BROTHER, WHERE YOU BEEN? So maybe you didn¼t notice I was gone. Maybe you don¼t even know who I am or why you¼re even reading this. But if you got this newsletter, somewhere in your past we connected. Either you signed a mailing list after seeing a show (Todd¼s Theory or Massimo), bought a CD of mine someplace or met me in some bar where I was bound to start talking about music and you asked me to let you know when I¼d be playing again. You know, the singer/songwriter you saw at some coffeehouse or bookstore, who couldn¼t decide whether he wanted to be James Taylor or Chris Cornell, pounding out songs on an acoustic that somehow just couldn¼t be loud enough, disturbing the people who came there just to read a book or just have a quiet meal, but entertaining the select few who really came to sit and listen to something new.

Yeah, I¼ll admit it; I tagged out for a while. But for the record let¼s call it "artistic growth" because that¼s kind of what happened. If something isn¼t working you need to find out why. Reevaluate motivations etc. You know, watch a lot of TV. So I took some time off. Spent some time relearning how to write a song, a good song. Joined a cover band singing Soundgarden, Rage Against The Machine kind of stuff and realized what I wanted to do all along was front my own rock band that played original songs I was proud of. Brand new stuff. Songs that incorporated all I¼d learned, that I really wanted people to hear. And I simply wasn¼t going to play until I had exactly that no matter how long it took. It only took three years.

NEW ALBUM To clarify, I¼ve only written enough songs for a new album, called Reckoning, not recorded them (yet). It was hard getting back to writing at first after the time off. So I decided to just concentrate on lyrics first this time, forget all about being a musician and just try to be a poet. If I found I didn¼t have anything worthwhile to say, then I wouldn¼t say anything at all and I¼d go back to watching TV. Turns out I had a lot to say I just needed to take some time to write it all down. (Sometimes writing is just about showing up with a pen and paper). But whether these songs are released as a complete concept album or only come out as several demos or EP¼s depends on

money like everything else and I know it¼s hard to believe, but so far I haven¼t achieved the "rich" part of "rich and famous". Or the "famous" part either, for that matter. Is anyone feeling particularly charitable? I¼d even give you Executive Producer credit on the album! You can tell everyone you work in the record business. It could really spice up your social life! Seriously, for someone willing to make a small investment, there¼s a lot of potential for something big. I have detailed plans for anyone that wants to know more. But as I¼ve always believed, art is nothing unless it¼s shared and that I plan to do in the way it means the most to me, live performance. Anyway, all future live shows of us playing the new songs will be available for download on the website (www.michaelmassimo. com - see below for more details).

NEW BAND This time around I¼ve rounded up some very talented veterans from the NYC freelance musician scene. I¼m very excited to be working with these guys.

Roger Sherman - drums:
(see www.slammingrooves.com. Also the drummer from Todd¼s Theory): "Known far and wide as the player to have when you need serious groove and time, Roger was raised on a steady diet of the Meters, PFunk, Led Zepplin, and salsa, which helped him develop the vocabulary and attitude to bring the funk, and then shift gears in an instant to flat out rock you. A veteran of the NYC freelance scene, Roger has been making a name for himself as a professional musician since he was 20 years old, with past gigs including touring the world with Carlos Hernandez, playing frenetic d-n-b rhythms with Jungle Gym, and the artistic noise jam band Hidden Agenda." And Roger being the freelance „cat¾ that he is has been nice enough to introduce me to two new players:

Jess Converse - elec. guitar:
"Playing in punk bands led Jess down the eastern seaboard from New Jersey to Florida before he began his studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston. While earning his BA Jess played extensively in the Boston and Providence scene before moving to NYC, then Europe in pursuit of various musical experiences. Now back in the states Jess has appeared in a series of SGI-USA events promoting world peace where he has performed regularly with Daryl Dixon (P-Funk,
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