John Miceli's Blog

Sponser Justins Mustache

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:26:00 +0000

I'm in the studio with Justin Hawkins of The Darkness. Just wanted to show you this picture of him sporting this new mustache. He is growing this to raise money for a great benefit. Check this link out and sponsor his mustache.
I am currently working with Sonor to design a drum set for the up and coming Meat Loaf tour.
Check out the new Adam Lambert album pre-sales are on iTunes now.

Song Release

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Song recorded for Adam Lambert released today, check it out on iTunes. It's for the movie 2012. "Time For Miracles"

Drum Tracks finished for Meats album

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:20:00 +0000

Well I can finally take a breath now that I am finished with Meats tracks. This album really is exciting and kicks butt. I really got to play a lot at times. There are a few songs where Meat and Rob (producer) just said go nuts. :) believe me thats just what I wanted to hear.
It was great to see Meat dig his teeth into this album he really was arranging songs around like crazy. I think at one point he turned three songs into one big epic Meat Loaf classic.
I am blown away with the drum sounds Rob and Doug (Engineer) have gotten for this album. I will ask Doug if I can post a video up on his Miking technique. Crook took some great footage.
I would really like to thank Sonor, Zildjian, Vic Firth, Earthworks, and Evans for the support they gave me throughout this album. These companies are amazing, just always there when I need help whether its advice on getting a sound, or a piece of gear that at a last minutes notice needed to get my hands on. You guys rock.
To keep in touch with what is going on in the studio join up on Meats twittwer page there is some really funny stuff on there.

In the studio with Brian May

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:21:00 +0000

Brian May paid us a visit at the studio the other day. Whenever Brian is around its like a family reunion we just have such a great time. We got to see a sneak preview of his new book coming out "A Village Lost And Found" Click to see Meat speak about the book.

Fun Pics

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:58:00 +0000

Rob Cavallo, Meat Loaf, David Cook and myself. Check out Meats twitter page for some fun video footage.

Me with the Switchfoot boys.

Meat Loaf

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:10:00 +0000

Check out Meats Twitter

On The Road Again

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Fri, 08 May 2009 12:14:00 +0000

Back on the road with Marya Roxx . Playing in the band is Paul Crook, Danny Miranda, myself and of course Marya. We are just hitting it hard every night, a three piece rock band with Marya singing great ever night. Its so fun the German crowds are so welcoming. I will be out here until the 20th of May and then back to the states to work on another project. We started out in Wales at Hammerfest, a weekend long event of just Metal, with Saxon, Sepultura and many others. Then headed over to Germany to be support act for Lafee.

LaFee is one of Germans top acts.Everyone in Lafee has been great to work with. You should check them out they really kick.
Its nice to be reunited with Paul and Danny, we all played together in the Vegas We Will Rock You show together.
I want to thank all the Meat Loaf fans that have come down to the show to support us its always great to see all of you.
I will be running a auction for charity next month, it just has been very hard to do while being on the road.
Peace
John

Hi

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:34:00 +0000

Well it's been a while since I have posted. Sorry I haven't been keeping up. I've been really busy trying to keep up with basketball games with my son, twirling with my daughter and working on pre-production for Meat . I am also working on a project for Crook's guitar album. You'll have to check his site to see when he will release it. In between all this I have been recording with Scarecrow which is a Rock Opera, hopefully to tour the UK next year. I am now getting ready to head out to Las Vegas to rehearse with Marya Roxx for a German Tour with Lafee's Ring Of Fire Tour. I'm sorry to say but Joey Vera won't be with us this leg, but longtime friend Danny Miranda (Queen, We Will Rock You, Blue Oyster Cult) will be filling in. It looks like a lot of bratwursts in May. Before heading out with Marya I will be working on Meat's new album which Rob Cavallo (producer of Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Dave Matthews Band, Fleetwood Mac, David Cook, Goo Goo Dolls, Kid Rock, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette and Shinedown) will be producing. Also keep your eyes open for the release of Amberly Thiessen's (Canadian Idol) album.

This month's Charity Auction just went up on eBay . Up for auction is a signed 10-inch Zildjian splash cymbal and a pair of autographed drumsticks. Please check it out; this all goes for a great cause, Compassion International. My wife has been corresponding with the children we have been able to sponsor thanks to you guys, and will be posting a few letters that we have received back from them. I really want to thank my wife Eve, and Deb for putting in all the hard work to make this auction possible. You know drummers - I would just mess the whole thing up doing it myself.

Holiday Head Charity Auction

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:49:00 +0000

Well the drum head is signed by everyone in Meat Loaf and more This is a head that was custom made for the tour. I believe it is one of 5 heads. In Asbury Park at sound check Peter Criss of KISS came down. What an amazing guy, he even got up and played a few KISS songs with Crook. The head was still on the drum up on the riser and I told him what we were doing with the auction and asked if he would sign it, he was so gracious and signed and also took a pic. How cool to have a head signed along with Meat Loaf and Peter Criss.

I would like to thank everyone in the band for being so great with this and taking the time to take pics and sign the head. I am a very lucky guy to be in a band with such great people. Love you guys.

Charity Auction III

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:44:00 +0000

Happy Holiday Head

We all got together this month and thought it would be nice to auction off a Holiday Head, signed by the whole band. One at a time everyone has stopped by my drum riser to sign the head that is on my Gong Bass Drum. I will post pics of everyone signing the head on my site. All proceeds will go to Compassion International . Thanks again to everyone who bid on the last drum head and shirt. It will support a child for almost a year.
Peace
John

Busy with Marya and Amberly

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:20:00 +0000

Check out the video of "21" I just filmed with Marya Roxx. It was filmed out on the West Coast in the mountains where they used to film MASH. We really had a blast filming. There's lots of pictures on my site.

I also just recorded an album with Amberly Thiessen. Amberly was on Canadian Idol last year, check her out. I will post the album once it's released. Check out my site for some cool pictures of me and Amberly in the studio.

Haloween Shirt

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:59:00 +0000

I don't know why, but I have received a ton of emails about the shirt in this picture. It is in the wardrobe making its way to the next show. I will also add the shirt, signed along with the sticks and the drum head in this auction. I can not add this on eBay at this time but I promise I will send it out. You have all been so generous with these auctions and I can't tell you how happy it makes me that we can all help out kids and family's less fortunate then us.
Peace
John

Charity Auction II

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 17:06:00 +0000

Happy Halloween!
We just played a show on Halloween night with Meat Loaf. What a blast! Everyone got dressed up for the encore. Meat was Elvis, Patti and CC were Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, Paul was Barney Rubble, Randy was The Joker, Kasim was a Huge Bunny, Dave was Joe the Plumber, Mark was Mark...and I was a Pig (no wise cracks). I will be auctioning off a signed pair of drumsticks and the drum head we used that night for the next Charity Auction to benefit Compassion International.

I want to thank everyone who participated in last month's Charity Auction. Here's an update on the boy we were able to begin a sponsorship for with the proceeds. Jolien is 10 years old and lives in Haiti with his father, mother and 1 sibling. His parents sometimes work as farmers, and Jolien is responsible for carrying water, gathering firewood and caring for animals. In primary school, his performance is above average and he also regularly attends church activities and camp. He loves singing, art and bicycling. I've sent him a letter and am waiting to hear from him. Because of privacy issues, I'm not able to post his photo, but I'll keep you all updated with excerpts from his letters as I receive them. Thanks to your generosity, we can keep this sponsorship going!

Charity Auction Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:03:00 +0000

Today I was able to sponsor a 10-year-old boy, Jolien, from Haiti. I saw a picture of him and I wish I could see his face when he hears that he has a sponsor. I spoke with someone from Compassion International today and am finding out if I can post a picture of him on my site. Of course, they have certain security procedures that I do have to follow. I want to thank every one of you who took part in the Charity Auction. I promise to keep you all up-to-date on Jolien. It takes about 2 weeks to receive his info packet, and then we can send him a letter tomorrow and will await his answer. He writes a letter in Haitian, which will be translated and sent back to us.

Charity Auctions

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:54:00 +0000

A friend of ours turned us on to this charity, Compassion International, a few years ago. It's supported by a lot of musicians, and they do great work in impoverished countries around the world. They've helped over 1 million children in 24 countries.

We sponsor a child who we keep in contact with through letters. My kids also send gifts during the holiday season. We really see the difference in the child's life we've supported, and it's great to get a personal letter from her.

I'm going to be auctioning an item every month on eBay to raise money to support another child or hopefully, children, through Compassion International. Check out their website - they've just received their 7th consecutive 4-star rating by Charity Navigator. I'll share some of the letters we get from the children that we all can help. Each auction will feature a different item from various tours that I have been on.

This month I'll put up this drum head and a pair of drumsticks for auction. Go to my Charity Auctions page to click on the eBay link.

Blue Oyster Cult

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:02:00 +0000

I have been out on the road with Blue Oyster Cult these last few weeks and what a blast. Just filling in for a friend of mine who just had a beautiful baby boy. We are playing all their hits from Cities on Flame, Reaper, Godzilla , and Burning For You. The Band is Smokin. We just finished a few shows with Joan Jett, Peter Frampton and .38 Special. Everyone asks me about more cowbell well here it is. I don't think you can get more than this.

When I was getting ready to do sound check I got some really great advice from J.R., a security guard backstage. It's funny, what he is saying takes so many of us drummers so long to figure out.

Next month I will be out with Marya Roxx. Check out her new site or stop by her forum and leave a message.

Motley Crue Contest!

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:09:00 +0000

Here's a cool new competition. If you register at the link below you can then vote for Marya to be support for The Crue's 2009 tour.

Winding Down

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 17:17:00 +0000

Well this leg of the tour is winding down. We are out for three more shows then heading home. I want to thank all the Meat fans for such a great run.
When I get home I will be playing with Blue Oyster Cult for a few weeks, so I guess I will have to dust off my cowbell and Godzilla mask. I hope to see some of you at the shows. I will post the shows on my site. I will also be opening up a day teaching in NY in my new studio.

I have received a lot of emails regarding the monstrous sound of the drums this tour ,
I first have to thank George Wehrlin, our front of house engineer, and TC, our Monitor engineer. But also Earthworks.

This tour we have added Earthworks Live Drum Kit miking System .This system consists of two over head microphones and a Kick mic The Earthworks overheads added a clarity to my drum sound that I never had. It really brought my sound of 5 drums 10 cymbals and one cowbell to sound like one musical instrument. My monitor mix went from having 15 inputs for a drum mix, into just my two overhead microphones and a kick microphone, and never sounded better.
I can't wait to get home and try these in my studio.

Stonehenge Trip

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:01:00 +0000

We just finished our first couple of shows in the UK. We have gone from Liverpool, the home of the Beatles to beautiful Bath and then on to Nottingham. On our trip from Bath to Nottingham we passed right by Stonehenge and decided to stop. Here is a little video I put together from our trip.

On The Road Again with Meat Loaf

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:25:00 +0000

Well rehearsals are over and we are out for 8 weeks in the UK and Europe. We had our first show in Plymouth UK and now are in Cork Ireland. I cant believe it but who did I see was Harry Potter no kidding Daniel Radcliffe. I will be getting back into the hang of things and start posting more often. Here is a little video I put together. Hope to see you all on tour.

The Answer To all Your Questions...

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:59:00 +0000

Marya Roxx Gigs

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:48:00 +0000

I am out in California with Marya, Paul Crook and Joey Vera tearing it up. We are gigging on Sunday at the Cat Club, Monday at the House Of Blues and Wed. at The Joint. I promise I will take photos and as much video as I can. We will be playing with Mary Roxx all through out May.
Come June its back out with Meat Loaf for 8 weeks in the UK and Europe. I'm stoked :). You can check out the dates on my site.
Then when I come back in Aug. I will be playing some shows with my old friends Blue Oyster Cult.
I hope hope to see some of you at all of these shows.
Peace
John

Whats going on

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:51:00 +0000

I am still out in Vegas with Marya Roxx. We have been playing every Thursday at a club called the Divebar to tighten up our show before we head out to LA for a few big shows. Last Saturday Crook, Libretti and myself went out to see some very dear friends of ours, Blue Oyster Cult. Holy Crap did they kick ass. After the show we all sat around a few pizzas and laughed our asses off.
I also started practicing my Meat Loaf songs this week. It looks like we will be hitting the road with the Casa De Carne Tour. I will be listing (really Deb will be listing) the dates on my website as they come in.
This past week my line of drum pads have come out, there is a Pro and Student model. We really worked hard on these and have gone through at least 100 designs to get just the right feel and sound. These pads are very dynamic, you can hear every stroke and accent. There is no other pad like this on the market. I will be posting a short demo video on both pads.

Marya Roxx

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:08:00 +0000

Well I am back out in Vegas with Crook again. We are rehearsing and filming a documentary video for Marya Roxx. Marya's album kicks ass. We are doing this as a three piece plus Marya. On bass is Wayne Carver, Wayne is from Vegas, he was in a show called Erotica which was a metal show with Topless women dancing around, :) so to make him feel at home, every once in a while I take my shirt off and dance around him.
The band is kickin Crook sounds amazing, it just blows me away how he can cover so many parts at one time, it really sounds like a 5 piece band. Marya is a ball of energy ready to blow and is always singing her ass off . I cant believe how much sound comes out of that little body of hers.
I will post a video clip of a rehearsal soon.
Sonor has sent me an x-ray acrylic kit for this gig. You have to hear this kit . It has such great attack along with great tone. It really just cuts through the thickness of the band with ease.

Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (John Miceli) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:15:00 +0000

Well, now that the New Year is here it's time for me to get on this blog and let you know what's going on around here. The last few weeks I have been practicing with John and Jeremy from Nine Days to do some recording. It's really some great music. I'll post a song or two once we are done.

Next month I will be out in Vegas with Crook working on a project with Marya Roxx. It is really heavy. This girl really kicks ass. Paul recorded an album with her and recommended me for this project. I am really looking forward to this. We'll be doing some dates with Marya Roxx, starting in April in L.A. I will keep you all posted.

During all this craziness I have been designing my own Drum Pad with master craftsman Tony Favicchia. It's a drum pad different from all the others on the market. It's made from solid maple and it's more like an instrument than a drum pad. It has great tone and is very dynamic. It will be available to purchase soon on my Web Mall.