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Mike iLL

| | | — | | London, England. Cloudy-ass city. Been told to fuck off once, got the finger once and had one guy tell me to have a nice trip home (or some shit), but other than that it’s been a pretty nice trip. This one guy named Gaz who’s been promoting ska music for like 20 years is sooooo fuckin’ cool. Great story teller and just one of those people who’s always concerned for the people around him (and probably his folks elsewhere as well). He hooked me up with a performance at this private club the other night. They have a lot of these private clubs here where you have to be a member to get in. Think it might have to do with liquor laws or something. Gaz was talking the other night about the origin of the phrase “gettin’ pissed” (you know, drinking). In many nature-based cultures a man will fast for a week or so, then eat psychadelic mushrooms and drink a whole bunch of water, and piss into a big bowl or something and pass it around. Everyone drinks and they have an experience. Gettin’ pissed. Met this other cat last night who was hitch-hiking around mexico and all over the southern U.S. back in 1963. British cat who knew the Beatles before they’d even smoked pot. He did acid for the first time in Boston with Timothy Leary. There was a phone number (KISS BIG) you could dial in Boston and get involved with these psychedelic experiments. Some people are telling me they don’t like my new CD; too lo-fi sounding. I hear that, but it is what it is man. Needed to get those songs out. Next record will be hi-fi. The only thing I’m trying to figure out is what kind of record to make. I kind of wanna do something with lots of raw drum machine stuff on it. Dumb 808 bass drum beats and shit, but I also need to be persueing the simple guitar and voice sound. then there’s the idea of recording with a live drummer. And how about slow songs versus hard? What is Mike iLL? It’s 3:00 AM. Soul searching is hard work. Pockets are empty. Met a very cool bagpipe player from an Irish area of the Bronx last night. Says I should go down to South Covent early one morning and hitch a ride over to Dublin with the truck drivers. Hmmmm. Checked out a music festival here the other day; all solar powered. What a vibe. Like nothing in America. Tons of tents and lots of experimental and ethnic music. I walk around with the guitar and people are giving money. There’s another this Saturday. Ton’s of ‘em all summer all over Europe. Anybody listening to Cat Power? Her new CD (The Covers) sounds gorgeous.

Feelin’ abroad, Mike iLL |

1/06/2000