I ended the night, and the tour, with that song. I am home now. Home to Oxford. For the first time in my life, I feel like I truly have a home. I always thought I'd leave before. After living somewhere else, I know how truly special this place is to me, and while life can certainly still take me other places, this is where I want to live.

I have many more photos at facebook.com/missionman and myspace.com/missionman. Thank you to everyone for making this tour so incredible! Everyone who helped me book a show, every club that took a chance on me, every fan that showed up to a show or open mic, everyone who bought my music to help me buy gas, all of my friends and family who gave me places to sleep. Thank you all so much!

With love,
Gary

Thank you everyone! Living the Dream!

I'm the happiest I've ever been in my entire life, and it's thanks to all of you for making it possible for me to tour and live my dream. I love you all. As you a thank you, I am having a huge sale ($5, $4, $3, $2, $1 per album!) on music. Downloading the music from CDBaby is the best way to support my music as well, as I get to keep 91% of the sale, which is a great help when it comes to gas money.

Download for $5! Download only.

Download for $4! Buy CD for $10.

Download for $3! Buy CD for $10.

Download for $2! Buy CD for $8.

Download for $1! Buy CD for $10.

Join my Facebook Group to keep updated on tourdates and CD releases.

Or become my friend on Facebook

When you download any of my albums from CDBaby.com/all/missionman you will pay just 10 cents per song. "The Best of Mission Man" has 21 songs, so it's just $2.10. It's my way of saying thank you for being a part of my dream, and I need gas money to get to my next shows. I really love what I'm doing, and it wouldn't be possible without you. THANK YOU!  This is good now through Memorial Day.  If 50 or more people buy an album this coming week, I'll extend the sale.  Either way, I am deliriously happy and living my dream, so thanks again! Click here to get my songs for 10 cents each!
Love,
Mission Man

CDBaby

iTunes

Napster

Rhapsody

and there are many other places.  I keep the most money if you download mp3s of my full albums at CDBaby.com/all/missionman.  I get 91% of the cost of the mp3 download!  Thank you everyone for your support!  I really need it with my tour coming up!

I am putting together a tour to start in May to promote the release of the best of Mission Man, and moreso than that, to find my freedom.   I'm quitting my job, and not signing a lease anywhere.  I will technically be homeless, and will sleep in my car when I'm not crashing on friends' couches and floors.  I need your help to make sure I can eat while I'm on tour.  Please, come out to the shows, and buy some music.  The best way to support me is to download my music from CDBaby .  If you buy it from them, I get to keep 91 percent of the sale price, as opposed to 64 percent of the sale price if you buy it from iTunes. 

I haven't booked any shows yet, but because I kept my car in Florida during my first Chicago winter, the tour will start in Florida.  My goal is to kick off the tour in Orlando on May 6th.  I've never performed there, and it would be a homecoming for me.  I learned to rap on Alafaya Trail on the way to playing basketball at UCF in 1992, when I was 13.  Then, it will be onto Ohio for almost all of May (hopefully with a show in Chicago as well) before heading east.   After that, who knows?  I'll go wherever the music and the fans take me.  If you are interested in having me perform in your hometown, let me know.  Also, if you can help me book a show, or you're in a band that would like me to perform in your hometown and help get me a show, definitely contact me. 

Time to do what I love, even if I don't know how I'm going to eat while I'm doing it.  :)

On CDBaby

On iTunes

21 songs, cover 9 albums of material and 16 years of making music!  Currently exclusively available as a digital release, but a CD release with artwork will be coming soon!

I sold my first CD tonight towards Playing For a Cure 2008. God it feels so great! The first sale, the first score in a game, the first radio play, is usually very difficult. Tonight, I made that first sale. I performed at the open mic at the Tonic Room, and just before I left, a guy named Mike bought "Intro To My Mind" for $5. I was trying to sell my CDs for $7 each, or $10 for both, but I took $5 because I'd rather raise $5 for cancer research than nothing. Thank you Mike, if you ever read this, for buying that first CD. I really appreciate it.

It definitely started a little momentum, as on the train ride home, I sold another CD. I sat down, and had a box of CDs in my hands. The woman across from me asked "are you selling CDs?" I said yes, and we had a two minute conversation before she bought a CD from me. She also said "if you're not good, I'll see you again, and I'll tell you." Random. I love it. That's $10 I raised tonight towards cancer research. A great start. I'm so happy right now.
Love,
Gary

100 percent of gross sales to benefit Cancer Research

For the past 4 years, I have held Playing For a Cure every September to honor my mom's memory.  This year, it was logistically impossible with the move to Chicago, so I have decided to do as much as I can online.  For all of September and October, all of my gross sales will benefit cancer research. 50 percent will go to the American Cancer Society.  The other 50 percent will go to Stand Up 2 Cancer.  If things go well, I'll extend this until January 1st, 2009.  I love making music; it's the most important thing in my life, outside of family and close friends.  My mother was the greatest role model anyone could possibly have, and I want to combine my love for music and my incredible respect and love for my mother to make a difference and help eradicate cancer.  I won't even reimburse myself for marketing expenses, or the cost of getting the CDs made.  I just want to do my part.  If you want to help support cancer research, you can buy my music online at CDBaby or you can find me on iTunes.  I'd prefer if you download my mp3s from CDBaby, as I get 91 percent of the sale price, so 91 percent of what you pay will go to cancer research. 



Thank you so much to everyone in advance for helping support cancer research, and thank you to everyone who has helped the past 4 years to make Playing For a Cure an emotional and financial success. 

With incredible amounts of love,

Gary

I am officially moving to Chicago on July 6th.  I've been thinking about doing it for years.  Every time I've gone there, the city has called to me.  I love being there, and I'm really excited about moving there.  I don't have a job yet, so obviously that's not the motivation for going.  I simply found a great roommate/living situation, and I can't pass up the opportunity.  I believe I'll grow as a person, as part of me is scared out of my mind to go.  A bigger part of me is more scared to stay in Oxford, a wonderful, beautiful town that I finally recently became proud to call home, with no opportunities, for music or a job.  It's an easy place to stay because it's safe, in so many aspects, but I need to take this step, and I'm glad that I am.

When I first made the decision, I was so anxious about moving that I was easily frustrated by every day annoyances, such as rude customers, bad traffic, bills, etc.  I did lose sight temporarily of the fact that I still have a life here.  A life that I love, and will miss in some ways.  I am going from something great to something even better.  I'm going there to experience new things, grow, and perform as much as possible.  Of course, I'll have to get a job (because I'm not currently making any money from music), but that's a part of life I've had no problem with since I was 15.  I am celebrating the move by giving you a big sale on my music.  I believe this will be the biggest sale I'll ever have.  From now until my first week in Chicago, you can download any of the following albums "Intro To My Mind" "Out Of The Shadows" "A Different Kid" or "Indiependent" for just $1, or get the Complete Mission Man Collection for just $5 from CDBaby.com.  

I don't know when I decided to start pursuing being happy over being successful, but that is officially my philosophy.  I've seen successful people be miserable, and people with less money and status than I have be immensely happy.  Why worry about the intermediate step of success when it doesn't necessarily mean I'll be happy?  I won't lose sight of that when I move.  Until I move, I will be happy.  After I move, I will remain the same, even if I can only find a job working retail, or *gasp* transferring to the Papa John's 6 miles from my apartment in Chicago.  :)

As of the time of this writing, February 19th, 2008, I (Mission Man) believe this is by far my best song. It's very personal, and I love the music as well. I think it's my best written song. As is the case with a few songs from "31" I was sleeping in a closet when I wrote it. Someone close to me was sick at the time, so I let that person sleep on my couch, while I slept in a closet to have some privacy. The situation forced me to learn a tremendous amount about myself. It forced me way out of my comfort zone, and I saw a part of life most people don't get to see. As part of learning about myself, I went through a phase were I got into fashion, briefly and with no conviction. I read Men's Health, and watched reality TV (too much of it during spring break of 2007). I learned that somewhere, someone looked down on me because I wore jeans shorts (I actually had a fan stop talking to me once because I was wearing jeans shorts; she literally said "you're wearing jeans shorts. Don't do that" and walked away from me). It turns out that any shorts are completely unfashionable (unless, according to one particular magazine, you have hairy legs, then somehow it's ok). I'm also never supposed to wear white socks under any circumstances apparently. Blah blah blah. The fashion industry is disgusting. It's built upon destroying people's self esteem (this used to be limited to women, but under financial pressure to increase their bottom lines, many companies have now targeted men, and I expect male lipstick, or at the very least mascara, to be on the market any day now) so that we become convinced we need their products. The fitness industry has become guilty of this as well, since they market their products in a similar way. Every piece of fitness equipment I've ever seen advertised uses men and women who are in pique physical condition. Instead of talking about the health benefits, though, they attack the potential consumer's insecurities about not having a six pack, or being a couple sizes too large, or not having firm enough breasts. They try to convince us that we need to get in shape to look better, as though being more physically attractive is the answer to all of the world's problems. As a very strong person who can think for himself and see through all the nonsense, I noticed myself starting to base my self esteem just a little on my looks. That's when I gave up on fashion completely. That's when I decided I needed to write this song.

Your looks should have nothing to do with your self-esteem. For that matter, your intelligence, your financial success, your awards, your athletic abilities, your job skills, and anything similar should have nothing to do with your self-esteem. Self-esteem, for me, comes from how I treat myself and how I treat others, and that's with respect, and by giving as much love to people as I can. I will never lose sight of that, regardless of how much money I have (or how broke I am) or how good I look (or how bad my skin is on any given day) or whether I'm a 38" waist (or a 31" waist). I felt the impact of the song would be increased if I was as personal as possible. That's why I discuss my bad teeth, bad acne, uncoordinated too skinny frame, and thick bottle cap glasses that I had when I was 12. That's why I talk about the fact that I was a big nerd, and was in love with Winnie Cooper, and idolized Alex P Keaton. That's also why I discuss the fact that my confidence was never based on my looks. It was based mainly on my intelligence when I was a kid, because I didn't realize how important respect for others was, and it was easy to base my confidence on my academic abilities because my educational course was accelerated. I'm truly blessed that I've had the same best friend for over 22 years. That made most of the difficult situations I would face as a teenager much easier, and gave me greater appreciation for what really mattered. I'm also truly blessed to have the family I had. You likely already know how much I love my mom, and how much I miss her. She is the greatest role model I've ever had. My father was always very supportive in my decision to follow my musical dreams, as were my brother and sisters.

Oh, one line that I feel needs particular attention is this:

"My mental heatlh makes me amazingly attractive, even though physically I am average." I in no way mean that I'm a very attractive person. I'm not Brad Pitt. I'm closer to Conan O'Brien mixed with Will Ferrell. I simply mean that it's amazing that I am attractive given my average physical looks, and my mental health is the cause of that attractiveness. It comes from being genuine, honest, trusting, trustworthy, and respectful (for myself and others).