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You REALLY should sign up to receive The Michelle Malone Banned NEWSLETTER! We hope to see you soon for a real good time! WAHOO!!

AND Dont forget that my song Restraining Order Blues will be in the 3rd episode of True Blood on HBO July 10th!

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“Their Love Of Music” is a beautiful coffee table book that won’t stay there long, because it can’t easily be put down. It’s filled with superlative portraits of a wide variety of musicians from Chicago and elsewhere and their explanations about the source of their inspiration to follow a career in music- Michelle Malone is included in this great photo book! Other included artists are Susan Tedeschi, Buddy Guy, Steve Miller, and Pine Top Perkins. Terry Stewart, President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum said, “I really like the fact that there are plenty of people I know and plenty of people I don’t”. Click on the photo to check it out and buy your copy!

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The commute to this job can be absurd! My blood has not properly circulated through my entire body for 24 hours. So i’ve been sleepwalking, dragging my guitar from state to state, gate to gate, concourse to concourse, etc, etc, etc. I am useless. I am beaten down I am finally safe and still at home. I unpack, and head to the dresser to change into comfy loose clothes, going through the motions of the most basic duties that, thankfully, bring some semblance of normalcy to one’s life.

I open my dresser drawer, and there’s Michael Jackson starring up at me from a little white T shirt that I bought when he died.  I was genuinely shocked, saddened, and angry by his early demise. I was also completely obsessed. I havent been so CNN-addicted since 9/11. I watched every special and read every news report. I scanned the cable for Jackson family members. I craved more information, as if it might help me solve the mystery of his death. I was unreasonably  grief-stricken, though he had been a significant part of the soundtrack of my life.  Off the Wall was one of the first records i remember buying with my own money (long before I became an angry teen who swore off corporate rock), and to this day that record still takes me to a happy place where I get my back up off the wall and dance with a force ’til I get enough…and apparently i just can’t get enough!

I had also been one of the screaming throngs on the field at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium to see the Jackson Victory Tour in 1984, although I was not one of the crying, hysterical girls. I was deeply stirred, not shaken. After all, this was Michael at the top of his game! The performance included the moonwalk, the sequined glove, and the toss of a black fedora into the crowd at the end of Billy Jean! It was spell binding and magical, and it was a concert I will never forget.

Of course, Atlanta Fulton Country Stadium was hallowed ground before the Jacksons arrived. The Beatles performed there in 1965, one of the 9 cities they choose to visit in the US that year (Unfortunately, I was not yet born, or I would’ve been there, too).  A few years later, in 1974, Atlanta Brave Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run out of that park. As an Atlanta native, I can tell you where I was, who I was with, and remember exactly how it felt to witness that record-breaking moment, and I was a little kid. Suffice it to say, the King of pop’s appearance there was butter cream icing on that rich red velvet cake – Normally I would prefer chocolate, but red velvet is perfect for special occasions.

Can I get you some coffee? I think i’ll have another cup…back to the story…ramblin’, ramblin’ ramblin’…

So when Michael Jackson died, I did the only thing there was to do to make any sense of this tragedy – i bought a t shirt. It seems to be the way we red-blooded “Americans” commemorate an event. When the going gets tough, we go buy cheaply-printed 50/50 poly T shirts made in Pakistan. And there were plenty for sale at the mall in Albany, GA, which is where I ended up that weekend. After walking the mall in search of just the right souvenir, I chose this little white one with a close up of Michael from the Thriller album. It seemed more of a celebration of his life than an announcement of his death. I think i’ve worn it once.

Long story short, i’m changing clothes. I open up the drawer, and there he is starring up at me. Only the shirt was kind of wadded up. You know how shirts get wadded up in your drawer after you went rummaging and rifling through them all, because you cant find anything to wear that suits your current mood that’s so different from yesterdays mood (and the day before) AND you’re running late, because you were hopelessly sucked into the cavernous black hole known as Facebook, even though you told yourself that you would just quickly check to see if you had any new messages?! An hour later you happen to glance at the clock and realize that you’re late for some meeting or work or something not nearly as important as responses to your witty post on Facebook!

So the Thriller shirt’s wadded up. It’s wadded up in such a way that his face looks wrinkled and aged.  I imagine this is how he wouldve looked had he not had all the reconstructive surgeries and lived to be a sweet old man of about 80. He didnt look freakish or scary. He looked kind and content. I stood there and starred at him for a minute. I was fascinated. I didnt feel sorry for him. I wanted to introduce him to all my friends, like I did with my Pops. It was like visiting the grandparents who were easy and kind and always gave you change to buy candy. It was heart-warming and fuzzy.  It suddenly had a quiet sense of closure…not clothesier.

After a few moments with sweet old Papa Michael, I put on my Rolling Stones Tour shirt and dragged my ass into bed, with the warm knowledge that I would never have to sleep under a Camaro again.

Did I mention that I have coffee?

Michael Jackson's Thriller

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MOANIN' IN THE ATTIC-BIRTHDAY BLOW OUT CD!

Live B-Day Blowout CD!

A great new live recording of Michelle and The Banned at Eddie’s Attic for her birthday blowout/benefit May 8, 2010 – MM says “Thank you for the birthday wishes! Yes, it’s official…I’m ALIVE AND KICKING!!” Shalom, the amazing sound man at Eddie’s Attic, did a GREAT job, as did the banned – Jonny Daly, Phil Skipper, Katie Herron, Trish Land, and good friend Tim Tucker on Keys and vocals – it is a DOOZY! It was mastered by Sir Chris Griffin, and it’s sounding really REALLY great! Songs include: Undertow, Camera, Flapole, Tighten Up, Teen Lament (the Jesus Song), In The Weeds, and Yesterday’s Make Up, Go Easy (with Tim Tucker) and alot MORE! Click here to go to the webstore:

MOANIN IN THE ATTIC CD

Slide and acoustic guitars, Harmonica: Michelle Malone, Keys and vocals : Tim Tucker, Drums: Katie Herron, Percussion and backing vocals: Trish Land, Guitar, backing vocals: Jonny Daly, Bass, backing vocals: Phil Skipper, Recorded by Shalom Aberle at Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, GA, Mastered by Chris Griffin, ATL.

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New Undertow Tshirts!

Meet Skeletar, our new Rock and Roll Mascot…his heart’s been broke and he’s on a bender singing, “I Cant Stand waiting to hear your boots at my door… I Cant Stand wondering if you’re out with that whore…I Cant Stand – I drank an ocean of liquor in your Undertow!” on Preshrunk 100% brushed cotton – artwork by Jodi Hersh -

Get yours at the Michelle Malone store NOW!

Take Me To The Store.

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We flew into Austin Thursday with nary a glitch…and Woody Harrelson was on the flight…a good omen! We found our driver at baggage claim holding up a sign that read “Michelle Malone Banned”. People may have thought he was protesting! He whisked us to the hotel where we found each of our rooms to be satisfactory…it wasn’t the The Four seasons, but it wasn’t the Motel 6 either. Disaster averted.

We headed into town for some authentic Tex Mex at Guero’s on South Congress. The cab ride was memorable – the driver had an affinity for really loud smooth jazz. It was like a Rave in an elevator in a dentists building. 3 hours later, or so it seemed, we were pleasantly stuffed with award-winning soft taco’s, chips, and the most flavorful mellow green sauce I’ve ever had. That was the extent of our big night out -We had an 8am call at the Video Ranch the next morning!

Our driver comes back for us at 7:30am. I think that’s early for anyone, but most especially us! However, it wasn’t nearly as painful as I thought it would be. We go to the old Austin airport that’s been converted to sound stages and film offices. Apparently we just missed the Cohen Brothers by a week. The Video Ranch’s staff is friendly and helpful and the coffee is black and strong. The crew sets up the furnished gear and guitars our good friends at Gibson sent over (THANK YOU, GIBSON and Brandon DeMaris). We’re waking up and getting comfy when up walks an older man-child in a red plaid shirt and a knit cap. He introduces himself to me. “Hi. I’m Michael Nesmith.” I was taken aback. I said, “What did you say?” He said his name again. I wish I could’ve seen my face. He’s a frickin Monkee!! I have very distinct and fond memories of watching him on TV as a kid. He’s also a songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist. This virtual environment on the internet that produces these 3D web cast concerts is his brainchild. If that’s not enough, he toured with Hendrix. Stick a fork in me.

A. Whitney Brown from Saturday Night Live is the host/MC., and he’s funny, polite and the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. He introduces us, and we launch into Tighten Up. The 3D Concert was a great show, if I do say so myself, not only because we had a good time and played well, but also because we were playing for a virtual audience of cartoon avatars! There a huge screen set up in front of our stage, so we could see those signed in to watch the show. There were flamingos, snowmen, aliens, naked dancers, pigs in glasses – you name it! It was truly the strangest most diverse audience I’ve ever played to. In between songs, a canned clap track was piped in, so it had the feeling of a real show…as long as we didn’t really think about it too much! I did make the mistake of reading the comments on the screen once or twice, and immediately forgot the lyrics to whatever I was singing at the time. That NEVER happens!

At one point I looked up and my 8th grade boy friend was there at the show. In the flesh. Seriously! Talk about distracting. We do see each other once every decade or so, and I had called and invited him to come down and watch, but I didn’t think he would really come! We pick up where we left off very quickly. It leads me to believe that we never really changed that much at the deepest level. Whatever we had in common as 13 year olds, we must still have…or that we’re still essentially 13…quite likely a combo platter of the two.

We shot stills with “the Nez” and A. Whitney, had some great lunch at catering, and moved on. I drove into town with my old pal Griff in his hybrid Ford to meet his wife and see the 5 Star energy efficient “green” home they lovingly and painstakingly built. It has solar panels, repurposed materials, and helps sustain the environment- I have the coolest friends! I wont go into more detail, but you’ll see it soon in architectural digest. He’s built a great life for himself, and that made me soooooo happy! Don’t you love to see your people happy?!

We worked in some time for BBQ at Iron Works (always, ALWAYS make time for it), an hour at the Texas Guitar Show (thousands of cool vintage and new guitars, gear – plus I got to meet the makers of my beloved Porchboard), and it’s back to the hotel to wait for our next driver to our next show, Mr. Fire himself, author Joe Vitale!

Now Joe is a man who means business. I don’t think he ever relaxes. He’s always writing, reading, and rockin! We’ve become good friends, as this is the 4th time I’ve performed for him in his home. Did I mention that he collects cars? He picks us up at the hotel in his brand new Rolls Royce Phantom. Seriously?! It has the capability to go 200 mph! It floats on air! The doors close by themselves! It is the smoothest, most comfortable ride I’ve ever had. The ride was over an hour, so we had a quality visit and rich conversation. Jonny concluded that we all somehow resemble our first cars…you may or may not appreciate this theory!

Me, Jonny and Phil are invited to play any and all of Joe’s guitars – he has quite the collection. He has special made one-of-a-kind guitars we’ve never even heard of! We pick up a few priceless models that include a pre-war Martin, a hand- made Lame Horse (the maker is a veterinarian by day) and a Robert Taylor and head for the living room where we jam for an hour and make some new friends. We played The Gathering for the first time since 1990.

Afterwards, Joe reveals his latest, his Alien Guitar. It’s otherworldly! It’s a fantastic, artistic, and, of course, one of a kind. Look for it on Letterman soon! Joe and I are discussing a CD project of positive solo acoustic songs… We both agree that the world could really use a break from the negativity everywhere. Stay tuned for that, as well!

I’m beyond grateful for the opportunity to be playing music for living. Indeed, it’s all I’ve done for 20+ years. To have the opportunity to perform again with my friends and band mates Jonny Daly and Phil Skipper is heavenly. Nothing like traveling with old friends! Sometimes I feel 21 again as if we stepped into a time machine… though we spend a lot of time trying to remember details of our former incarnation known as Drag the River…t keeps us laughing! We know each other jokes, can finish each other’s sentences, and the music feels and sounds right. It feels as comfortable as my favorite pair of boots…yea, those brown one’s I bought in 1992 that I’ve had resoled 10 times…though the 3 of us have been playing together longer that that! It’s familiar and safe. I don’t have to worry. I can finally relax, because I know that we have each other’s backs. I’ve got my big brother’s back! And last but certainly not least, let’s not forget our young gun Katie Herron on drums, born the year DTR formed. We’re teaching her the ropes of band brotherhood, i.e., treating her like the little sister we love to poke at and kid! She seems to love it, and is as quick with a come back as any of us. I love them all as much as any blood relative, and I feel blessed to have them along.

Back in the Rolls, back to the hotel…sleep through the raging deluge outside…another driver, another airport…another show….I’ll be solo at Eddies Attic in a few hours. It’s a wild and wonderful ride of a life!
Thank you for sharing it with me

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