Mike O'Brien

Artist Information

Biography

Biography (French version will follow)


Mike O’Brien is a singer songwriter from Montreal, once described as a mixture of Nick Drake and Johnny Cash with a sprinkling of Tom Waits. He released his first record (Cockfight, independent) in 2007, and is currently working on a follow-up record with an expected release for the fall. Along with playing solo shows around Montreal, his guitar skills have allowed him to work extensively as a sideman for such artists as Katie Moore, Elephant Stone, Yonder Hill, Catherine Durand, Laurence Hélie, Angela Desveaux, David Macleod (Timber) and Vic Chesnutt.


Mike O`Brien est un auteur compositeur interprète de Montréal qui présente un produit qui ressemble à un mélange de Nick Drake, Johnny Cash et Tom Waits. Il a sorti son premier album indépendant en 2007 (Cockfight), et travaille sur un nouvel album pour l’automne. On peut l’entendre regulièment sur scène à Montréal avec des spectacles solo dans divers établissements tels le Divan Orange, Casa Del Popolo, Sala Rossa et Il Motore. Son jeu de guitare lui a permis de travailler aussi comme guitariste pour plusieurs artistes comme Katie Moore, Elephant Stone, Catherine Durand, Laurence Hélie, Socalled, Angela Desveaux, David Macleod (Timber) et Vic Chesnutt.

Instrumentation

Mike O'Brien- acoustic guitar and vocals

For band sets, the Ideal Lovers are the backing band:
Joe Grass-electric guitar, mandolin and vocals
Zac Decamp- electric bass
David Payant- drums

Discography

Mike O'Brien-Mike O'Brien (2007)

Official Website

http://mikeobrienmusic.com

Audio

• Braid Song
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• Movie Star
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• Dirt Blue
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• Ô Misère
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Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Join the MO'B [+ Show ]
  

  April 19th, 2007 Seven Night Stand Join the MO'B Brendan Murphy bmurphy@hour.ca Sometimes,...April 19th, 2007
  Seven Night Stand
  
  Join the MO'B
  Brendan Murphy
  bmurphy@hour.ca
  
  Sometimes, as in the case of Mike O'Brien's solo album, I receive the music very near deadline and have to listen and review it within a short couple of hours. For some this would mean giving it one of those noncommittal reviews that says nothing and neither offends nor praises anyone too much. I, on the other hand, have immense faith in my gut, perhaps because it is located much more closely to my balls than my brain, and gave the album a 4.5 out of 5. Subsequent post-deadline listens buoyed my faith in my deeming it a classic, but it was at the Divan Orange album release, backed by Ideal Lovers (whom you can see at Casa this Friday), that I was able to pat my discriminating taste on the back.
  
  The songs sound as good live, if not better, as they did on the self-titled CD - the boy sure can write a hook - and the band is essentially a cast of musical superstars in their own right, each capable of releasing an equally happening solo album. Check out his MySpace page for a taste, then get your hands on the full-length. For the record, I don't champion new local acts because I like to help, or because I think that in this overwhelmingly globalized new world of music there is an urgent need to focus on community and neighbourhood projects to keep us all sustained and sane: I do it for the glory and, naturally, part of all the future royalties that they may accrue. I'm still waiting on my Land Of Talk money.

• SPINS - DISC OF THE WEEK [+ Show ]
  

  April 12 2007 Mike O'Brien (Independent) MIKE O'BRIEN Brendan Murphy 4.5/5 For thos...April 12 2007
  
  Mike O'Brien (Independent)
  
  
  MIKE O'BRIEN
  Brendan Murphy
  
  4.5/5
  
  For those who haven't yet heard of Mike O'Brien, who's been skulking in the background of countless folk-country-rock shows, this will rectify that situation in short order. The opener, Spain in '72, has a little touch of Broken Social Scene and hints at the wide net that this cat is casting, but he soon gets down, on Braid Song, to the folk rock songs that make the best of his ample geetar skills and alternately warm and growling voice. A voice that is at times shoulder-to-shoulder with Lenny Cohen's. There's the whimsical cover of O Misère, a summer jam called Summertime and Lemonade, and plenty of times when his lyrics ("I think I'd spend my day with you/ Maybe not the whole day but at least the afternoon" - No Blues) fight to steal the show. Check the score up there: This is great, not good.
  
  

• Mike O'Brien record voted #1 local album of 2007 in Montreal's The Hour [+ Show ]
  

  1) Mike O'Brien, Cockfight (Independent) An incredibly well written, played and arranged folky roots...1) Mike O'Brien, Cockfight (Independent) An incredibly well written, played and arranged folky roots debut. It might seem like a bit of a critic stunt to put this above some of the other better-known releases, but Cockfight is pretty damn close to a perfect album. As the boys say: "Big-tiiime." (myspace.com/mikeobrientunes)

Setlist

Solo set (45 minutes)

Deep River Blues (traditional)
Ô Misère (M. O'Brien)
Spain in '72 (M. O'Brien)
Braid Song (M. O'Brien)
Saccharine Suite (M. O'Brien)
No Blues (M. O'Brien)
Movie Star (M. O'Brien)
Dirt Blue (M. O'Brien)
B Movie Red (M. O'Brien)
Baltimore (M. O'Brien)
Take It With Me (Tom Waits/Kathleen Brennan)

Band Set (w/ Ideal Lovers as backing band)

Tongue Tied (M. O'Brien)
Braid Song (M. O'Brien)
Summertime and Lemonade (M. O'Brien)
Saccharine Suite (M. O'Brien)
No Blues (M. O'Brien)
Dirt Blue (M. O'Brien)
It's So Sad (M. O'Brien)
B Movie Red (M. O'Brien)
American Dollar (M. O'Brien)
Baltimore (M. O'Brien)
Movie Star (M. O'Brien)
Take It With Me (Kathleen Brennan/Tom Waits)

Basic Requirements

Calendar