Album Notes

An unforgettable salute to this celebrated songwriter asks the question: how do you cover an uncoverable artist? 16 recording artists from Chicago, NYC, and Minneapolis/ St Paul answer it with style.

Featuring songs by Mike Merz written both as a solo artist and for his erstwhile combo Pimentos for Gus, "Open Mike" shines where other tribute albums bog down in bland homogeneity: treatments of the material range from pop and folk to Stooges-style punk, desconstructive electronica and experimental post-rock (as wide a palette as its subjects!).

It's over an hour long. It contains a Mike Merz song you've never heard before.

And all of Mr. Merz's profits from CDBaby sales of this CD will be donated to The Red Crosss (profits were originally slated for the cause of AIDS prevention and awareness, and will return to that purpose eventually).