Addicted To Vinyl Musical thoughts from the open road, with headphones on

An Introduction To Michael McDermott

The fine folks over at Noisetrade are giving away a free download titled "An Introduction To Michael McDermott." Strangely, it seems to contain a selection of 12 tracks designed to do just that - introduce you to the music of Michael McDermott.

From the Noisetrade site:

It's been quite a ride since Michael McDermott unleashed his debut, 620 West Surf, some twenty years ago, but his forthcoming 2012 release, Hit Me Back, represents the work of a new artist. This Noisetrade compilation spans Michael's career and was put together especially for music lovers like you to discover the artist that mega-author Stephen King has called “one of the best songwriters in the world and possibly the greatest undiscovered rock ‘n’ roll talent of the last 20 years.” Michael is a Raconteur and a Troubadour. He has lived a life full of the experiences that qualify him as such. With inspiration drawn from rock n’ roll’s great storytellers - Springsteen, Dylan and Van Morrison – McDermott’s lifelong connection with fans comes from his uncanny ability to communicate universal truths through his own personal experiences. Discover Michael through these songs and if you like what you hear let him know. Come see a show. Become a Facebook friend. Thanks for listening!

Within the download are three tracks from the new album, so you'll get a taste of what you can expect from Hit Me Back when it lands in stores in about a week, on September 25th. This is McDermott's first release on Rock Ridge Music and the project was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign.

At the time of the campaign launch, McDermott shared the following thoughts regarding his planned new album:

It's been 4 years since my last recording venture. Much has happened in the last 4 years. Got married, had a daughter, played over 300 shows, wrote over 200 songs, traveled to Italy 3 times, England, Ireland, East Coast , West Coast, made many friends, made many lifelong friends. I NEVER go into the studio too soon. I always make sure that the songs are ready. The stories are ready. The chapter is ready for this never ending book. In this batch of songs we will have to pull from, there are songs of high drama, there are songs on international intrigue, philosophical meanderings, hijinks gone awry, love, loss, redemption and like any great rock record.... a song about a train.

Hearing the three songs that are on the above sampler, I'll look forward to finding out how the rest of Hit Me Back will play out. As mentioned previously, it's been quite a ride for McDermott in the past 20+ years, but there's been a lot of good music that has come our way as a result of his trip.

Thankfully, he's still here with stories to tell.