MIKE CONDE: The Windows...

Mike Conde

The Windows...

© 2002 Mike Conde (659057526928)

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This is "Arena Rock" - it takes your breath away as you dive into the world of this CD then ends you up with a foot tapping smile and a reach for the repeat button, have a sip.

notes

www.mikeconde.com


Houston, Texas, was once known as a boomtown where seven railroads crossed. Today, Houston is known for its industry of energy. Mike Conde, having being born and raised in that city, embodies that energy in a neatly, shrinked-wrapped CD, The Windows.... The CD was done entirely by Mike Conde and Raudel Estrada, from writing and recording, to producing it. Mike Conde gives the listener the key to this journal of emotions allowing him/her to experience it first hand.
Let us Flashback to 1974, when two railroads crossed in Houston. Mike and Raudel met for the first time while Mike was honing his stage skills during his impromptu comedy skits on his house porch. Move to 1983, it was a time of innocence and endless sunrises. The friendship was cemented when Mike "turned Raudel onto" Van Halen's Fair Warning album that year. The duo was destined to join forces in this lifetime as they had in many before.
Little did they know that 20 years later they would be chronologging many of the past "ups and downs" that only best friends endure. The Windows... is the log of a serendipitous journey taken by a singer/ songwriter and his best friend. It is full of raw emotions. It is not all soft or all hard, but is definitely rock the way they know how to deliver it. They welcome you to open the window to your soul and allow you to experience those endless sunrises...

Check out the audio sample links. Heres a lil about the songs.

Walls of Mine: Is about accepting your self, your limitations and still respecting your dreams and aspirations while ever expanding your walls of belief with every new experience

Its Alright: Being a true friend, sometimes petty words toward eachother make us say and do things that we ultimately regret. Just say its alright and rise above it. Someone very dear to my heart once said.."never end things on a bad note cause you may never have the chance to relive it"

When I Find You: An age old question im sure! Where is "the one"? Is there such a thing ? When you do find him or her, never let go, unless they ask you to...

Leaving Today: Sometimes we dont synchronize with a person completely. Thats why i believe in letting the flow of life take you where it may ...Much like a river. We ultimately make it home. We'll meet again someday though.

Freefallen: Ughhh i hate this feeling, im glad i can choose to avoid it now.. ya know when things seem to be flawless between you and someone, then bang , you realize it was all in your head. it "appeared' to be something that it wasnt?..Next thing you know your in the middle of confusion and anxiety, romantic rejection can be a very sensitive issue.

It Won't Be Long: This song is a shout out to those people who are in this to take advantage of others. Oh yeah and those snobs too ;-) Trust me, one day theyll get theirs

Sunrise In Buffalo: This is a weird experience i had when i was on tour once. I kept waking up at night and never could seem to catch a day for myself..one day i woke and thought that i finally had caught a day .. but it turned out to be the setting sun... what i thought was morning turned out to be another night ..It really sucked. it just so happened to be in Buffalo New York

Shamed: Getting a karmic bitch slap can be very humbling. but it did make me sensitive to other peoples feelings, thank god for that. We ended up becoming better friends i believe though. So all in all it was a good thing

That Girl: Ahhhh What a wonderful experience this was! as the line says "i cant explain" It was certainly heaven though. Instead of feeling bad about having to let go, im just glad i got the chance to hold on for a spell ;-)

I Still Believe: I guess i have a bit of an addictive compulsive personality? well actually this song chronicles a ten year period in my life when everything seemed upside down. but that hasn't stopped me, No siree! (1-800-buy my CD)

Making Love: This is ecstasy in many ways to me..sometimes i can sit and watch the rain fall as i listen and other times the sun shines brightly as each note plays.. Its awesome the way music with no words can transcend any environment...Magic!

Time Is Ours: Sometimes i get real analytical and wonder why things are the way they are. But in all truth we make things happen for us through the choices we make. Time really is ours, we invented it ya know? Try this, change what you can change today cause "time is wasting"

Ive changed through writing this record. Its helped me to see myself through my own eyes and gain a perspective on what was really going on inside me ya know? Maybe it can help you out some too? Peace and love..




Heres how it all works:

It all starts with an idea.. luckily for me i dont have to write down music notes like the guys of the olden days or id be dead... i put them down on a lil tape recorder i call Suzy .. Shes a handheld ;-)... All my little ooos and ahhhs go straight to her first, i do some noodling on my guitars (Sophia, Brandy, or Camille) and jam with Rude E. this takes the most amount of time because We have to wait for inspiration unless weer spurring the moment with a jam session. We get alot gems that way .. So a good amount of time passes before we graduate to the next phase...

Time elapses and and Rude takes all the tapes weev made and randomly puts them on the player while we do other stuff here at the studio like surf the internet or program our cell phones. Or deleting spam mail. you know, the usual...Out of no where something will get Rude's or my attention on the tape thats playing and weel jot it down...We usually get anywhere from 15 to 25 ideas from the tapes and start getting to know them a lil better ..This is where the perspiration starts. Fights , name calling , spit balls, go to hell looks , soap opera type stuff..Weer trying to make a point !! but we usually freindly up over a few pints and acknowledge that we're just happy to be here...

Next we go to the tracking part of the CD. No where really special... we use the same room for nearly all aspects of the recording and administration (ooooooo big words). We get in here and begin tracking. Rude usually goes down to "bit" first unless i get picky about a magical guitar line i layed down while the rest of world was sleeping or somnething ...It happens :-). So the drums are recorded. Now i go into hyper scientist mode and start bouncing stuff around the place. This should go there that should go there, that sorta thing. Sometimes i have Rude redo a whole take again ,, yeah , he loves me for that ! So now the trax are coming along, i start to add more guitars and the framework starts to take place. Next come the vocal lines and lyrics. Sometimes a song is written around a lyric but for me i usually do it the other way around.. I call it "singing in tongues" cause ill sing some melodies and certain words pop out spontaneously but mostly its me going ahhh yayya moomoo la la for a melody..I swear!! ok now the lyrics come and the main vocal line is recorded the harmonies follow and weer off to see the mixer.

In mixing, the fat is trimmed, and the "freeques" are put in their cages. Then everything is placed strategically in place, volume wise ,to better fit the expression of the song. For example, the drums are raised and the french horn is buried in the mix. Kidding !...We do this for each song and it can become extremely tedius when your on a time limit. This is where every move you make seems like your last , but by the grace of God and the help of our friend,Ronnie Fitz, we finish and its on to mastering ....I really dont know what mastering does to be quite honest. All i know is that something happenes to the recording and it all comes together sonically. So we pay for it to get done and send it to a magic castle near the euphrates river in a temple called Hemwick village a.k.a. Fitz Sound n Grooves...Its actually just off Hwy 6. He does his magic and we're excited now and are ready with the artwork that we stayed up many nights working on. Ideas that good ole Mark brings to fruition with just a couple of key strokes.

Now its off to the pressing plant. The 12 little babies get shipped to the pressing plant., I can see em on the plane now. Feeling all lost and scared...Now we go through approving samples of the art work and some audio samples . It sounds great and we celebrate with some wine or whiskey. Usually just beer though. Now we see the price all this will cost and the hangover sets in ..But thats neither here nor there. We get a bunch of boxes of the New CD that your GONNA buy rt ? Unless you CAN'T afford it, in wich case, go ahead and BURN one off the net. or from a freind who DID buy it ....;-) We set up the online record store with some stock and do the website up and voila...So now what ........

We alert everyone and their brothers yoga instructor that we have a CD coming out and would greatly appreciate it of they could give it a listen and possibly help get us out of debt by getting a copy. And weel even host many a parties (otherwise known as gigs) to encourage everyone to help support the cause. By this time you should be sitting in your chair going ...."Man, i love this song or songs" and click the "buy CD" button . Or walk to the back of the room at the show where the 12 little babies are waiting for you to take them home and put in your boom box or car CD player and connect with whats inside the songs themselves. Thats the final trip for our 12 little monsters...... And there you have it ... The path of "The Windows..." from US to YOU. I hope you enjoy this labour of love, and i do mean labour! I think its spelled that way cause of the emphasis on labour? Who really knows but maybe the Canadians? Peace to you and much love from our jugernaut one roomed garage/studio/apt/record label.. I hope you enjoy the music


Mike

reviews

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  • Great Music & Vocals!
    author: B Thomas

    I really enjoyed listening to this CD, especially the vocals! How do I go about purchasing the "Back On The Street" CD? Thanks for a GREAT LISTEN!

  • Full of emotions that touched my soul
    author: Laura Prima

    I have always believed that you and the guys would be stars someday, that someday is NOW! I cried the first time I saw y'all in concert, it was beyond expression. I was so moved and really could relate to alot of the songs. Y'all have so much talent and the love and attention that you give it and your fans, just oozes out each time you and the guys play. Always in your corner. Thanks for the love and support through my illness. Best of Luck To ALL

  • MLB... VH... AND True Talent... Thanks for the great music Mike!
    author: Jeff Findley

    Hey Mike! I have to tell you... to be completely honest... Since the day I received "The Windows"... I haven't stopped listening to it. Your songs on your release... have really hit home... especially during this stage in my life. I had initially listened to a few of your sound clips... before I purchased your disc. So one song in particular really struck a VERY familiar chord as of late. I can't tell you how many times I have listened to "Shamed"! After hearing your clip of that song... I HAD to get your CD. So... thank you for work. I appreciate your talent and your great music. Ya know... I thought it was very interesting to read a little bit about your personal history. When you spoke of wanting to be a MLB player...your huge VH influence... it was almost like I was reading about myself! Pretty cool... Better run... but I wanted to thank you again for your email... and for your great music. Let me know if ya ever play here in Sothern California... I will do my best to be there... take some pictures... and start promoting ya on my site! Keep in touch Mike! Jeff Findley

  • Just As I Expected
    author: Tim Ellis

    This CD has truly left an impression on me. 12 sincere songs, maticulously crafted yet constantly flowing in sonics, dynamics and emotion. Songs written by a man with a knack for sensitivity balanced with incredible guitar pickin'. It's enough to make Joe Six-Pak cry out "Yeah... What he said!" They’ve had magic since I first saw them at the West Alabama Ice House (Whooh!... ...Flashback :)and this effort DID NOT let me down. Great job fellas'! Lookin' forward to the next CD already!

  • ~*~*~*Soothing balm for a "tortured soul"*~*~*~
    author: Candy

    I loved having the opportunity to look in "The Windows" and getting a little taste of your wonderful talents. Wow! What great lyrics! And the guitar...ahhh! P.S. I love the drums too!

  • It is one of the best cd's I've ever heard.
    author: school boy

    I'd like to say thanx to mike for the benefit it was fun not only me being one of the F.L.O.H.W.stepers but we are all thankful for your time and support(Great peformence)

  • .Hope to meet you guys soon.
    author: RONNI

    I love your music.I can't wait to see what else is to come. I hope to meet you guys soon.RONNI :)

  • Great Lyrics, Great Instrumentals, Great Voice!
    author: Cristi

    This CD has such potential to explode and become famous all over. I particularly like the song "That Girl" because someone special dedicated that song to me (athough at the end the girl leaves him and I am not so sure that's going to happen with me.

  • author: bert

    It's a great CD. I love every song. I recommend it to everyone who has great taste in music.

  • author: lynda (basketsbylynda@aol.com)

    this is an excellent cd! i did not skip over a single song! every single song is great and i seem to be able to relate to every single song. the words are obviously well thought and meaningfull, which you dont see alot of these days! excellent job mike and rudee! oh, do i detect a bit of the 80's sound in this cd? good! lol

  • author: Dava >^,,^<

    Fantastic CD! I truly love it! The words are passionate, the music is comforting, and the songs are well put together. You two make a great team! Keep music alive. Until the end of time, Dava

  • author: Belinda

    Great CD - Love the performance @ Alvarado's. Can't wait to hear it in it's whole. Keep the CD's coming

  • Awesome..LOVE the CD. They're GREAT. LUV ya MIKE! Always, Silesia 2003
    author: Silesia

    Great lyrics, great sounds. Overall performance was wonderful. I truly love the music and know that it will go far. Good luck to you both. I know you can do it. Keep it up..... Always yours, Silesia~

  • i thought it was amazing i am really impressed
    author: ashley

    i thought it was amazing i could listen to the hole cd with out skiping a track and for me that rarely happens

  • EXCELLANT! Took Me To A Place I've Been Before :)
    author: Freespiritchild

    I Like It! I Love It! I Want Some More Of It! :)

  • This CD will never leave my player!
    author: Michelle Bailey

    This is a cd that you will listen to from start to finish, no skip over songs at all. I was so into the cd I couldn't believe it went I got to the last song.

  • It blew me away
    author: Tara Thurmond

    This cd is great.....I will follow this band always. These songs are wonderful, the words are so clear and the music grade A material.Keep up the great work Mike and Rudee.Im so glad to call these 2 great men.....2 of my best friends. There will always be a special place in my heart for these 2 men and their music.

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