The Mickey June Show
Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Music
Press
“Great song from Gary Brown.”
—Kevn Kinney (Kevn Kinney Band, Drivin’ n’ Cryin’) from his nomination of “Roger Dodger” from ThinkJet’s Honor EP for Stomp and Stammer magazine’s “The Great Atlanta Top 40” (August 2002).
- Stomp & Stammer October 2002
“The Mickey June Show arrived on the Atlanta music scene like a cool breeze on a sultry night, wafting something different, sweeter, and pleasantly unexpected into what was (until then) an overly familiar milieu. Offering just as much twang as bang, The MJS’s colorful blend of easygoing country and blues music with bright nuggets of pop/rock flavor deftly transcended its own antecedents (which seemed to range from Mick Taylor and Gram Parsons through Stan Ridgway and Jeff Tweedy). Anchored by the offbeat charisma of tall, strikingly handsome frontman Gary ‘Mickey June’ Brown, this act was an absolute joy to discover.”
—Gregory Nicoll, Creative Loafing February 2004 - Creative Loafing, February 2004
Discography
2008-9 Currently in Production...
2005 "Introducing the Mickey June Show"
2003 Swimming Pool Q's, "Royal Academy of Reality"
1986 Thinkjet, "Honor"
1985 Arms Akimbo, "Arms Akimbo"
Photos
Bio
Singer/Songwriter Gary Brown recently re-located to Charleston, SC from Atlanta, GA where he had been an active member of Atlanta's original Alt Rock community for over 20 years. 1984-1985: for regular "688" Club headliners "Arms Akimbo," he sang, played bass and guitar, and contributed to arrangements. While with Arms Akimbo, the band recorded one EP, and produced one video for the song "Dominique," which placed 2nd on MTV's "Basement Tapes" in 1985. Much of the filming was done atop the roof of Atlanta's now demolished Pershing Point Apartments, home of Gone With the Wind author (and fabled hellion) Margret Mitchell.
In 1986 Gary and partner Steve Dixon formed ThinkJet and recorded the pyschedlic-folk-rock EP "Honor," receiving critical acclaim across the Southeast (For a sample of tunes from "Honor," go to http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=405130452).
The band recorded demos for 10-12 additional songs, made two tours of the Deep South, then disbanded in early 1988. You can also hear a few of those songs on the Thinkjet MySpace page link above.
In 1989, after a brief stint on bass with Mr. Crowe's Garden, (later to become The Black Crowes), Gary joined Rob Gal and Anne Richmond Boston for a series of shows with "The Anne Richmond Boston Band." In 1991 he joined the legendary Swimming Pool Q's on bass. In 1993, The Q's began recording the critically acclaimed "Royal Academy of Reality," for which Gary earned a co-songwriting credit for the psycho-ethereal closing track, "Alpha Centauri's Rise." The completed work was released in 2003 on BAR NONE RECORDS.
In 2001, after a playing for a short time with The Andy Browne Band (formerly of the Nightporters), Gary returned to songwriting, and in 2002 formed The Mickey June Show with former members of Right As Rain and 3-lb Thrill. They recorded "Introducing...The Mickey June Show" in 2004 with Rob Gal (Michelle Malone, Mud Cat, Anne Boston, The Coolies, and many more) engineering and co-producing.
The band's influences center on the music of the South--blues, folk, country & western, and Americana. Vocal harmonies have been compared to The Everly Brothers, Bob Dylan and the Band, and The Beatles. Largely guitar-based, The MJS carefully write and arrange themes which repeat to create unique identities for each song.
Always careful to keep it fresh, though, the MJS leaves other sections open for the spontaneity of the moment. It's not unusual for arrangements to change on the fly!!
These original songs tell stories that everyone can relate to, stories from modern life, told with rich humor, irony, satire, and bitter-sweetness.
The MJS take on challenging adaptations, as well, such as Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," made famous by Harry Nilsson and featured in the 1968 classic, "Midnight Cowboy," and the wistful, soulful Pogue's ballad, "Summer in Siam."
Links
