Michael Oliva News

Ladies, Gentlemen, Freaks and Geeks, the time has come.

After two years of honing my craft as a sound engineer, recording artist, and song writer, my newest project is finished. I am very, very pleased with my finished product and due to the help and advice of many close friends, some taken and some discarded, my new album “Modern Love” is ready for release.

The masters are now on the way to the manufacturer and the CD should be ready for distribution in early November!

This new album contains thirteen songs, including the title track, along with a few goodies thrown in for nostalgia and what not. I hope you enjoy the artwork, and listening to the music as much as I enjoyed creating it all. You can purchase it from me if you’re local, at shows, or in person, and on my website.

Thanks for your time, and let the games begin.

-Michael Oliva

Hey everyone. I’ve taken the past six months to take a fresh breath of air of the acoustic café/bar music scene. I’ve been living life, being a normal person, and preparing for the future.

In the fall after my trips to Chicago I was going to start gigging at Potbelly's, but changed my mind and started taking online courses from the Berklee School of Music. After finishing a song writing course and a course in Music Business for the Self Promoting Musician I started to work on forming a band. I still played a couple acoustic gigs at Latitudes in Old Milford, opening up and jamming with Atlanta based musician and long time friend Warren, the front man of The Judies. http://www.myspace.com/thejudies

During Winter break I started forming a band, with friends Jon Cromer (on acoustic guitar) and Jon Flannery (on drums) and while we are still currently looking for a bass player, our musical chemistry is growing and will start to scout out gigs around the Cincinnati area.

There will be more to come shortly. Be cool and behave.

-Michael

The "Samples" section of the web site has been updated to include Mike's acoustic sound, as well as clips from his next album which we still hope to release later this year.

Mike played at The Homestead Restaurant (formally the Heritage) on Wooster Pike in Cincinnati on September 30th.

Mike toured Chicagoland where he distributed a few press kits in search of future business and tried to increase his fan base.

He planned a walk-on performance between sets on August 26th at the Underground Wonder Bar, where alas, he was denied entry because he's still under age 21. He did, however succeed in performing on August 29th at the Uncommon Ground Café, 3800 North Clark Street, Chicago.

Mike played at Latitudes Café and Bar on August 13th. Latitudes is located at 18 Main Street, Milford, Ohio 45150.

Pictures from both gigs, as well as Lilyfest are now posted in the Pictures/Performances section.

Mike played a set at a local fundraiser known as Lilyfest on July 9th. Lilyfest took place at the Chanticleer Farm, 5397 Country Lane, Milford, Ohio.

Clermont County's Lilyfest (not to be confused with the larger Lilyfest Art Fair being held in Hocking County Ohio at the same time) is an annual fundraiser that supports cancer related charities. This year's celebration was dedicated in memory of Jon Pez, a close friend of the host Kovacs family, and will support Hospice of Cincinnati.

The $10 entry fee included food, drink, games and entertainment. For more info on Lilyfest, contact Laura Kovacs at lkovacs@fuse.net.

Mike has been back in the studio working on new material. The studio has been upgraded and now utilizes ProTools LE software, which is an industry standard package used around the world which makes Mike's projects much more transportable for future editing and mastering in professional studios.

Plans for this year are to release two new albums in the next few months... one an acoustic album that will better represent his live performances, and a new electric album to showcase his total production talent.

Please spread the word about Michael and his music, and thanks for your continued support! You can get a sneak preview of his newest music here!

Michael attended a five week program at the Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, Ohio from mid-January to mid-February. The program was designed to build a strong foundation in the creative operation of professional audio recording equipment and consisted of a 180-hour curriculum of action-packed presentations of new skills and information. Mike received his Certificate of Completion for the Recording Engineering and Music Production Program on February 11th. (For more info on the Recording Workshop, go to www.recw.com.)

Saturday, November 20th Mike played at his CD Release Concert at the Cincinnati Church of Christ main auditorium. The concert was attended by about 75 fans and featured acoustic covers of songs by the Beatles, Beck, RadioHead, Sublime, and Coldplay as well as his own material from "Expressions" and a few previously unreleased songs. Both audio and video were recorded, so watch for furture announcements. To see the official concert flyer, click here.

Saturday, November 13th Mike was featured at the General Denver Inn, Wilmington, Ohio as part of the New Winedog Feast Dinner Series.

Pictures from both events have been posted in the Pictures/Performances section.

Mike made his radio debut on October 6th at 4:30pm EDT on WZLY Radio, 91.5 Wellesley, Massachusetts.

WZLY is owned by Wellesley College and is operated as a student activity. They broadcast with a carrier frequency of 91.5 megahertz stereo multiplex with a total power output of ten watts in the vertical and horizontal planes. They also stream to the internet at www.wzly.net. (Check the web site for the daily broadcast schedule.)

WZLY is committed to the promotion of diverse and independent music. WZLY encourages all its station members to play material which receives little airplay from commercial radio stations. As a result, the music played on WZLY is not heard anywhere else in the area, rendering the station unique in its music and sound.

You can request songs off the Expressions album by calling their request line at 781-283-2690.

Many thanks to DJ Jane Harris for bringing Michael Oliva to the airwaves!

Did you miss Mike's debut? You can listen to it here! (2.2Mb mp3 file.)

Mike was also featured in a newspaper article on the same day which you can read here.

Mike made an appearance at the Cincinnati Church of Christ's International Dinner and Fundraiser on Saturday, September 25th. The fundraiser was to raise money to send Ariel Underwood to California to compete in a national talent competition. The dinner featured cuisine from around the world. Also performing were be Ariel Underwood, Will Underwood, Willa Crenshaw, Brian Oliva and others.

"Expressions" is now available at Getsemani Music's eBay Store and at the Ant & Grasshopper Book Store at the Cincinnati Church of Christ.

All the lyrics for all the songs in "Expressions" (plus more than 15 others that you may remember from earlier demos) are now available in the lyrics section of the web site.

"Expressions" was released on August 13th and is available for immediate delivery! Thanks to those of you that pre-ordered your copy.

If you've been waiting for the official release, now is the time. Order yours today by visiting the online store at either www.michaeloliva.com or www.getsemanimusic.com. You can print an order form to mail in, or order online and pay by credit card. Mail orders are $15.00 plus $3 shipping and handling.

You can also get one directly from Brian or Michael.

Don't delay! Quantities of this initial release are limited!

Good news! We got the OK from ASCAP that “Michael Brian Oliva” and “Getsemani Music” are now approved ASCAP affiliates. That means that right after Mike finishes his latest changes to the final album, we’ll be ready to go into production. Mike is adding another song, “Desert Island” and fine tuning a couple of the other songs. Production of the master is expected to be completed by July 16th, and with luck the CD should be ready to go on sale by the first week in August.

If you would like to be added to our mailing list to find out when Michael will be performing locally, or for more information on the upcoming CD, please register by clicking here.

Are you getting tired waiting for the release of "Expressions?" We feel your pain. Everything is all lined up and ready to go to press. However, we're still waiting for ASCAP to complete their review of the applications to register Michael as a composer/author and also for their approval of one of the five names we've picked for the publishing company. Without that, we don't know what "record label" to put on the CD! ASCAP reports that it takes about eight weeks to process an application. It has now been eight weeks. Stay tuned! We appreciate your continued support and patience!!

Michael has been working in the studio for the past several months putting together his first commercial CD, "Expressions." "Expressions" is 15 tracks covering over 71 minutes of music that highlight Michael's diversity and style as both a performer and producer. Michael plays all instruments (including acoustic, electric and bass guitar, drums, and synthesizer) sings all vocals, and did the mastering, mixing and recording himself, so this does truly represent his full scope of talent.

Recording is nearly complete, and we're working on the final plans for getting everything legal so we can begin production and distribution. Audio samples are now available on the Music page.

Michael appeared at Winedog's Cups and Corks on Friday, January 23, 2004 from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. Winedog's is located at Columbus and Main Streets, Blanchester, Ohio. Check the Pictures section for updates!

Things apparently went well at Winedog's Cups and Corks, because Mike was invited back to do a full night of entertainment on January 31st, which was "Paella Night! An evening spiced with great music, friends, and saffron!"

Check this page for upcoming gigs when dates are made available.

MichaelOliva.com goes live on January 20, 2004.

Mike spent a week in Virginia Beach on vacation with former Something Real band member Eric Throne. Mike and Eric got together and made their public debut at the Abbey Road Pub and Restaurant on August 19th, followed by another gig at the Fill My Cup Coffeehouse where they were joined by the teens of the Hampton Roads Church. Abbey Road was found by Portfolio Magazine to be the "Best Acoustic Club in Tidewater . . . offering the best and most variety." Check the Pictures section for updates!

Something Real breaks up allowing Mike to start experimenting with multi-track recording.

Something Real played several shows at the Cincinnati Church of Christ. including the Boogie Night's Dance, the Teen Prom, and the New Year's Eve Party. Eric Throne joins the band in December.

2001

Something Real, the official teen ministry band of the Cincinnati Church of Christ is formed by Michael Oliva, Jon Cromer and Cameron Dilts.