Underground records way back when, but every single person who did formed a band.
But Lou Reed is a crotchety old man.
Express contributor Katherine Silkaitis is blogging from the SXSW Music Festival through Monday.
IT'S 7 p.m. WEDNESDAY, the first official day of the SXSW Music Festival, and I've been running around catching shows all day long — yet I've found just two new bands really worth writing about.
I can't tell if 7 p.m. is late in the day for SXSW or early in the night, or if two is a reason number or a bit pitiful. I mean, there are more than a thousand bands playing here this week, so I know what the percentages say. I'll choose to be an optimist, preferring quality over quantity.
THE STARBUCKS AT the Lambert-St. Louis Airport, where I have a fantastic three-hour layover, is playing some Lou Reed. Great lyricist, composer and gold lame jacket-wearer that he is, it's always a pleasure to hear him.
But considering I'm on my way to South by Southwest — SXSW for those in the know — where Reed is scheduled to be the keynote speaker, it's like a taste of things to come. I admit I'm curious to know if he can give a speech as well as he can write a line. (I hope he can incorporate "She started shaking to that fine, fine music / Her life was saved by rock 'n' roll" into his address).
SXSW, by the way, is a music-themed amusement park in Austin, Texas.
More or less.
Continue Reading "SXSW 2008: Lives Saved by Rock 'n' Roll" »
Addison Road