Flamekeeper - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Don't ever underestimate the power of music. One concert can be life changing!

Five years ago (2002) my wife Nancy and I want to an art fair in East Lansing where a group called The Duhks were playing.
We had a wonderful time, and I was reminded just how much I loved good music. Nancy and I decided to investigate what was available locally.
Back at home we found that there was a Folk Music Society in Midland . We began going to their dances, jams, concerts, and festivals. Life was suddenly starting to get better as we immersed ourselves in a world we hadn't known existed.
A favorite band we met at that time was Sonas, a great Celtic band based in the Thumb area of Michigan.
Bay City hosted the Tall Ship Festival four years ago and we met some great bands there. It was a magic weekend.
Listening to great groups from all over the world by day and spending time with them at a local watering hole at the end of the day.
We became devoted fans of the local band called "Hoolie".

Jerry and Kathy opened a whole new world to us by introducing us to local musicians we didn't know existed. One group was another fantastic Celtic band called "Stonecross" .
About that time I started putting an e-mailing list together to let folks know what was happening locally, I also became a member of Sugar Hill's "Street Team" to help promote the Duhks, and we became friends with STONECROSS .
From the start we hit it off with Susan and Zig. I was / am thrilled to have been asked to be a part of what they're accomplishing at the The White Crow Conservatory of Music in Saginaw.
Though much of what I do revolves around the "White Crow",
I also act independently by continuing to promote "Folk" and "Roots" music in general and within Michigan particularly.
Thank you for taking the time to investigate this site and please do take a look at my many friends on my MySpace "Friends" list as they're the real story and what it's all about.
Best Wishes
Flamekeeper
Lately I'm checking out Michigan music podcasts. Here's Michigan Folk Live's first show. I'm looking forward to more.
See also my blog to hear what my life sounds like, The Open Mike Cafe' did a podcast at the White Crow Conservatory of Music, where you'll almost always find me.
MichiganFolkLive Pocast Episode 1
HAY YOU ROCKERS! I don't want you to feel left out. Check this out!

My Interests

My grand kids, gardening, nature, knowledge, quantum physics, people, music, and science.

I find that it's comforting that as science pushes to the outer edges of our understanding, the line between reason and the metaphysical dissolves.

I believe that the sheer fact of existence argues for intelligent design.

I've learned that tending a vegetable garden can be a spiritual experience.

I've found that the right kind of music can fill a void I didn't realize I had.

I'd like to meet:

I'd like to meet.... you!

In Michigan, if you'd like to join my e-mail news letter, post your e-mail address here. I will be using the Reverbnation account for bookings and promotions, but for now it's only used for my news letter. I post as many acoustic music events as I can find. If you're a musician, own or manage a venue, or just plain like good acoustic music, consider joining. I'm sure you'll find something in it for you.
I have been known to cross a border sometimes, but I try to keep the news letter Michigan oriented.

Music:

There's so many, here's a few. Joni Mitchell , Pete Seeger , Joan Baez , Leon Russell , Bob Dylan , Tracy Chapman , Cyndi Lauper , Bruce Springsteen , Jim Morrison

For the last five years I've been a fan of The Duhks .

Lately it would be Diana Jones and Jud Caswell .

Who I'm listening to now, Michigan singer/songwriters Rachael Davis and Robert Marr .

Movies:

The Day The Earth Stood Still,

Shipping News,

A Knight's Tale,

Second Hand Lions,

The Ballad of Cable Hogue,

O Brother Where Art Thou?,

A Man Called Horse,

Night of the Hunter,

School of Rock,

Forbidden Planet,

Brave Heart,

The Secret of Roan Inish,

Rob Roy,

Atilla,

The Lord of The Rings series,

Lamp goes to Michigan,

The Secret,

What the BLEEP do we Know?

Television:

Take a hammer to it.

Books:

To Kill a Mocking Bird,

Charles Dickens,

The Dune Series,

The Just So Stories,

The Narnia Chronicles,

The War Against the Innocent.

Heroes:

Nikola Tesla,

Professor Stephen Hawking,

Stanford R. Ovshinsky,

Michael Faraday,

and my Grandfather

My Blog

RIAA

For some time I've been toying with the idea of setting up a net based (radio) station. I've since decided that doing a podcast will work better for me. I want to say up front that I'm in favor...
Posted by Flamekeeper on Sat, 24 Nov 2007 06:04:00 PST

What my life sounds like

OK so not all of Mike's podcasts are from the White Crow!But enough of them will be that for a good part of the time you'll be listening to podcasts made at the Crow. If not, the music represented on ...
Posted by Flamekeeper on Mon, 22 Oct 2007 08:49:00 PST

Back to normal?

I've changed my password, and for the time being things look like they're back to normal. It was my own damned fault, I posted my e-mail address in a blog. I'm thinking of trying to change to a...
Posted by Flamekeeper on Mon, 24 Sep 2007 11:13:00 PST

Dont tell me anything!

I've been hacked, don't tell anyone claiming to be me anything you wouldn't want an identity thief to have. For if you do, they will. I'm so very sorry for any trouble this may have caused. I want to...
Posted by Flamekeeper on Thu, 20 Sep 2007 02:28:00 PST

Venue Leads

I once spent more than 8 months trying to compile a venue list in preparation to becoming a booking agent. It was a monotonous and unrewarding exercise. Since then I've discovere...
Posted by Flamekeeper on Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:13:00 PST

Promote yourself in Michigan

Hello Everyone, Sometimes someone asks me a question and after I think about it I say "Oh Yea!", and then "Duuuh!" One of my musician friends asked for information on the newspaper and ...
Posted by Flamekeeper on Fri, 07 Sep 2007 11:32:00 PST

Who has Lamb Songs?

Over the last year I've probably heard thirty Lamb songs. Not songs written about lambs, or more ridiculously, by lambs. The Lamb songs I refer to are songs written at "John Lamb's S...
Posted by Flamekeeper on Sun, 17 Jun 2007 04:58:00 PST

Please tag your pets and your music

You can almost always tell an Inde, Artist from the Big Boys by simply popping their CD into your computer's CD player. If you're online, whatever software you use to play music searches t...
Posted by Flamekeeper on Tue, 20 Mar 2007 09:36:00 PST

Doing the impossible. Peanut Whistle Project

How can a non-musician make a living in a genera famous for not paying any but it's top performers well? At first look it would seem that the options just aren't there. It would...
Posted by Flamekeeper on Thu, 25 Jan 2007 03:23:00 PST

What's a Peanut Whistle ?

I came up with the name for this blog "Peanut Whistle" from a slang term used for crystal radio sets from a 1920's era song called Evolution Mama, that I heard the Motor City Sid...
Posted by Flamekeeper on Sun, 14 Jan 2007 03:34:00 PST