“His lyrics gravitate to the inner rather than the outer, focusing on guilt, zen, things like this. After sitting through this entire LP, I can honestly say I haven’t met a Gibbons tune I didn’t like, all of them what you’d hear from a more straightforward and less depressing Band of Horses.” Eric Saeger, Tokafi

“Sometimes the lyrical content of an album resonates so deeply that it remains on replay for the next three months. Mike Gibbons has accomplished creating such an album with Marigolds: The Bangkok Sessions, a beautiful collection that combines poetic storytelling with a mellow rock sound.” Sal Christ, UCD Advocate

“A fantastic album that underscores Gibbons ability to weave deeply personal tales through song. In addition to 11 standout self-penned tunes, Gibbons offers up an emotion-charged cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Talkin’ Bout a Revolution” which manages to eclipse the excellent original. The high point, however, is “Cobras in the Bushes”, a song so intense it gives me chills every time I hear it. Excellent album from a really talented artist.” Jeffrey Sisk, The Daily News: In Tune

“His third LP, Marigolds: The Bangkok Sessions, self-released back in April, is the ultimate therapy session in just under 40 minutes. With soothing acoustic guitar, dramatic cello instrumentation by Yair Evnine, and Gibbons’ rich and resonant voice that is both motivational and understanding, combined with lyrics like “don’t deny the world will spin; let the new season begin. Breathe it out and breathe it in” the album is a breath of fresh air. ” Good Times Santa Cruz

“The music on this cd is heartfelt. The vibe for each song is strong both because of Mike’s vocals and the way the guitar was recorded/played….this is a dynamic record that’s main focus is sound and emotion. “Peel Me Out” is a personal favorite.”
Rock N Roll Experience

Thanks for all the love and support. You make life awesome. Music video and some live footage on the way. Stay tuned…

• 2/17- Eugene OR-Luckey’s Club
• 2/18- Portland, OR- Bold Sky Studios
• 2/19- Seattle WA- Hard Rock Cafe
• 2/23- Mccall, ID- Crusty’s
• 2/27- San Francisco, CA- Yoshi’s SF
• 3/6- San Luis Obispo, CA- Frog & Peach
• 3/10- Long Beach, CA-Viento y Agua
• 3/20- Austin, TX-SxSW-Romeo’s Italian Grill and Bar
• 3/20- Dallas, TX- La Grange
• 3/24- Nashville, TN- TBA
• 3/25- Asheville, NC- The Grey Eagle
• 3/27- Raleigh, NC- Sullivan’s
• 3/31- Philadelphia, PA- The Grape Room
• 4/1- New York, NY- The Living Room
• 4/9- Reading, PA- The Pillar Hookah Lounge
• 4/12-Youngstown, OH- The Lemon Grove
• 4/14-Chicago, IL- Goose Island-Wrigleyville
• 4/15-Minneapolis, MN- Nick & Eddie’s
• 4/20-Boulder, CO- Laughing Goat
• 4/23-Los Angeles, CA- Hotel Cafe
• 5/6-San Francisco, CA- Rasselas Jazz Club-Main Stage
• 5/13-Sebastopol, CA-Aubergine
• 5/31-Sonoma, CA- Downtown Plaza

We moved to Bangkok, found a furnished apartment, put together a budget for the year, and also drafted a rough itinerary. We would spend four months in Bangkok, working/volunteering, then two months traveling in Burma and Bali. We would then return for another four months in Bangkok working , then wrap up our year with a two month trip through the Himalayas. Now I just had to figure out how I was going to make this album come together. The only contact I had to the Thai music industry was to a major Thai pop singer who had dated my brother for several years but then married a Thai mafioso and was forbidden to communicate with my brother or our family. Pursuing that avenue wasn’t going to be an option.

In the fall, I wrote songs and became reacquainted with my childhood stomping grounds. By January 2010, the songs were ready, but I still hadn’t recorded anything. I spent February in Bali, met with a studio owner and some traditional Balinese musicians, but the sound didn’t come together as I had hoped, and I decided that I was going to hold off until we returned to Bangkok in March.

In March, I decided to attempt recording some home demos on Garageband for the first time. There were protests going on in Bangkok, and a sense of growing civil unrest.  I spent a day recording a cover of Tracy Chapman’s classic, Talkin’ Bout a Revolution, and the demo that emerged had a very sparse yet distinctive sound to it. As the next two weeks went by, I went through all of my new material and recorded versions using the Garageband setting. The sound that emerged from these sessions became the base for the new album. But I still needed an engineer/producer.

A twist of fate brought me and an elementary school friend back in touch with one another. After telling him about my need for a studio and sound engineer/producer, he felt strongly that I should meet his friend Jay. A few weeks later I found myself at a swanky dance club in Bangkok meeting Jay and talking…well, yelling really….about the kinds of music we were into. I was shocked to meet a Thai producer who was familiar with the influences I was discussing (Bon Iver, The National), so we agreed to meet at his home studio, listen to the demos, and to and discuss the potential of working together.

After visiting the studio and mutually feeling a sense that this would be a good fit, . As the weeks unfolded, I slowly got to know Jay. He seemed really busy all of the time, but always bright and warm and ready to work. His studio was at his family’s home, and his mother would cook and bring us coffee and basically spoil us rotten. As I got to know Jay better, and as I began telling friends about who I was working with, I slowly began to realize that Jay was actually a major Thai celebrity and movie star with two films being released during the time we were working together. He’d also been previously signed with Columbia records, toured with Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, and Dave Gahan (of Depeche Mode). Most importantly though, Jay had a really humble demeanor and a passion for sound recording.

The entire recording process went incredibly smoothly, with the entire tracking done over the course of 17 days from April to June of 2010. We actually wound up using some of the vocal effect settings from Garageband to recreate the sound that I’d put together at home on Garageband. We also added percussion, wrote string arrangements, and some upright bass on one of the tracks. Other than that, it was just a matter of re-tracking what I had recorded at home.

When it came time to mix and master, I decided to get really experimental…I contacted Charlie Wilson of Sonic Zen Records in Berkeley, California. The two of us wound up mixing and mastering the album via Skype video, where one of us would invariably pulling an all-nighter due to the time difference. Again, the process went really smoothly though, and we wrapped up the album in a couple of weeks.

I can’t wait to share this new collection of recordings with all of you. It’s the first recording of the three of mine that I feel really represents the kind of sound I’ve always been looking for. I hope that you all enjoy the songs as much as I’ve enjoyed making this record.

Although this collection won’t officially be released until April 12th, 2011, I have made a special pre-release pressing of the album that is available exclusively through my website here…head over to the store link to get your copy now!

Thank You!

Mike