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Multi-instrumentalist Michael Stribling has released four electronic CDs in the past two years that have been garnering very favorable reviews as well as award recognition. Michael was a professional musician (mostly percussion) for quite a few years during and after college (notably as Johnny Mathis’ drummer), and then he went back to college to become a marriage and family therapist. He returned to music in 2005, and his debut CD, “Songs of Hope and Healing,” reached #1 on the New Age Reporter charts and received their “Best Electronic Album of the Year” award. Michael’s story is a very interesting one, and I think you’ll enjoy getting to know his as much as I have!
KP: You have released a remarkable amount of new music in the past couple of years. How is “Love, Light, and Water” doing?
Stribling: I suppose releasing four CDs in two years is considered pretty prolific. Maybe working in the jingle industry all those years ago helps me produce music fairly quickly. Currently, I have a compilation CD that's just waiting to be released (still figuring out the timing and logistics), and a couple more projects are at about the halfway point in their development. What can I say? I love this stuff (and the Muse is generous in her contributions)! Love, Light, and Water reached #4 on the New Age Reporter Top 100 List last summer. The competition during the two-month radio promotion included Michael Dulin and Will Ackerman, both of whom are formidable artists. More than one reviewer thought that LLW is my best work to date. In any event, that's four consecutive CDs in the top 4, and that's pretty gratifying :-).
KP: Yes, indeed! How did you come up with the title “Love, Light, and Water,” and what is the general theme of the album?
Stribling: For LLW, I focused on developing a concept album. While Another Day in Paradise probably falls into that category, too (at least, for the most part), LLW was an attempt to provide essentially the same musical feel throughout, as well as related themes. I got some feedback from yoga studios saying they liked most of the music on my CDs, but when an up-tempo piece came around, it tended to spoil the tranquility of the moment and was a bit jarring. So, among other things, LLW attempts to maintain the same basic mood and feel throughout. I didn't set out to write a theme album, per se; however, as the compositions developed, I noticed that the tunes seemed to center around three themes: love, light, and water. And when I started sequencing the pieces, they seemed to fit well together in those three groups. Rather serendipitous, huh? (Funny how things tend to work out that way :-) ) The last two tunes don't seem to fall neatly into the three categories; however, they reflect what I'm going to call a "move heavenward" at the end of the album. By that I mean there's a refocus on, or return to, a higher theme; i.e., love, light, and water point to their source, the Divine energy, and "Quiet Conversation" and "At the Gates" both reflect a return to that sacred space.
KP: You have had quite a varied career. Tell us about it.
Stribling: In some ways, it doesn't feel like there's a whole lot to say. I was very active in music for several years, and then I changed careers. In retrospect, that second career lasted longer than the musical career. In "My Musical Career, Part 1" (which I count as starting when I went to college in 1969), I enjoyed a wide variety of opportunities. I had chosen percussion performance as my major, and that meant I played in everything from marching band, to concert band, to jazz band, to the philharmonic, etc. (I even performed in a couple of theater productions, both as an actor and as a musician). Along the way (and all within my undergraduate years), I got into radio. The station's format was what is now called Classic Rock, but we were playing that music when it was new. (Just think. I got paid to listen to my favorite music six nights a week. Not a bad gig!) After radio and the Johnny Mathis gig were behind me, I was part of a group of folks who worked in a first-rate 16-track studio (first rate for 1976, at least), and we did a lot of radio/TV jingles and music albums. (Oh, the days of analog reel-to-reel and cassette tape!)
KP: How long did you work with Johnny Mathis?
Stribling: I traveled on the road gigs with John for a little over a year, in the mid '70s. My first gig was in Hawaii. The next gig was the Newport Jazz Festival in Manhattan, where John did a duet with Mabel Mercer, in Lincoln Center. Coming from a small town (Merced, CA), that was pretty heady stuff. Other highlights included six weeks in England, Scotland, and Wales; a variety TV show in Paris; a concert for Grace Kelly in Monte Carlo; and the best highlight of all was working with John and listening to that amazing vocal talent night after night. I'm very grateful for that experience.
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