Well, happy holidays folks. it's that time of year again and i know this because i always start to get sick right before the thanksgiving holiday and i don't get well again until january 2nd. my puny immune system becomes overwhelmed by all the holiday cheer, or was it booze... well, either way i get a nasty case of the croop and it stays for the long haul. bleh. but enough complaining and on with the good stuff. first off, i hope you all are enjoying 'it's christmas, what's the difference' (the new christmas song by The Films available at myspace.com/thefilms and itunes). please spread it around, share it with your friends, put it in your stocking, or someone else's stocking, or on the top of your tree, or bake it into a gingerbread cookie, or spike your eggnog with it, or put it in your next tim allen movie. whatever your pleasure, friends.. that's what it's there for. ah, it feels good to give. OR you can buy it from itunes, which in that case YOU would be the one doing the giving.. but you would actually be getting something for your dollar... so i guess that's just 'buying'. my brain hurts. moving on.. the Shovels & Rope (official final artwork) record is finally out and available for you fine people for purchase at cdbaby.com. this is my last blog maybe about this record being or not being available and what kind of artwork may or may not be on it and blablabbballllabla. it's out, and you know where to find it. great christmas gift too, if i may be so bold.

thanks for your patience!

howdy. FYI i'm playing a show at the Tin Roof this friday 11/7. no band, just me. the one and only Bill Carson has been kind enough to open the show and if the mood is right we might end up doing a little combined set. who knows. come check it out.

no really, seriously, honest this time, i swear. i probably owe a lot of you an apology for all my gumb flapping about the Shovels & Rope record.. it's coming out... now!... wait, no.. now!.. wait, no.. now!, etc. well this is close to being one of my last yaps on the subject. let me explain:

on saturday, october 18th - Cary Ann Hearst & I (+ many special guests) will celebrate the release of our record "Shovels & Rope" (with homemade boutique artwork) at the Pour House in Charleston, SC. the special edition homemade artwork version of the record will only be available until we run out and only at live shows. for those who can't be with us for the occasion, we are having the record professionally pressed and shrink wrapped with fantastic artwork by lindsay windham - that will be available at the end of the month and until evermore online and in the finest record shops that will carry it.

so if you're in the holy city or near by, come check out the show. no more lies!

I am very pleased to announce that the Shovels & Rope record is finally coming out! the project will be officially titled "Cary Ann Hearst with Michael Trent", and the name of the record is "Shovels & Rope".

if you've forgotten, or if you missed it before and have no idea what i'm talking about - "Shovels & Rope" is a record that i made with Cary Ann Hearst last summer with little more than a few random instruments, some close friends, and a non-negotiable "vibe over virtuosity" mentality. some people might refer to this attitude as "stubborn", which sounds negative.. but i prefer "unyielding" which sounds positive! anyway, thanks to kevin, katrina, joey, jake and corey for making it happen, and i'll have a release date for you all within the month!!

i put one of the songs up on my page - to hear more check out:

myspace.com/caryannhearst
myspace.com/cahearstandmichaeltrent

Saturday, May 24th will be your last chance to see Cary Ann and I do our thang at the trusted palate for a while.. at least till july. i'll be in california making a new record with "The Films" for the month of June. excited. yes. (if i knew how, i'd put an awesome smiley doing something rad right here) don't worry though, we'll be back faster than you can say "comeback sauce".. but probably not faster than comeback sauce actually comes back. Anyway, come down to the T.P. saturday night and we'll make it worth your while.
xx

FYI... i have put together a superband for a show at the Village Tavern this wednesday, march 19th. i thought it only fair to let you all know the lineup (comprised of a few of my favorite charleston musicians) so you won’t end up missing it and get all upset.

Bill Carson - banjo, guitar, singing
Josh Kaler - pedal steel, drumming, singing
Nathan Koci - keys, horns, singing

"Kentucky Shoes" will be opening - so make sure to come early!

PS: to anyone who might be interested in recording the show, feel free to bring your gadgets. i’d like to have some documentation of the night.

hey. this saturday, jan 26, i'll be playing a show at a cool little wine bar on upper King (in charleston) called "The Trusted Palate" w Cary Ann Hearst and possibly some special guests. it's gonna be a nice hodgepodge of material from the various projects that either of us are involved in. we're calling it "The Devil For Dinner" thanks to Julio. anything could happen. oh yeah, it's FREE.

ps we are tossing around the idea of making a weekly event out of it.. an alternative to the crappy king street nightlife pukefest that keeps a lot of us from going out anymore. you know what i'm talkin about.. but in order to do that we need some people to come down. what'dya say??