mike skliar (@mikeskliar)

cdbaby facebook youtube flickr
progress: 23 winner!
joined: February 2 2006
location: New York, USA
website: www.mikeskliar.com
influences: bob dylan, loudon wainwright, lennon & mccartney, george harrison, richard thompson, grateful dead/jerry garcia, frank sinatra (and all the jazz standards he sang by gershwin, cole porter, rogers & hart, harold arlen, etc etc), john prine, dan bern, hank williams, tom lehrer, allen sherman, rufus wainwright, & more

Bio

Getting to be one of the old timers here- been doing this since 2006! In internet years that's a few thousand years, right?

I'm a singer songwriter in new york city (not my day job, tho!).

I play acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, bass, harmonica, and dobro (resonator guitar, played lap-style). Also recently picked up a baritone tricone resonator as well (thats the instrument in the picture) And very lately I've been trying to play the harmonica a bit as well.

I've been playing guitar for a while, tho only in the last 12 years or so have I started writing. The writing process can be incredibly fun or incredibly frustrating, as many of you know, of course. I tend to write a mix of more serious and more comic things, sometimes with a few topical or political songs thrown in. Most of my stuff is probably rooted musically in some sorts of rock, blues, folk or bluegrass influence. Lately, however, I've been playing more jazz and trying to use those kinds of chord changes from time to time.

I have two cds out- the first one released about six years ago, and it can be found at cd baby here: http://cdbaby.com/cd/skliar

In 2009 my new cd "Ship of State" was released, and I'm still excited about it. It's got 20 songs including many songs originally written during the fawm and 50/90 writing challenges, and there are seven or eight other fawmers whose musical talents appear on it. http://cdbaby.com/cd/skliar2

Both cds are available on iTunes, and amazon.com as well as a few other places (check iTunes or amazon under the name "Mike Skliar")

I've also played a bunch of acoustic original music gigs in the last few years with fellow fawmer Ken Ficara. Some of my more topical and/or political songs are regularly featured on WBAI-FM once a month. Additionally last year I was the guitarist with blues & oldies band Saboteur Tiger- playing out about once a month here in New York City. I was honored to have a song on one of the FAWM compilations (the song "Ship of State") and my songs have been on several other compilations as well.

This is the 7th year I'm doing fawm- its a great thing, and I'm very glad that I was able to get some others turned on to the idea as well- its truly a great project for everyone who participates. Did some collaboration the last few years as well, which was unexpected and really alot of fun...

One of the other great things here has been getting various musical friends of mine involved in this site as well. There are several (the aforementioned @kenficara being one) but let me give shout-outs also to the incredibly talented @angelinapowersuit as well as my nephew @ericmiller and also, from the 'younger generation' here, the wonderful and talented guitarist @ckl29 (who just did some great collabs with me as guitar (him) and mandolin (me) duets- check out all their stuff, ya can't go wrong!

last, I should mention that this year (2012) I did a quick promo video for fawm.. its at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8m2Z76X69o&context=C310a973ADOEgsToPDskI06j4QhCU2ZXCX5LRovdTk

2012 Songs

1 Winter did not come this year 36 comments // 3 months ago
2 Mitt Romney's a Zombie 31 comments // 3 months ago
3 Crazy like a Newt 20 comments // 3 months ago
4 Midnight in Paris 23 comments // 3 months ago
5 Olive Oil and Worchestershire (explore the core challenge) 14 comments // 3 months ago
6 The Ron Paul is off the wall Talking Blues #12 & 35 15 comments // 3 months ago
7 Stand Tall 17 comments // 3 months ago
8 Best of Times (with pixo) 15 comments // 3 months ago
9 Headaches and handshakes (songskirmish) 4 comments // 3 months ago
10 Google Santorum 9 comments // 3 months ago
11 Dude, It's Brooklyn (with  kenficara) 5 comments // 3 months ago
12 Jeremy Lin (video version) 10 comments // 3 months ago
13 Jeremy Lin (audio version) 7 comments // 3 months ago
14 Did you hear the news? (with  kenficara) 3 comments // 3 months ago
15 what is life? 5 comments // 2 months ago
16 Best of Times (with styopquoons) 6 comments // 2 months ago
17 behind the door (songskirmish) 4 comments // 2 months ago
18 In the Bubble 4 comments // 2 months ago
19 Don't be the tree, just be the seed 7 comments // 2 months ago
20 What was FAWM 2012 like for me? 2 comments // 2 months ago
21 song for MP zong // 2 months ago
22 Best of Times (my version) 2 comments // 2 months ago
23 [GUITAR] Poster (with  errol) 10 comments // 2 months ago

Soundboard

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  •  blindkiwi 2 months ago
    Thanks Mike, I've got a Donmo Steel bodied tricone but got absolutely nothing recorded (and very little written) through Feb. Hoping I'll be back in business come 5090.
  •  nancyrost 2 months ago
    Thanks for the suggestions, Mike. Too busy/lazy to try them right now, but will keep them in mind for later!
  •  nancyrost 2 months ago
    Yeah, I couldn't fix those clicky things while mixing - I think they're due to having recorded the percussion wrong. Much to learn about that yet ...
  • wolfkier 2 months ago
    Thanks Mike, I appreciate your comment / listen.
    wolf
  •  ellenpliss 2 months ago
    hi there mike -- wanted to let you know that @codex did an amazing job on http://fawm.org/songs/25082/ -- thought you might like to check it out, since you were kind enough to comment on the lyrics. Thanks!!
  • bobskyyoung 2 months ago
    FYI, I finally put a demo up of Remotely True. Enjoy.
  •  kenficara 2 months ago
    That's funny. Should have subtitled the Ash Wednesday references for the non-Catholics. smile
  • honeybadgerfolk 2 months ago
    you're welcome, it's a wonderful tune big_smile
  • johnnycashpoint 3 months ago
    Thanks for the comment - yes "witter" is a word - http://www.thefreedictionary.com/witter in retrospect of that song, there's an obvious rhyme through line to Twitter that I absolutely missed until just now! Argh! I will NEVER finish that song to my satisfaction smile
  • aaronnathans 3 months ago
    Thanks, Mike!
  •  hbusse 3 months ago
    Hey there, thanks so much for the comment on my version of Olive Oil and Worcestershire! I appreciate the listen.
  • johnearl 3 months ago
    Thanks for your comments on my Cowboy song! I'll listen to yours in a bit.
  •  robs 3 months ago
    Thank you for your nice comments! You're nearly at the finish, you can do it, just write about something that bugs you. Or pick one of the challenges (that's how I do it). You've got a great talent to write about political issues smile
  •  axl 3 months ago
    Thanks for the clarification. I've used this technique before, but only to widen sounds by panning sharp left and right. The close panning you used sounds cool. Meanwhile I've also found the plugin again:

    http://www.kvraudio.com/product/adt_by_vacuumsound

    Unfortunately, it doesn't work in ProTools, though. I thought I posted it anyway, just in case smile
  •  monty 3 months ago
    Thanks for the comments on The Misemployed. But I try to keep my vocals understated so as to not completely destroy the listener's ability to concentrate. wink
  •  avidfanman 3 months ago
    Hi Mike - thanks for the kind words about my version of "Olive Oil..." and my very silly "...Higgs Boson" song big_smile
  • johnnycashpoint 3 months ago
    Thanks for the comment, yes I cheated a bit on the palindromes - all the riffs (bar the chorus piano and the guitar noodling) are 2 bar palindromes. The song itself isn't a palindrome mind.
  •  gordon 3 months ago
    Hi Mike, thanks for the kind words. My last offering seems to have the same problem. I don't know if anything has changed since yesterday, but it just doesn't seem to be working today.
  •  echovoodoo 3 months ago
    Thanks for calling in to the FAWMcast today, Mike!
  •  ellenpliss 3 months ago
    thank you for the valued feedback on my lyrics, Mike...I was a little nervous posting something not-very-fun, so you helped me take a deep breath. If it was still a zong, I would be wondering. Now I'm going to go listen to your Ron Paul song because I have a feeling it will make me smile... smile
  • kylegreer 3 months ago
    thank you, kind sir for the welcome and the wonderful compliments! big_smile don't worry, words are on their way! the three songs i posted today were all improvs, and i was just been lazy and wanted to get them up in a hurry wink...i'll definitely go back and listen to them and scribe down the lyrics big_smile...can't wait to hear your stuff! smile
  • kenjku 3 months ago
    That does sound fun!
  •  mattpierce 3 months ago
    Thanks for commenting Mike!
    It means a lot coming from someone as talented as you! smile
  •  lomedae 3 months ago
    Thanks for listening and commenting, glad you liked it smile I agree the song itself isn't very Dylan (though, who's to tell what Dylan is after all those years and albums tongue) but the way I sung it was pretty Dylanesque, in my head at least big_smile
  •  wille 3 months ago
    @mikeskliar delivers a basic GWAG set of tracks to both @styopquoons and @pixo, who then both work them independently to see what happens.
  •  kenficara 3 months ago
    Heya -- I couldn't take that demo of the Dickens song, so I updated it today and rewrote the lyrics a bit. It's still not perfect but you can at least understand the words! Let's figure out a collaboration -- definitely the year for it. smile
  •  errol 3 months ago
    ALLLLOOOO MIchael Skliar! big_smile

    Yes, I have no songs. big_smile
  • ernie 3 months ago
    Thanks for commenting on my tune Hear You Calling. I'm enjoying your political commentary.
  •  jnatiw 3 months ago
    Thanks for giving the little mandolin instrumental a listen, Mike. Hope to hear some mando from you this FAWM! smile
  •  kenficara 3 months ago
    thanks for the comments! the funny thing is that I did a very clear vocal on the first song and someone said it should have been more distorted. go figure. smile
  • jessicagraae 3 months ago
    Hi Mike-thanks for the welcome!
  • magloken 3 months ago
    Thanks for the welcome Mike! I'm looking forward to hearing your tunes this year.
  • mikecreeth 3 months ago
    Hey Mike. Yep, another New Yorker here. Im currently in switzerland on assignment for work, but I'll be back at the end of March. I would definitely be interested in a songwriters gathering if theres one going on.
  •  nicksypniewski 3 months ago
    Mike, thanks for the comment on Feeling Down. It's much appreciated. I'm not sure of the specific reason the demo is cutting out, but I was so late in getting it together that I basically cut and pasted the verse section and the chorus sections and might have bumped something over top of something else.

    I agree that it needs a proper redo. Not sure if that'll happen in Feb. but hopefully not soon after. Thanks again.
  •  gslade 3 months ago
    I'm guessin you win the award for longest bio.
  •  brzan 3 months ago
    Thanks Mike for the kind feedback for Munich!
  •  stevenwesleyguiles 3 months ago
    Hey, Mike. No diss meant to New York in my song. smile
    In my mind it was about how here in California we'll celebrate New Year's early instead of staying up until midnight. smile When you have little kids, you want to have your cake and eat it too, so New York New Years is a great tradition for us. smile
  •  musicsongwriter 3 months ago
    Hi Mike. Looking forward to your songs.
  •  michaelepic 3 months ago
    I totally forgot to stop by and wish you a happy FAWM 2012 man.....glad to see you back and excited to see what you come up with this year!!

    p.s. I just slapped down $0.99 via ITunes for "Murder Ink" bc it feels so 1940's NOIRE to me...I love it, I can't get enough of it big_smile
  •  bking 3 months ago
    Hi Mike. Are we ready for some new tuneage?
  •  rickamorphis 3 months ago
    'Ship of State' came on my iPod last week as I was boarding the shuttle at Grand Central...I thought that was fitting. Have a fulfilling month!
  •  boyatheart 3 months ago
    Looking forward to your offerings this year Mike!
  •  fendertele71 3 months ago
    JonnieGrunge and I posted your YouTube FAWM intro on our blog instead of drafting a long and wordy "What Is" post.

    http://thereallygoodpotroast.tumblr.com/post/16474148889/mark-i-will-soon-embark-on-fawm-what-is-fawm
  • dickclark 3 months ago
    Happy New FAWM, my friend.
  •  erikdidriksen 4 months ago
    I know you've probably seen this already, but I can't run the risk of you not seeing this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-hDt2E8MoE
  •  taylortay 4 months ago
    Looking through Rocktober stuff (catching up on time I spent studying) and heard your cover of Hey Bulldog. Excellent one-guitar arrangement, especially on the solo. Perfect for a 'pub guitarist'. Love it!
  • deafsteever 4 months ago
    Hi, Mike! Good to see you again. Looking forward to whatever you come up with next month. Have fun! smile
  •  cloudboy 4 months ago
    Mike! Thanks for being a motivator. See you on the 28th. Happy FAWM!
  •  fendertele71 4 months ago
    Hey Mike! Looking forward to listening to some new stuff as well as getting my FAWM-feet wet. EDIT: Just my luck, I work a 24 hour shift on Feb 28th. sad
  •  chipwithrow 4 months ago
    Hi, Mike! I got good and weird last night at an open mic, did an acoustic "China Cat Sunflower." You're one of the few FAWMers who might appreciate that.
  •  phylo 4 months ago
    Hey Mike. Looking forward to your offerings this year.
  •  johncrossman 4 months ago
    I don't care if you don't know how many continents there are, I'm still glad to see you're back for more!
  •  elainedimasi 4 months ago
    You win bio-longer-than-mine! wink
  •  corinnecurcio 4 months ago
    Hiya Mike - Would love to see you on the 28th smile
  •  valeriecox 4 months ago
    Hi Mike. This being an election year, I can't imagine what you might write about. tongue Looking forward to your songs.
  •  jonniegrunge 4 months ago
    Hi Mike! Yes, I believe FenderTele71 will be signing up. We're trying to write material for a new album, and thought we'd see what all this FAWM hubbub was a about. Looking forward to hearing new music from you!
  •  erikdidriksen 4 months ago
    Embark, oddly enough. Two words I'd never used until I started describing politicians getting on and off planes as part of my job.
  •  dustymason 4 months ago
    Rock the MONTH, Mike. Best to you and the rock island crew.
  •  orinoco 4 months ago
    Hi Mike - nice to see you back, looking forward to hearing your songs.
  •  erikdidriksen 4 months ago
    I've only got one burnin' desire -- let me stand next to your Skliar...
  •  errol 4 months ago
    Hey man, I like collabing with you. You give me instrumental tracks.

    ...

    Uh... don't ask me to write a song like the beatles again though, that was hard. *LAUGH*
  • dennisjernberg 4 months ago
    Glad you're back. Glad I'm back too (I was somewhat less than here last year). I'll be doing more acoustic stuff myself.

    BTW, I thought your FAWM promo was pretty cool.
  •  taylortay 4 months ago
    FAWM number 6, gee! Welcome back smile
  •  nancyrost 4 months ago
    Yeah, go us!
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