Oh, and we recently got mentions by two pretty big publications...ironically, our little-known indie e.p. "Use Your Appetite For Spaghetti" continues to get more press than our little-known major label CD "Splitsville"! Rolling Stone.com named it one of the 50 Best Album Titles and the Chicago Tribune mentioned it on 4/13/03 in an article about record titles mimicking other bands'records. I will reprint this one asap...

May 1, 2001

The big news right now? The new MMI CD, imaginitively titled "Demos 1990-1996" !!! "Huh? You call this new?" Well, yeah, it is! These recordings have never been released on CD before now, so they ARE new-at least to you! There are different versions of songs from our previous CD's as well as a few songs that have never seen the light of day. You can find out all about it right from the home page-just click on the picture of the "Demos" CD. What's REALLY news is that the CD is being sold through the fabulous Not Lame Records website, so you can order with a credit card, and by phone or fax!

What else is new? Well, not too much to report as of yet-I am still living in L.A. and Damon is in Chicago, so we haven't played in a while. Damon is busy with his alter-ego as up-and-coming cameraman (check out his credit on the new Neil Young Live at Red Rocks DVD) and has been writing songs and putting a home studio together. I just got through my first winter without snow, and have been enjoying hiking in the Hollywood Hills and spotting the occasional b-list celebrity. I just played drums this past weekend for the first time in a while, jamming with some guys who I have admired for years, and it was just like riding a bicycle, sort of...

Thanks to everyone for keeping in touch and for continuing to support us.

Keep an eye out right here-I still plan on adding lot's of stuff! Oh, and have a happy "Mother" 's Day! Get it? Mother's Day? Heh....

December 6, 2001

Well, I thought I'd try to double the time it took for the last update, and I am happy to announce that I have successfully waited six months to write a few simple lines of text! Actually, part of the reason for the apparent cyber-neglect has been my recent move across the country (from DC to LA) Indeed, it has been a hectic few months and you, the fan, has dearly paid the price-with ignorance! The other reason for the lack o' info is that I was hoping to give the site an entirely new look and not simply an update. I finally decided to go ahead and make this posting and simply hope it will suffice in lieu of any REAL new content! Please check back over the Xmas holiday as I will be adding lots of photos and press from the massive MMI Archival Bureau as well as some diffrent MP3's, which the kids apparently love so much these days. Oh, and check out the guestbook, which I finally got to work and now matches the rest of the pages.

Some quick news to tide you over until the expansion of this site? Well, due to my rather sudden move from DC, we had to scrap plans to play some shows in October. I jumped at an opportunity to join friend and ex-MMI bass player Peter Gilstrap in Hollywood to work for his animation company Gifted Men Productions. We have been doing " Lil' Pimp" and "Creamburg" as well as Eminem's"The Slim Shady Show" all of which are animated in Flash using little old imacs. So far it has been lots of fun, but it hasn't left much time to cross time zones and make music with my MMI compadres! Graham and Mike are holding the fort down in N. Virginia where they are leading similarly busy lives. Please, please check back in the next few weeks, and for Pete's sake....Have a HAPPY HOLIDAY!

June 20, 2000

I could spend several paragraphs apologizing for taking THREE MONTHS to update this page, but that would be less than interesting. Suffice it to say that there is a reasonable explanation for this apparent laziness. In the past couple of months, the entire responsibility for the actual maintenance of this website has fallen into my lap. Although I have a basic knowledge of HTML, I have had to figure out how to use the various tools required to maintain a website etc., and I am finally getting a handle on it. Thanks for being patient.

What has happened to the Fearless Rock Foursome known as Mother May I since March? Well on April 5th, Damon rolled into town with CSN&Y, so we set up what was supposed to be an acoustic show at IOTA that night. When we met in our rehearsal space (a.k.a. my basement) that afternoon to try to remember how to play our respective instruments, Damon realized all of his guitars and amps were there, and immediately expressed an interest to play loud (a few too many "Teach Your Children"s, I suppose.) We managed to rehearse about 7 or 8 songs before we had to go to the club.

It was definitely an unusual night-it was probably the least prepared we had EVER been for a gig, but it was sort of excting just for that reason. It was a relatively low pressure thing, as it wasn't really a MMI "show"-we weren't supposed to play as a band, so there was no expectations about how long we had to play, and consequently we didn't promote it very much. But when people actually started showing up, we started to have that feeling of "uh-oh".

When we opened with "A Lot Of Nerve" it felt like things could fall apart at any moment. Lyrics forgotten, sticks dropped, notes flubbed. Yikes! But things soon turned around (with the help, again, of Mr. Jagermeister) and it soon got loose, but fun. A sure sign of things being on the wacky side? I think song three was a sloppy cover of "Summer Of '69". Yeah, THAT Summer Of '69. We really started to have a blast, and wound up playing for about an hour. Many songs were miraculously pulled off (hats off to Graham and Mike) without having been rehearsed, (which means we hadn't played them in three months) including "Meet You There" and "In Between". When we ended with "Mason- Dixon Line" we were completely out of songs to play, but an incredibly enthusiastic gathering of freinds and fans convinced us to try more. This resulted in an impromptu version of The Who's "The Seeker", which we managed to surprise ourselves with. Overall, a very loose, drunken, fun Wednesday night-the kind that sometimes seems to resonate with people more than a well rehearsed, tightly played set.

"33 1/3" got a nice review in one of my favorite magazines "The Big Take-Over" If you love quality pop and punk music, you've gotta read this magazine, largely written by the amazingly pop/punk-music-literate Jack Rabid. It only comes out a couple of times a year, and the new one is issue 46 with Supergrass on the cover. I will add the review in the next few days (if I figure out how.)

I managed to get more songs from "33 1/3" up at mp3.com and rollingstone.com, as well as at the Ultimate Band List and www.Listen.com

Keep an eye on these sites as I plan to continually add stuff. I am also currently figuring out how to post MP3's right here on our site. I want to put up some unreleased stuff that people have been requesting-hopefully in the next few weeks.

I just got off the phone with Damon, who is still in Chicago. We are in the planning stages of putting together a mini-tour, probably four shows total, and we are aiming for the first week in September (although we hope to do a DC show before the summer's gone.) We hope to play Raliegh, NC, Wash DC, New York City, and Boston. Any developments will be posted here, of course.

Please keep checking back-now that I am getting my hands dirty in this webpage stuff, I plan on FREQUENTLY adding to the site. Promise.

March 20, 2000
Sorry it took so long to update this page, but we've been busy trying to promote the new CD. We've spent the 8 weeks since our CD release party getting press kits together so we can send the CD out to magazines, newspapers, and radio. It's also taken awhile for "33 1/3" to become available on line (besides through our link to the Sam Records website) but now you can get it at CDNow.com, TowerRecords.com, milesofmusic.com, and Amazon.com, as well as right here. If you see us mentioned anywhere, or hear us on radio/tv, please drop us a line and let us know! A few people told us they thought they heard an old song of ours on a big network tv show last week, but I am trying to confirm that. I'll let you know...

Thanks again to everyone who came out to the CD Release Party at IOTA. It was great to see lots of familiar faces along with a lot of new ones. If you weren't there, it was a slightly nervous MMI that took the stage for the first time in almost two years! After the first couple of songs ("In A Box " and "Map Of The Stars") it was decided that a round of Jagermeister would loosen us up a bit, which it did. This was followed by several more rounds, and before you know it, we were learning "Hold On Loosely" in front of a crowd of stunned onlookers. By the time the encores of "Mason Dixon Line" and Zep's "Good Times Bad Times" came around, the adrenaline was struggling to overcome the Jagermeister, but we somehow pulled it off. Certainly not the slickest MMI show, but reportedly pretty fun (from the crowd feedback). We had a lot of fun, and hope to do it again (with more rehearsal) soon. I have a bunch of photos from the party that I will add asap.

Damon is on the road with CSN&Y- no, not playing guitar, but shooting video for the big screen. If you go to the show, he's the guy in the pit right in front of Stephen Stills. On Wednesday, April 5, he will be in DC with the CSN&Y tour and we are planning on doing a short unplugged set at, where else, IOTA. I don't have a time yet, but I'm guessing 10ish- keep an eye out right here for details.

I am also trying to add more mp3's to our page at mp3.com -that should happen later this week....

January 20, 2000
Thanks to everyone who came to the CD Release Party. Check back here next week for photos and set list. (Didn't happen!)

December 1999
Big News! The CD is at the manufacturing plant and should be ready by January 15th! This is the date that Mother May I will play the IOTA Club and Cafe, and hopefully have the new CD for sale. Rob flew to Boulder, CO in early December to attend the mastering of the record as the artwork was quickly and skillfully designed and laid out by James Lee. Also, Mother May I has just posted two new songs on the internet in mp3 format at mp3.com and rollingstone.com. Hope to see you at the show on the 15th!

November 1999
Hey, kids! Believe it or not, we're still working on the CD. In fact, by the time you read this, the final mix should be done. We're still looking for a record label to release it on, but we hope to have advanced copies ready by January. In January, we plan on playing some shows in the DC area as well as recording some new material. Keep your eyes peeled here for dates and for mp3 files of some new and unreleased songs.

September 1999
We spent the last several weeks getting a four song sampler CD sequenced and manufactured. These are currently being sent out to labels and music biz types in an effort to land a record or publishing deal. In the meantime, we are planning on releasing the CD ourselves, to be available here, regardless of whether we get any interest or not. The four song CD contains "Wax Wings", "33 1/3", "Loveless", and "Mason-Dixon Line." Rob will be at Shelter Island Studios in NYC and Actiondale in Virginia for a week in September to finish the last four mixes.

July 1999
Damon recently finished the final vocal track for the upcoming CD. We still have several songs to mix. We are also currently making some four song promotional CDs to distribute to labels and publishing companies.

Check out the new photo gallery featuring photos from our recording session at Actiondale (May 1999). It's under construction so keep checking back.

Thanks for your emails and let us know if you have any suggestions for this site.

May 1999
Mother May I were recording at Actiondale Studios over the weekend of May 15th. Several new tracks were laid down as well as overdubs of earlier recordings. Damon and Rob also spent time planning for the release of the next CD which hopefully will be ready by late summer.

March 1999
Yes, the rumors are true...there is a new Mother May I CD that is about 99% recorded. There are currently nine songs that are mixed and ready to go. We hope to have another four or five done in the next month. It was recorded in several places over the last few years since our departure from Columbia records. The majority of the basic tracks were done in a two day period at a small studio in New York City. The rest were done at various times at Actiondale Studios in Annandale, VA. (which is owned by our guitarist Mike Harvey.) All of the overdubs were done at either Actiondale Studios, or in Damon's basement, which was also in Northern Virginia. Of the nine songs that I mentioned above, five were mixed at Shelter Island Studios in N.Y.C. by Ray Martin and MMI. The rest of the songs were mixed at Actiondale, with more to be done in the coming weeks.

Even though it's not out yet, Eric Brace of the Washington Post heard a preview. He recently wrote an article entitled "Looking Back and Forth" in the January 8, 1999 issue of the Post , in which he said "More music nobody heard last year was made by two local bands, the Graverobbers and Mother May I, each of which had full CDs in the can last year that didn't get released for a variety of reasons. Tapes of those gave me as much listening pleasure as (my favorite '98) music, and if any of them had seen daylight, they'd be at the top of my best-of-'98 list. Let's hope the rest of the world gets the chance to hear them in 1999."

Since we are not affiliated with a record label at this point, we can't really say what label it will come out on. The plan right now is to finish the recording/mixing, and then concentrate on getting it out asap. I know for sure that it will initially be available at this website regardless of what label we put it on, so keep checking back.