Update Dec. 2006

"Christmas has come and gone and I thank all of you who have emailed to see exactly why I've been hiding, and where I've been hiding, and from whom I've been hiding. The simple answer is that mandolin players have a lot in common with beavers....the instinct to cut down trees, for example, or build dams which destroy acres of land and countless ecosystems. Damn beavers.

I've played some shows with Hadden Sayers (www.haddensayersband.com) in Texas, North Carolina and supposedly New York where I was terribly ill and apologize to everyone who came to see us in Rochester and Syracuse. If you were at that show, and I wasn't, I'd like to make it up to you. Drop me an email and I will send you a Hadden Sayers/Michael Orlando XMAS CD free or charge.

The outlook for 2007 includes, but not limited to, many more shows with Hadden. A blessed bluegrass foray with the Carter Brothers Band (www.carterbrothersband.com), the coming of my long awaited mandolin family of instruments from Lawrence Smart, and a new album later in the year.

Happy New Year to all.

June 1, 2006

"Lots of great shows coming up! Please check out SMILEFEST (Irongrass), Blue Ridge BBQ Fest (Irongrass), and the Asheville 4th of July festival. I'll be playing with the Carter Brothers this summer and still hitting some Irongrass shows from time to time. Thanks to those who have purchased "Wreckless". And keep the requests at XM Cross Country happening. I've wrapped up a XMAS album with Hadden Sayers. Yes, that's right, a XMAS album. 15 of your favorite holiday tunes, wrapped in a lovely Irongrass package. Of course, it won't be out until Thanksgiving, but there will be a tour starting Dec. 6 in Syracuse, NY and stretching all the way to Texas (by way of NYC, DC, Charlotte, Atlanta, etc). More details on that later. And PS, I'm getting married in NOV. to this really nice girl named Carly Smith from Dalton, GA. We're going to roast a pig, have some bluegrass from the Carter Family + special friends, and then commence growing old and retiring."

March/April, 2006

"The new album, Wreckless, will be available for pre-sale beginning April 1, 2006 for only $9.99 through the online STORE. The album features 8 songs and 5 instrumentals, accompanied by the Irongrass Trio (with Mason Bissett and Frank Bloom) and guests including Rob Ickes, Tim and Danny Carter, Ross Sermons, Hadden Sayers, Will Scruggs and others! Plenty of banjo, mandolin, sax, guitars, to get your Irongrass fill!"

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January, 2006

Jan. 10, 2006 - "Irongrass is off to a rousing start in 2006. We are in Nashville recording an album of instrumentals and songs, shot-gun blasts, and high speed car chases. Here's the band: Mason Bissett on Bass, Frank Bloom on Drums. I'm playing things with strings like mandolins, banjos, and guitars. Hadden Sayers is sitting beside me right now with a pile of vintage Strats, Les Pauls, and loud guitars. They are all on fire. Burning. Ross Sermons brought a giant upright bass to the party, and Timmy Carter took out the 5 string banjo one time. Rob Ickes has a dobro. Three people on this album have won grammies (grammy's??). I'm not one of them. I take comfort in the fact things are on fire. I'd like take a brief moment to say that Tim Carter is the best musician I've ever known. And I owe a lot to him. It's not just that he plays banjo, mandolin, and guitar, and its not that he has four grammies on his wall, and it's not just that he lets me sleep on the floor, and it's not just that his brother Danny is an amazing guitar player and singer...it's that these are good people. They are nice people. They give a damn for no other reason than they like music and thought it was worth spending a life-time playing music they liked. Maybe this is some form on New Year gratitude for things that are good. And things are good. It's going to be a good year.

Additionally, please check out the WDAV radio show (www.wdav.org) on Jan.22. My sister and I are performing Beethoven's piano and mandolin Sonatina. Should be lovely.

Furthermore, this year I'll be mixing it up with the Irongrass Trio, perpetually begging Hadden Sayers to play some gigs with us, and always showing bluegrass love with the Carter Brothers band. Check out any of the websites for info... www.carterbrothersband.com . www.myspace.com/irongrass . or www.irongrass.com .

December, 2005

Dec 01, 05 "I'm off shortly to play Christmas songs in Davidson and ride on a fire truck in the parade. I'll be kissing babies and shaking hands. The Irongrass party for election in 2019!! Join us in this wonderful little town for a night of introductory Irongrass at Summit Coffee. Mason Bissett will be there with his Bass. Frank Bloom will be there with a drum or two. The date is Dec. 10. The time is 8pm. The venue is Summit Upstairs. Hadden Sayers, the venerable blues/rock guitarist, will be joining the Irongrass Trio in Nashville for recording in January. Visit him at www.haddensayers.com. He'll be adding Iron to the grass. Happy Holidays!!"

November, 2005

"Friends, Join me on the lovely little Island of St. Simons, GA Dec. 27-28 for the debut public performance of the "Irongrass Trio". The trio features yours truly, but more importantly Charlotte's Frank Bloom on the drums and former CIF bassist, Mason Bissett. I'll be recording in January with this same trio in Nashville at the Treehouse Studios. The album should be around 12 songs, and not just instrumentals! Oh my, what happens if I sing? Well, fortunately modern technology promises to make me sound like, say, Shania Twain or Kenny Chesney, or maybe if I'm lucky like Trace Adkins."

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"Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to witness the nuptials of everyone I know. Congrats to Dustin (CIF lead singer) and Brooke, and congrats to one of my best friends from the middle years....Greg and Andrea. They both had dueling Florida weddings. What does this have to do with music? Greg danced with his mother to Black Mountain. It was a good moment for me. You know, writing a song someone might actually want to use at an emotional time.

Irongrass is alive and well, and though I have a pretty exciting update to announce at some point, I will digress in case things don't work out exactly as planned. There will be an album recorded in January in Nashville. Butch Baldassari, the premier classical mando dude (www.soundartrecordings.com), is helping me learn Beethoven's Sonatina in C for piano and mandolin for WDAV in Charlotte, NC. He didn't realize what a project I would be, but for those of you interested in a beautiful and often unheard style of mandolin playing, check out his website.

Frank Bloom and I are putting together the spring touring schedule. You've noticed I have no live dates lately and that's ok, because I'll make up for it next year once the album is done. Frank is the super drummer you've seen at half time for the Bobcats at the arena in Charlotte. He is 174 pounds of funky drummer love. We're putting together a trio, the Irongrass trio, for touring purposes in the springtime (and so i don't have to drive to Nashville every four days)....I do love me some Carter Brothers, though, and I'm sure there will be more of those shows too. For their updates, visit www.carterbrothersband.com . They spread their nasty bluegrass funk on Ireland and it's been one slick and green country ever since.

So, trio means three. And quartet means four...check out the Degas Quartet based in Hickory, NC. www.degasquartet.com Four musicians acting as one. A concept if I've ever heard one. It's worth your time, trust me.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Don't miss the Rusty and Mike Christmas show in Davidson on Dec. 3 (Main St)."

October, 2005

"All things music have been strange and exciting as of late. Big thanks to WDAV---Charlotte's classical music station--- for a great interview and performance. The show will air on Jan. 8 at a soon to be decided time. They asked me a lot of questions. I answered a couple of them. I played some of my tunes. My sister, Larina, and I will be recording Beethoven's Sonatina in C for piano and mandolin at the end of the month, which will also be included in the radio segment. Aside from being a wonderful pianist, she is a certifiable assistant Dean of Admissions at Davidson College. Send your child's resume along with $50 to my PO Box and I will see to it that they gain admissions to the college.

It seems that there are Cast Iron Filter fans lurking around the bushes of everywhere I go. Please visit the store at www.castironfilter.com to pick up any of our CDs and some nice Tshirts. Phil Skipper, CIF bass player, has a very cool CD out with a band called Delta Moon. Hard bluesy grooves. Definite Skipper finesse.

It's almost time for the second album of the "before the storm" trilogy. Album #2 will be recorded in Nashville in early January featuring the big, fat drums of Charlotte's Frank Bloom. It's going to be pure-bred mandolin rock music....no more of this bluegrass stuff, it's on to IRONGRASS!! Frank and I have been playing shows as a duo, doing mostly benefit work for Katrina, and not yet straying too far from my lovely town of Davidson, NC. We will be playing shows in the spring. Ah yes, mandolins and drums. What a lovely idea. Who needs bass and guitar?

I realize it seems like a joke at this early juncture, but it is not....I will be running for Mayor of Davidson some time between 2015-2019."

August, 2005

It’s been a while since I’ve updated this blasted thing and yes, some gigs have passed by so quickly that I hardly remember being there. Was I at Belle Chere? I can hardly remember. It’s been a wonderful month of getting songs ready for a full length Carter Brothers offering, some more local gigs with soon to be legendary Wink Keziah, a toasty bunch of Blue Dogs gigs, and preparation for another album from me some time early next year. Yes, I think six months in advance at all times. That’s why I didn’t know I was at Belle Chere this year. Belle Chere is the largest free festival in the country, or at least that’s what I heard on the streets of Asheville, NC.

Indeed, former Cast Iron Filter band mates of mine, Tim Helfrich and Randy Culbertson, are now married (not to each other, mind you, but to a couple of lovely ladies). Future nuptials of CIF lead singer Dustin Edge will take place in Florida this fall. Ah yes, marital bliss for lots of folks around me.

In more particular news, Intrepid Artists (www.intrepidartists.com ) will be handling my solo dates for the fall and hopefully beyond. My song “Tamarack” has been acquired, as they say, by Puretone Music (www.puretonemusic.com) , part of the endless chain of record companies under the Epic heading. I don’t think it will be used in an MTV show, but I do hold out hope for something distinctly southern. You know, they always use banjo music for the scene in the movie when the brother accidentally crawls in bed with his sister thinking that it’s his girlfriend and all of a sudden a banjo is playing. Yes, it’s late. Furthermore, I’ve decided to go the distribution route for “before the storm”. Sidestreet Distribution (www.elderly.com) will be happily putting the album on the shelves of fine, small record stores with “bluegrass” sections. There may only be four of these stores remaining, but, I promise, my album will be there. Thanks for visiting the site. Please purchase “before the storm” any old time.

June 30, 2005

"Due to extraneous circumstances, i will not be able to make the July 3 and 4 shows with the Blue Dogs. check back for more shows soon!"

June 26, 2005

"After circling the Atlanta airport for over an hour, not to mention the strange Bahamian customs procedures, I touched down just in time for rush hour traffic but not enough time to make it to the Braves' game where the Blue Dogs were singing the national anthem. They tell me it went well, though i would have enjoyed unleashing some Jimi Hendrix style mandolin trills on the sacred beauty of our national anthem. Two great crowds in Atlanta and Charlotte this past weekend. Nice to see so many familiar faces out there. The Neighborhood Theatre was rocking Blue Doggy style. The venerable force of Patrick Davis and relations (specifically his ultra-talented father on the electric guitar) opened the show and twas a discovery of yet another fine band from Nashville more people should know about. Check back to see if I'll be appearing with the Blue Dogs for the fourth of July weekend shows in Charleston. Familial conflicts may prevail, but as yet undetermined. How's that for vague? And who could forget that this week is the Carter Brothers fiesta of mandolin madness at St. Simon's Island. Two nights of humidity and twin mandolins. Maybe Timmy Carter will be wielding his brand new mandolin. We can only hope. Jammy Jam Jam. Here's to this fine country and a happy holiday weekend to everybody. And if you aren't too busy, check out the Wink Keziah show at the Visulite Theatre on July 6. Soul rocking country music. Charlotte's finest musicians will be there including plenty of the Monday night all stars from the Double Door. I had the pleasure of playing on Wink's debut album, and I must say, in spite of my presence, it turned out to be the best local release in a long time. Stay tuned all you mandolin lovers, and here's wishing Tim Helfrich (former CIF drummer) and the future Mrs. Tim Helfrich, Beth Gardner, a delightful wedding day. They have chosen the day of my birth as the day of their nuptuals."

June 1, 2005

"Some late breaking news from the old fort in Davidson, NC. I'll be appearing with the great Charleston band, the Blue Dogs (www.bluedogs.com) for most of their shows in the month of June. We'll be playing some classic Blue Dog's tunes and if the weather allows, a few off 'Before the Storm'. The first of such shows will be held at Headliner's in Columbia, SC this coming Friday, June 3. Subsequent highlights include the Blueridge BBQ Festival in Tryon, NC, and the old hometown favorite, Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte, NC. All dates are posted on the calendar and on the Blue Dogs website. In unrelated news, I have purchased a small dog and a large amplifier and am currently teaching the dog how to play electric guitar in my garage. So far so good".

May 28, 2005

"A big thanks to the sponsors of the recent Tsunami Relief Benefit show in Davidson....Rusty Knox and Summit Coffee. Chances are, if you go to Summit, you'll find Rusty there. Just yell out, 'who the hell is Rusty Knox' and wait patiently for a response. In other related news, it was a ball jammin' with the Blue Dogs and Reckless Kelly in Rocky Mt this past week. It's nice to hear the old Texas boys playing real country music, and it was nice of the Blue Dogs to let me play the whole set with them without rehearsing a single tune. Good old naked exhibitionism of mandolin mania. This week brings a recording session at Treehouse Studios in Nashville and a hint of reality that I have nowhere to live, so I will be sleeping behind the recording console. Hopefully PROTOOLS will not eat my flesh while sleeping. Other good news to report: it looks like Ireland is in the future for the new bluegrass band, Stringtown, in September. Also, Key West for a whole week, good God, and plenty of Carter Brothers love for everybody. If you don't know about these guys yet, check out www.carterbrothersband.com. They've been living the Nashville country music life for years now, and they ain't been to rehab for it a single time. They're the musical brothers I've always longed for...the kind who play banjos and sing in harmony, all at the same time. Throw in brother Ross Sermons on the giant upright bass and you got yourself a four piece powerhouse of bluegrass, country, jazz, rock un-uptight original music. See ya'll out there. And don't miss Rusty's last Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte this weekend. I'll be in the infield on top of an RV."