Where I Was on September 11, 2001

“Bullets All Over My Head” Mike Dyson

Everybody remembers where they were on September 11, 2001. It was our generation’s Kennedy assassination.

I was in my business law class in high school. I came in early that day to take a test I had missed.

Sometime during this, the teacher came in the room and shortly thereafter turned on the tube television that used to be on those roller carts.

We saw the towers, at least one of them from what I can remember, on fire.

It seemed strange to me.

My dad was actually at the Twin Towers in the 90’s for a meeting 10 days before the first time it was hit by a terrorist attack. That time someone detonated a truck bomb in the parking garage or something like that.

Anyways, I can’t remember if we saw the second plane go into the building live or not. I had come in early, so that actually is probably what happened. Of course the second plane was validation that the 1st was not an accident.

I could go on for days about September 11th, the aftermath, the geopolitical landscape and war.

If you listen to my material, you know I am someone who has seen the way things are in other parts of the world.

One thing I’ve learned from traveling is that things are not always as simple as they appear from where we happen to be standing.

Impressed by You - One of the First Songs I Ever Wrote

A clip from one of the first songs I ever wrote called "Impressed by You".

It doesn't really follow a traditional song structure but it doesn't really have to.

That's sort of the benefit of being a guitar player based in the blues. You can just take it where it goes and it doesn't have to make sense.

There's a lot of songs that were like that. I mean yes there is some general structure but think about songs like Whipping Post by Allman Brothers or Inside Looking Out by Grand Funk Railroad.

Those songs would not work today but that doesn't make them any less relevant or impactful.

I mean today's music is what it is but it's largely based on this rigid structures to give people a predictable outcome.

There is nothing wrong with that but people shouldn't confuse art with product.

-Mike Dyson

Jimi Hendrix "Hey Joe" Cover | Club Sessions Raw Footage

I really like this cover I do of the Jimi Hendrix classic "Hey Joe."

Here is a list of his most popular songs in order of popularity based on Spotify

streaming numbers:

1. All Along the Watchtower - 877 million

2. Purple Haze - 424 million

3. Hey Joe - 365 million

4. Little Wing - 356 million

5. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - 243 million

6. The Wind Cries Mary - 137 million

7. Foxey Lady - 119 million

8. Castles Made of Sand - 99 million

9. Crosstown Traffic - 91 million

10. Red House - 76 million

11. Fire - 64 million

12. Bold as Love - 48 million

13. Manic Depression - 31 million

14. Angel - 21 million

Of course I agree they are great songs. Hey Joe is one of my favorites.

My favorite song of his, Machine Gun, is not even on the list. That's crazy to me.

I don't know exactly when I discovered Hey Joe but I think it's a very linear song for me to play with a lot of room for improvisation.

I haven't covered Machine Gun yet and I may at some point, but I feel like that song is significant from an intensity standpoint and I just haven't really put in the effort to see what sort of spin I can put on it.

I really don't cover a ton of songs but when I do I definitely put my fingerprint on it. My versions of "Goin' Down" and "John the Revelator," for example, are my own arrangements.

Anyway, this is from a club show I did. I continue to keep this song in my set and really like how naturally it works every time. I'll also post it on my Youtube channel.

Let me know how you like it.

-Mike Dyson

The Story Behind "Living in a Pipedream

This is a clip of me discussing the story behind my song "Living in a Pipedream".

This is from a longer story which I will probably post on my YouTube channel but it tells the whole story in detail about being detained by the Mexican police and everything associated with that encounter.

The song itself is a blend of many experiences but it's really a contrast between the American existence and what else occurs around the world.

What it boils down to is many people who complain or comment on things that happen in America really only do so because they don't have an actual reference point for where their own freedom sits on the spectrum.

You can make of it what you will but that's the essence of it.

As songwriters we do have opinions but a lot of what we chronicle is really observation for the most part.

Storytelling about things as they are or putting it in whatever context that might help people understand.

-Mike Dyson

Early beginnings as a musician and artist

This is a clip of me discussing some of my early influences in the town where I am from called Irving, Texas.

For those of you who know this is where the Dallas Cowboys used to play before they moved to Arlington and it's a metropolis of its own right.

Irving used to be a dry town and to get alcohol you had to drive across the bridge to Dallas. They have since changed that rule.

It was a very musical town and my uncle ran in a lot of the same circles as some of Dallas' most notable musicians such as Stevie Ray Vaughan.

He was a huge influence on me and as I describe in the video I'm not sure he's really aware of that.

He used to play at this local jam hall called The Pigeon Hole that was run by a local musician and some of the most amazing players came in there.

I never played because honestly I didn't really think I was good enough. Of course that changed over time and I still never played there before it closed but it still became a den for inspiration for me.

One of the best summers of my life was right after I graduated high school. We used to go there every weekend. It was a blast.

Take a listen to the video.

- Mike Dyson

The Story Behind Behind Enemy Lines - The One Take Recording

The actual story behind my song “Behind Enemy Lines” is legitimately insane.

I wrote it on my acoustic guitar and the song itself was very simple.

Then I took that into the studio with a bass player and drummer - who were incredible - and just started playing.

It was a one take recording of a song that I had never played electrically before EVER and that the studio musicians had never heard before EVER.

We all just started playing and that was it.

When we were done the drummer said something like “Damn that was some Dave Matthews shit”.

I responded that I didn’t know what it was but sort of in disbelief at what he had just captured.

That’s the “magic” and mystery of this type music I create.

Realistically even the best producers in the world would never create a song like that and the reasons are many.

It doesn’t fit any sort of mold, follow a traditional model and it certainly doesn’t have a singa long quality to to it.

But it doesn’t have to and that’s why it works.

This clip is of the bridge. An epic powerchord buildup.

So much more to say about the entire process behind this song. Maybe I’ll share that in another post.

I just wanted to share this brief clip.

-Mike Dyson

The Creative Process during Covid

This is what the creative process looks like during Covid. Anyways this clip is sort of me working out the vocal element prior to actually recording the final rendition.

Basically it was written and partially produced in the USA and I finished vocals at a small studio in Mexico City.

That’s the cool thing about alot of my songs is there always seems to be some wild story attached to them.

This is one of those tracks. "Parachute" is the track.

Just a little snapshot. I’ll share more about this song later.

Behind Enemy Lines Solo from the Jungle

"Behind Enemy Lines" that time I was jamming out in Tulum.

This clip was recorded in the summer of 2017 when I was living out of my camper in Tulum, Mexico.

In my opinion as of late Tulum has sort of already reached it's peak hype and is currently on the decline as of around 2019 but at that time it was a hopping place to be.

I even have a screenshot of me sitting on my scooter in front of my camper that was snapped by the google maps car as it drove by and for the longest time I was on google earth.

It's hilarous but a vital peice of history.

If you know me you know I have endless stories of Mexico and alot of it inspired my music.

This exact song was not inspired by any of those journeys but for whatever reason I set my DSLR camera to record this short clip and it turned great.

Definitely one of my favorite songs. It has a core solo but just like David Gilmour says about Comfortably Numb when he plays that solo it's sort of just a road map. If he's in the move he deviates and that's exactly what you see here with me as it pertains to this track.

- Mike Dyson