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Mikey Chuck Rivers was a hilarious addition to the night. He took the stage with just his acoustic guitar and even though he was alone, his set was never boring. It helps that his self-deprecating stage banter had those gathered at the stage unable to contain their laughter. The singer-songwriter released his Last Night’s Beer EP in October of last year, and his songs consistently speak to nights of drunkenness. While it’s easy to call it a gimmick, it seems as though he genuinely writes simple, thoughtful songs about what he knows best. He commented that he wasn’t sure how he was on the lineup, but the truth is that Mikey Chuck Rivers is a lot of fun to hear, worthy of playing alongside the acts that followed. - Buying Shots for Bands
Mikey Chuck Rivers was a hilarious addition to the night. He took the stage with just his acoustic guitar and even though he was alone, his set was never boring. It helps that his self-deprecating stage banter had those gathered at the stage unable to contain their laughter. The singer-songwriter released his Last Night’s Beer EP in October of last year, and his songs consistently speak to nights of drunkenness. While it’s easy to call it a gimmick, it seems as though he genuinely writes simple, thoughtful songs about what he knows best. He commented that he wasn’t sure how he was on the lineup, but the truth is that Mikey Chuck Rivers is a lot of fun to hear, worthy of playing alongside the acts that followed. - Buying Shots for Bands
First off, let me say that it’s incredibly hard to actually write anything about this ‘society’, partially because I regret every minute of it – I regret it like I regret the best things that have ever happened to me – I also just can’t be as funny as Mikey Chuck Rivers, who had me so overwhelmed with joy, that I couldn’t stop drinking whiskey. I know I went a bit trigger-happy here; i’m not sure if it was the twang of the banjo or the bourbon-bacon-chocolate-covered cupcakes, but the energy of the place was inspiring to say the least; everyone was incredibly easy-going and down to laugh and have a regretfully good time. - Porousness
First off, let me say that it’s incredibly hard to actually write anything about this ‘society’, partially because I regret every minute of it – I regret it like I regret the best things that have ever happened to me – I also just can’t be as funny as Mikey Chuck Rivers, who had me so overwhelmed with joy, that I couldn’t stop drinking whiskey. I know I went a bit trigger-happy here; i’m not sure if it was the twang of the banjo or the bourbon-bacon-chocolate-covered cupcakes, but the energy of the place was inspiring to say the least; everyone was incredibly easy-going and down to laugh and have a regretfully good time. - Porousness
Discography
Forthcoming:
It's Mikey Here - Debut Album - TBA
2011:
Last Night's Beer - EP - Eternal Bummer Records
2010:
I'm Always Drunk on Christmas - EP - Pint of Happiness Records
I'm Always Drunk - EP - Pint of Happiness Records
Woebegone Lodge - Split w/Cactus Keith - Self-released
Photos
Bio
"Lord, it's Mikey here
Havin' a beer
Thinkin' 'bout stayin' alive for a couple more years"
-"It's Mikey Here"
As some mad clockwork twists, turns, and contorts time into a wild, unrelenting force of destruction, you can probably find me, Mikey Chuck Rivers, sittin' in a garage, tossing back Pabst Blue Ribbons, thinkin' fast but takin' it slow.
Hey, it's Mikey Chuck Rivers here, a hardscrabble, homespun, small-town, country boy trying to figure out how to be a man, writin' songs about it along the way. I play a beery and beardy brand of country music, sounding like an old friend crackin' a warm six-pack at 2AM on a Sunday under a real tender moonlight. Some people call me "the Drinkin' Man's Thinkin' Man," though some people just call me Mikey.
Let me paint a picture of my hometown Clinton, Ontario: population of 3200 and declining, two stoplights, a racetrack with an affiliated OLG gambling hole, one bar that doubles as a fishing and gaming conservation, and a whole lot of nothing going on.
So what do a bunch of rambunctious young men do for fun in a town that slow? Well, we'd get home from work, slug back a few beers, and wax drunken poetic well past the last hours of the night. At some point, I decided to take those hazy moments of inebriated introspection and reflection, make 'em easy to sing, and I busted out of the garage and into the bars.
In September of 2010, I wrote and recorded my first EP "Woebegone Lodge" up at the titular backwoods cabin on the Bruce Peninsula. It piqued the interest of Kansas-native Elvis Proctor and his label Pint of Happiness Records (Last False Hope, Ronnie Hymes, Cattletruck), and in December 2010, they released two follow-ups, "I'm Always Drunk" and its seasonal companion piece, "I'm Always Drunk on Christmas."
After a year of runnin' and ramblin', I headed back to ole Woebegone and wrote what would become the "Last Night's Beer" EP, an ode to Willie Nelson's 1971 concept album "Yesterday's Wine." Inspired by those tales of spirituality and drunkenness running hand-in-hand, what resulted was a romantic and melancholic journey through the beery spots in life. It was released by Eternal Bummer Records in October of 2011.
Since then, I've played both Canadian Music Week and NXNE, opened for Joel Plaskett, Cavaliers, Vic Ruggerio of the Slackers, The Elwins, and many more, and began work on my debut full-length "It's Mikey Here" with producer Matt Weston, to be released in the winter of 2013.
Here's what a few folks have to say about me:
"He took the stage with just his acoustic guitar and even though he was alone, his set was never boring…While it’s easy to call it a gimmick, it seems as though he genuinely writes simple, thoughtful songs about what he knows best…The truth is that Mikey Chuck Rivers is a lot of fun to hear, worthy of playing alongside the acts that followed."
-Buying Shots for Bands, on a CMW showcase featuring The Elwins, Topanga, and more
"Best of bandcamp: 'drunk'"
-Summer Teen Zine
"He just presents himself as this guy who drinks with his friends all the time. Great energy on stage and good rapport with the crowd. Honest."
-See You Next Wednesday
All booking and press inquires can be shot at mikeychuckrivers@gmail.com
Come have a beer with me sometime.
Love yer pal,
Mikey Chuck Rivers
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