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Put your hands on the remote! browse music »Level by Mike Holden
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fave it Folk Rock | Americana
4 tracks | 15 minutes
Released Sep 2005
on Mike Holden
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- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:09 Help Me Sleep lyrics BUY MP3 04:09 Help Me Sleep lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:09 Help Me Sleep
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:43 Take No Victims lyrics BUY MP3 03:43 Take No Victims lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:43 Take No Victims
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 04:07 Drop The Other Shoe lyrics BUY MP3 04:07 Drop The Other Shoe lyrics "GIFT MP3" 04:07 Drop The Other Shoe
- sample lyrics "DOWNLOAD" 03:53 Moving Still lyrics FREE 03:53 Moving Still lyrics "GIFT MP3" 03:53 Moving Still
"a forthright songwriter with an ear for rootsy melody" -The Washington Post
Bio / Background
Mike Holden burst onto the scene in 2002 with his debut CD, Exhibit A, generating press from publications such as The Village Voice, Time Out New York and The Washington Post. For his newest release, a four-song E.P. entitled Level, Holden worked with producer Ted Comerford (Virginia Coalition) and Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Wilco, Suzanne Vega), who mixed the album and played on all four tracks. "I was proud of my first disc," says Holden, "but I'm excited to get this new one out for people to hear because I feel like I've matured as a performer since recording my first CD."
That maturation has come at a rapid pace. Born and raised in the Washington, D.C.
↓ more ↓area, Holden did not get his first guitar until around the time he graduated from college, but then spent several years living in Arlington, Virginia--located just across the Potomac River from the Nation's Capitol--where he quickly made a name for himself in the Washington area scene, as both a musician and a strong supporter of music in the region.
"I basically played every day, hit every open mic I could and, from the beginning, I was very focused on writing my own songs," explains Holden. That songwriting and time spent on the open mic circuit eventually led to regular gigs, at clubs and colleges throughout the East Coast, and even shows in Northern Ireland in 2003.
All that work also led to recognition. Holden and his Exhibit A CD were nominated for five Wammies--including Debut Recording, Album of the Year and Songwriter of the Year--by the members of the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA). He has since been nominated for multiple additional Wammies, including Most Supportive of Washington Music, and, in early 2004, was named to the WAMA Board Of Directors.
In 2004, Holden's song "Deep Water" was selected to appear on the CD Best of Local Music: Washington, D.C., which was put out by Potbelly Sandwich Works and Washington-area radio station 99.1 WHFS to raise money for MusicFriends, a music education-related charity. Holden has also consistently donated his time and talents to various other charities, playing benefits for organizations such as Save The Bay, Race For The Cure and other causes.
Outside of his own music, Holden has served as Music Editor for On Tap magazine, worked and volunteered with WAMA, hosted open mics throughout the Washington area, founded the Washington area's Six Points Music Festival and started the website MetroMusicScene.com, which is currently functioning as a blog and Yahoo Group that has grown to over 1,200 members since being launched by Holden in early 2001.
"I enjoy doing things for the local music community," says Holden, "but I also remain committed to my own music and have handed some things off to other people. I want to get this new disc out to people, tour more and write more songs."
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