Since the band's inception circa 1999, there have been 16 or more participants in the Phantom Band experience. Hear the music here...
www.reverbnation.com/miketrue andthephantomband/
note - for whatever reasons AD is breaking up the link -miketrue andthephantomband splits at "true and" - push it back together in the address link to get there from here...
The Phantom Band (observation: 8/31/2014)
Eyes esspressoed open at ten p.m.,
A chat with my some-time rhythm man.
Only after the gig he stops to tell me
Of finger cut in kitchen mayhem,
Two days prior.
Five songs later,
Ending open mic recital,
Looking for a quick fix to fix the nick,
We enjoy a sidewalk smoke-out,
Flirt with fans, joke with friends.
.
Tender fingertip having made for
Edgy jembe rhythm, I think.
It was a good gig.
Funny how these things happen.
His presence pure coincidence, of course,
Along with tastefully accentuated guitar and mandolin,
Some southern pickin’ on the side.
Highlights provided by North Carolina visiting musician
Proficient enough to pick out melodies
And assorted chord keys on the fly.
A guest with ambition, I like that.
Two instruments rehearsed, then tuned,
This, mere minutes before stirring the ingredients
Into a tasty spot-light center-stage gumbo.
Our stew,
Eagerly consumed
By a most receptive Sunday night audience.
This makeshift musical endeavor
Continually remixed and re-mastered
By troupes of transcendental troubadours
And a small brigade of garage blues commandoes.
It never ceases to amaze!
Leaves me rising with the capricious tides of
A small faction of coffeehouse supporters
And an appreciative sing-along six-pack
Of karaoke pubsters to go.
So it is with no little pride
That I have been honored
By these magical musical moments.
Privileged at having been there.
Flattered by being a part of
Something far more appetizing
Than the soup bones of my second-best solo efforts.
(Though I do so enjoy sharing my songs.)
It is always quite profound;
Allowing for the layering of sound,
The passion of play,
The communal beat,
The essence of harmonies sour and sweet…
Each sonic vibration a spark in this
Externally combusting engine.
Each song driven on recklessly
To its final verse,
To its final chorus,
And on to its final reverberating conclusion.
Each performance unique,
Yet undulating with a familiar rhythm,
Swelling like a jellyfish
With the influx of participants.
Then inevitably shrinking to me and my guitar,
(The apple and the core).
Oozing through time and space
With molasses-like momentum,
Everything reflecting stars in this alluring sea of reverie,
This galaxy of elliptic orbits continuously intersecting,
Making for a million and one melodious possibilities.
Americana music ringing in my ears…
They say it’s all in my head but I like what I hear!
Together we are Mike True and the Phantom Band.
Michael S. True
9-1-14
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Reviews of "The Phantom Band (observation: 8/31/2014)"
Sounds like a wonderful evening of great fun! As a drummer in an experimental folk/Americana band, I enjoy these kinds of settings. Especially when the line between audience and stage is blurred.
Sounds like what I read about the Grateful Dead. I may have heard them once when I stopped by one afternoon to listen from my car at Panhandle Park in San Francisco and to watch the hippies having a get together with a band playing in the background.
There's nothing like impromptu music from a group of good musicians there for the pure enjoyment of playing and singing original songs. I've experienced that in Corpus Christi recently and if I ever get to New Orleans, I'll certainly try to look you up and hopefully you'll have a session playing that evening with the nefarious Phantom Band.
I checked the two songs you have at that website. I could listen to that type of music all night long… All I can say is… Bravo!
Ron
Automatic formatting does this to links all the time. I'm savvy and rarely have trouble with links that are split or have some other anomaly like an extra space after the link that I often cause by copying the entire line and pasting it in rather than just the link alone… Can be fixed usually by just looking at the link and fixing it, and then reload.
note - for whatever reasons AD is breaking up the link -miketrueandthephantomband splits at "true and" - push it back together in the address link to get there from here...
There is absolutely nothing so raw and magical as live music. It has so much that commercially produced music misses.
I got the link working - just had to close the gap in the link text.
Rx
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Peace,
Dayvid
There's nothing like impromptu music from a group of good musicians there for the pure enjoyment of playing and singing original songs. I've experienced that in Corpus Christi recently and if I ever get to New Orleans, I'll certainly try to look you up and hopefully you'll have a session playing that evening with the nefarious Phantom Band.
I checked the two songs you have at that website. I could listen to that type of music all night long… All I can say is… Bravo!
Ron
Automatic formatting does this to links all the time. I'm savvy and rarely have trouble with links that are split or have some other anomaly like an extra space after the link that I often cause by copying the entire line and pasting it in rather than just the link alone… Can be fixed usually by just looking at the link and fixing it, and then reload.
I got the link working - just had to close the gap in the link text.
Rx