MJP (Mike Petraglia): News

It's been a very busy and very sucessful season for my acoustic solo show. I've done several Gazebo gigs and have four more to do before the snow flies. The response has been very uplifting and I'm more than happy about the way things have been going. I'm hoping to ride this crest into the fall and Winter and land some nice restauratn gigs.

After the Craft Show gig it became obvious that Dan our drummer was not what we were looking for so we have moved on. I'm hoping there is someone out there to fit in for we have now lost our chance at many summer gigs.

I never thougt it would be so hard to put a band together. It has been two years since "Inside Out" formed and now I'm with "A Tighter Circle" we were unable to keep Kevin on drums for his schedule changed and he's just not availble. I've felt like throwing in the towel more than once. We have a new drummer, Dan Heath and he is into had drums and other neat things so we shall see. Our first gig is this Saturday, June 26th so I've got my hopes up.

Things are looking up. Kevin, a former band mate of Ric Johnson has joined the band and seems like the perfect fit. I'm hoping the band will be out again in a very very short time!

I'm afraid that "A Tighter Circle" has hit a pothole and is gonna be down for awhile. Our drummer Joe has left for another band and we don't have anyone else lined up. I'm looking and I'm open for suggestions.

This Saturday is our first gig and I'm feeling pretty good about it. It's the first time I've been in a three piece band and it has take some adjusting but I think it will work out. I believe our vocals are our strong point and I'm constantly searching for new material. Things are looking up!

I've hooked up with Ric Johnson and Joe Sylvester and we've put together a trio that leans heavily on acoustic. Right now we do mostly covers, only three originals but that will change over time. It's a fun band and we don't seem to have any issues. It's all fun and we call ourselves, "A Tighter Circle"

"Must Have Been You" is now available at cdbaby.com/cd/MichaelPetraglia
You can listen to clips of all the tracks and feel free to write a review it would be very helpful

It's been far too long since I've written anything in this journal. I have finally finished up a new CD called "Must Have Been You" It's eleven songs and I feel that it's my best CD to date. It took two years but in reality I did little work on it for quite awhile since I was preoccupied with the two versions of the band "Inside Out" I will be posting it on this web site shortly, just hang in there. It will be up on cdbaby.com in a couple of weeks for anyone who would like to make it their own.

With the demise of "Inside Out" I have decided to focus on songwriting and the completion of my fourth CD. I have reached the halfway point and don't quite have enough songs to finish it so I'll have to try writing a few more. This could take awhile but I do have a few in the works.
I know I miss playing electric and perhaps I will put together another electric band sometime. Time will tell.

We're heading back to The Daily Grind on March 14th. This promises to be a good gig. Our regular drummer Art Gifford is back and practiced with us last week. He's an amazing drummer and he sounded just like before his injury. We should be able to kick some serious butt.
Rick and I have managed to take up all the vocal slack with the loss of Lucy and I think our song choice is a lot better. I will try to get a video of the show and am really looking forward to it.
I've been spending hours on end trying to find more songs that fit my voice and soon we'll be ready for full shows.
It just takes time.

The afternoon gig went well and there was a good crowd. I like the idea of playing early so people who don't like to be out so late at night can get a chance to see the band.
We had a few issues like a noisy floor monitor but we worked through it. It was only our second time out with the new line up and the choice of songs seems to be working well. We'll be back at "The Grind" in about six weeks

After so many sets we finally launched "Inside Out" version 2.0
There were some rough spots but overall it was successful. It was a cold and snowy night and the crowd was sparse but we rocked on and I think this is going to be a good band. The sound system was great and we had a top notch sound man. I'm looking forward to the next gig

There's been big changes in "Inside Out" Our original bass player has left and been replaced by Ric Johnson. Our singer Lucy Schrukus has left and we're no longer a girl band.
These changes are for the better. Ric and I now carry all the vocals and I've got much more control over our material.
We're doing some really cool classic rock tunes and I'm singing at least half our material.
We now have a harmonizer to help with the real high harmonies an it sounds great.
I feel that this band will be better than ever and I'm really psyched about it. We should be gigging sometime after the first of the year.
I haven't been doing much solo work since I've been putting a lot of effort into keeping this band alive. It's been one set back after another but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I will still do solo work like the summer gazebos and other gigs but right now my focus is on "Inside Out"
For those of you who like my original stuff, I'm still writing but haven't recorded yet. I also plan on doing some originals in the band. Most likely tunes that I can't do solo

"Deep Inside A Song" is now available at CD baby and is being distributed to digital sites so if you go to the buy section of this site you can listen to the tracks.

It's been a tough year for "Inside Out" but things are looking up. We've acquired a new bass player, Ric Johnson and he's very talented. Our drummer is still on the mend but we've found a temporary replacement to enable us to practice and bring Ric up to speed. I believe the band will be better than ever and should be booking within two months.
In other news, I'm working on a couple of new songs which I hope to record sometime soon. I still have a ways to go to put out a new CD but I don't want to write just to write. I want it to happen naturally. It's when the best stuff emerges. I could sit down and write ten songs a day but I can pretty much guarantee that you wouldn't like any of them

Seems like nothing's going right with "Inside Out". Our drummer, Art Gifford had and accident with his boat and broke three toes. He's in a cast and has pins in his toes so he won't be able to play till sometime in November. There's not enough time to break in a temporary replacement so I had to cancel the gig at Locals. Hopefully we've bottomed out and thing will start getting better

I did three gigs at the Barker Gazebo this season. The first one rained but the weather for the other two was great. There were good crowds and the shows went over real well.
It's a lot harder doing solo shows but it's still a good time. I kind of wish I would have started doing solo work a long time ago. I'm looking forward to next year and hope to start hitting up some other venues for the fall and winter

Well it looks like summer is about over. Seems like not much happened musically. "Inside Out" was indisposed for months on end. We couldn't even get together for practices with everyone out of town or busy with other commitments . Hopefully we'll get back on track with our gig at Local's.
I did my usual outdoor acoustic shows and received favorable reviews but to be honest, It's a lot easier playing in a band and I just love the sound and power of electric guitar. I don't intend to ever give up my acoustic shows but for now I'd rather play with the band

So far I'm two for two with my outdoor gigs. I've played twice and twice it's rained. I was amazed at the number of people who sat out an listened anyway.

Inside Out played at Time Out 2's and it turned out to be a great night. A lot of old friends were in the audience everyone had a good time. It was kind of close quarters and I felt a little bit cramped but it went OK.
I still haven't gotten all the bugs out of my pedal board but it's coming. I've been working hard on band material so it's been taking a toll on my writing and recording but I hope to still be able to finish up my fourth CD sometime soon.

I picked up a new guitar this week. It's and acoustic-electric flying V by Dean and it's one of the coolest guitars I've ever owned. I plan on using it with the band. It's got a good acoustic sound that I think will cut through the mix and it plays like and electric. Life is good

"Inside Out" played its first Gig at Hardings Restaurant and it went well. There were some technical glitches but that was to be expected since it's our first time out with what happens to be a complex sound system.
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed playing electric guitar. It's been a long time since I've played with a full band and it's an incredible experience.
Lucy did a great job out front and we got a lot of favorable reviews. The future looks bright

I returned to The Basket Factory and did another 3 hour show. I was kind of squeeze into a small space but I got though it OK. The place was packed the whole night and I got a lot of positive feedback.
Three hours is a long haul but I didn't get worn down as much as last time, except for a few sore fingers.
I should be doing another show there before spring so I'll keep everyone posted