the release week

Good morning folks,

Just wanted to thank everyone for helping make a very memorable release week...I'm thrilled to have Heartsteady out and about in the world, and it wouldn't be there without all of your support.

For anyone back in the Crossroads and Corn Fields, I'll be at the Music Mill in Indianapolis with my good friend, Dave Barnes this Friday evening. The show starts at 9, and I'll be looking forward to spending the weekend in Indiana.

Lately, I've been listening to "Stay Positive", the Hold Steady's new record, which is beautiful bar anthem music. I've been watching too much news, reading too little and trying to savor the last month of summer. Hope to see some of you this weekend.

Cheers,

David

3:14 PM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

an update from home

Well, friends, this update is long overdue. In July, I believe I spent more hours in my car than outside of it, so I kept my computer closed for much of the month, too. I've been home in Chicago for nearly two weeks now, but the first week was a battle with strep throat. After a few challenging days, I emerged as the victor.

It's been quite a summer, and the calendar tells me we only have about a month left. I guess time flies when you drive to Montana. But thank you all for an incredible year thus far. Sharing the stage with Marc Cohn was a real treat for me, and meeting so many of you at the shows made the tour even better. We ended the tour with a night at The Music Mill in Indianapolis, which has become a second home for me, and it was my most memorable night at home yet.

So the "official" release for "Heartsteady" is this Tuesday. If you're reading this and you've been to a show in the last four months (where I've been selling the record), you're probably wondering, what does "official" mean? The answer: I don't know. It's been a long process of getting things in line for this record to finally come out, but that date is finally here. I'm thrilled with the way it turned out. It's been nearly two years since "Outlast the Day" was finished, and this record is a big leap forward. If you've already picked it up, I hope it's found a comfortable place in your car stereo, your computer or whatever device you may choose for your music. If you're going to pick it up on Tuesday, I hope it offers a closing note to your summer months and remains with you for a long time to come.

The next few months will be fairly light on the touring front. After devoting so much time to the road, I'm hoping to spend some time at home in the fall to collect the thoughts that I haven't been able to get my hands around while away from home.

Being at home can offer some great changes to my life – such as grocery shopping instead of Taco Bell Value Menu shopping. A man can only live on 99 cent burritos for so long before he must reevaluate his life. I'm also spending some time with a new friend of mine – an electric guitar, which feels like a new instrument to me. I bought a banjo, too, which needs to find its way out of my closet.

I hope you're well wherever you may be…

David

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out on the plains

On Thursday morning, I woke on a floor in New York. On Thursday evening, I slept in Chamberlain, South Dakota. By Friday, I sang songs in the rain in Billings, Montana. And tonight, I write from Bismarck, North Dakota.

My my, what a beautiful road it is.

There's been something so calming about driving roads with more cattle than cars, something gratifying about a lack of cell phone service and something peaceful when Betty (my GPS, which is programmed with a British accent) instructs me to continue 672 miles without a single turn.

After dealing with traffic and noise, the Great Plains have been the most welcoming place I could ask for. And Marc Cohn, a songwriter I've looked up to for quite some time, and his band have been the most welcoming people.

Hope to see many of you in the next couple of weeks…

Cheers,
David

7:35 AM - 1 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

listen live - knoxville

After some flight delay issues, I'm writing from East Tennessee where I'll be playing a noontime concert series at a great public radio station, WDVX, tomorrow (Monday, June 2).

If you don't live in East Tennessee and can't move here by tomorrow, you can listen to the show online at 12 Eastern Time. I'm posting the link below...hope you're all doing well!

http://www.wdvx.com/webcast.html

Cheers,
David

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Alabama

I write today from about 40,000 feet above the Earth on my way to Birmingham to pick up my car. Yes, my car is in, of all places, Alabama.

I can't always remember what city I'm in. I can't always remember what day it is. All I know is that over the past five weeks, my best friends have loaned me their couches and invited me into their homes, and because of these incredible people, the road isn't such a hard place to call home.

It's a long journey to make music. I was with a good friend in San Francisco last week, and we were discussing the extremes of touring. On one end, the glory of rock and roll on stage awaits. On the other, lie the hardships of paying rent and traveling. In the end, the hardest memories always escape me, and I'm left with only the bright pictures of playing music and making new friends along the way.

There are many people who believe that the music business is in dire straits – that the age of the Internet has taken a serious toll on creating art. As someone who writes songs and spends late nights in studios and drives across the country to play them, I can proudly say that this is not the case.

I was in Los Angeles on Friday night and I went to a bluegrass show in Hollywood. One of my good friends is in this 11-piece band that really give definition to what it means to make music. 11 friends, on stage, singing and playing everything in their hearts. And as I watched them play and heard their harmonies pair effortlessly into the Friday night, I couldn't help but think that it's this kind of energy that gives the middle finger to the music business. This is the kind of energy that makes songs more than "radio singles." This is the kind of energy that creates real music.

The age of artists selling a million records each week is over, but the age of millions of artists selling enough records to get by is just beginning. There is music EVERYWHERE. Chances are that the digger you deep to find it, the better it will be.

I'm not even sure where I'm going with this anymore. I could write for hours and hours and hours about the past month and my excitement for the upcoming summer, but I'll leave it at this:

To everyone on this tour who bought records, who talked with me after shows, who shared drinks with me – you're making my life better. Thank you.

8:14 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

A Note from the Northwest

Greetings from the Quality Inn/ Portland Airport,

Yes, I know you wish could be staying in somewhere this nice, too. Maybe one day, you will be lucky enough to spend two nights in this kind of luxury. There's a bar just outside my door called Steamers. I went to Steamers last night where I enjoyed two beers while listening to that Carrie Underwood song about keying her ex-boyfriend's car after he cheats on her. There's a lot to be said for Sunday nights in a bar while listening to country music and watching poker on television.

My rental car is a Toyota Yaris. This car is actually smaller than the 10-speed Huffy I rode when I was eight years old. Many men would have trouble taking themselves seriously in a car that looks this lame, but the gas mileage is enough to make me a loyal Yaris driver. I think I could drive to Australia in this thing on half a tank of gas.

I just finished reading Rob Sheffield's "Love is a Mix Tape." Damn good book. It's a memoir - heartbreaking, inspiring and funny. One of those books with so many good lines that they make you want to write your own book. He writes at one point, "Tonight, I feel like my whole body is made out of memories." For some reason, I think this is the best line I've read in years. But I won't tell you all the details about the book; I will just say it's worth picking up. I read it in two days, and I haven't finished anything in months.

I watched the news earlier for the first time in quite a while. After seeing numerous stories devoted to rising gas prices, unemployment and the need to cut interest rates, I watched an interview with the President. He said that we are not in a recession. In fact, he said were are just in a "slowdown." So for everyone out there - don't you worry! You thought it was a recession, that your house wasn't worth much and that you might not be able to afford to drive to your family's place for Fourth of July? It's just a slowdown!

Note to all: please vote this year.

I went hiking this morning about 30 minutes east of Portland and took some great pictures - I'm going to include them all in an album in just a few.

Hope everyone is well wherever you may be,
David

1:38 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Acoustic Studio Session Contest

We're teaming up with valslist.com to put you inside a rare and intimate acoustic performance with David McMillin featuring songs from his new album Heartsteady.

The session will happen in a Chicago studio on Sunday, May 11th at 3:30PM. Email us at dmstudiosession@gmail.com to win a chance for you and a guest to attend.

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ALBUM PRE-RELEASE SHOW TONIGHT!!!!! (INDIANAPOLIS)

Come be the first to get a copy of the new unreleased album "Heartsteady". David and the guys will be signing CDs after the show and look forward to meeting you!

Show starts at 8:30 pm.

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Live on KGSR Wednesday Morning

Don't miss David live tomorrow morning at 9:15AM on Austin's KGSR. He will be interviewed by morning show host Bryan Beck and will perform two songs. Click the link below to listen live.

www.kgsr.com

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From the Road...

4,000 miles, two weeks, two countries - the road is a beautiful place.

When I started this tour, I told myself that I would post one blog every two days. That self-made promise has now become every two weeks.

I write today from the sun-filled skies in Charlotte, North Carolina where I’m spending a day off drinking coffee, resting and enjoying my time back in the South. For those of you I’ve already seen on this tour, I send my many thanks for your support and your listening ears. For those of you I haven’t seen yet, I’m looking forward to the rest of this month: the new cities, the new people, the new songs.

Simply put, this tour is incredible. Shelby Lynne and her band meet the two most essential pieces of this musical puzzle: great players and great people. I learn more each night watching them play, hearing her sing and understanding the way to make music a career, not just a nightly routine.

And the audiences at these shows: equally incredible. There’s never been a time like this for me: where night in and night out I walk on and off stage and feel relaxed. Where I can step off stage and feel good about what I’ve done.

Some of these rooms we’re playing have so much history - I’m talking registered historical landmarks. I haven’t been on top of picture taking, but I do have some photos from the road. I’ll make a folder to include all of them for you.

More to come soon....

Cheers,
David

8:14 AM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment