Do What You Love - Mission Man - News

Site redesign

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

I'm currently redesigning MissionMan.net from scratch. I hope to make it as dynamic and interactive as possible, giving you fresh information as quickly as possible.

Thank You Toledo City Paper

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:03:12 -0700

I want to give a special thank you to the Toledo City Paper for the article they ran on me this week. If you want to read it, go here. Thanks again TCP!

Video up from Friday's show

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 02:02:00 -0700

This video is from Friday's show at Mickey Finn's Pub in Toledo. It's my first time performing "Do What You Love" during a full show, and only the third time I've performed it ever.

The tour is getting closer

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:54:00 -0800

I'm getting really excited about going on tour! It will start in about 9 weeks, and I decided to pick up my car from Florida, so I'll be filling in as many shows between now and April as possible. I will be doing a combination of open mics and full shows, with the goal to be performing every night. I AM QUTTING MY JOB, SO I NEED TO SELL MUSIC in order to eat, get to my next shows, etc. Honestly, I'll be cutting down on expenses so much by being homeless (not paying rent), that I only need to make about $200 per week, but that requires your help. You can find my music on iTunes or CDBaby.com. If you download "The Best of Mission Man" from CDBaby, I keep 91 percent, so that is definitely the best way to support me financially. I really appreciate all of you for helping my dreams come true.

Do what you love!

- Mission Man

Best of Mission Man now available on iTunes

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:20:30 -0800

The Best of Mission Man is now available on iTunes! It includes 5 new songs, from the album I'm currently working on, "31 Hours Til What?" in addition to 16 songs from previous albums, including "Chillin' at the Papa," "Playin' a Little Basketball," "Prime Time Players," and more.

Underground Music Monthly relaunched

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:52:59 -0800

I am excited to say that I have relaunched Underground Music Monthly! It is now located at UndergroundMusicMonthly.com I gave it an asp face lift to improve the organization and consistency, and am working on adding new information all of the time now. If you are a musician, you should definitely check out the site.

The First $5

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:41:42 -0700

I sold my first CD tonight towards Playing For a Cure 2008. God it feels so great! The first sale, the first score in a game, the first radio play, is usually very difficult. Tonight, I made that first sale. I performed at the open mic at the Tonic Room, and just before I left, a guy named Mike bought "Intro To My Mind" for $5. I was trying to sell my CDs for $7 each, or $10 for both, but I took $5 because I'd rather raise $5 for cancer research than nothing. Thank you Mike, if you ever read this, for buying that first CD. I really appreciate it.

It definitely started a little momentum, as on the train ride home, I sold another CD. I sat down, and had a box of CDs in my hands. The woman across from me asked "are you selling CDs?" I said yes, and we had a two minute conversation before she bought a CD from me. She also said "if you're not good, I'll see you again, and I'll tell you." Random. I love it. That's $10 I raised tonight towards cancer research. A great start. I'm so happy right now.
Love,
Gary

Playing For a Cure 2008 (online)

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:53:10 -0700

Normally, Playing For a Cure would be coming up right now. I have been putting on the benefit concert every September from 2004 until 2007. This year, with moving to Chicago, the logistics became unfavorable for a successful event, so I've been thinking of what to do this year instead. At first, I thought I'd build up my Chicago following and have the event in April instead. Friday, while watching the Stand Up to Cancer benefit, I decided to take an online approach. For the rest of the month of September, and all of October, all of my sales will be donated to cancer research. 1/2 will go to the American Cancer Society. The other half will go to Stand Up 2 Cancer. I won't reimburse myself for marketing expenses, and I'll even eat the cost on the CDs themselves. 100 percent of my gross sales will be evenly split between the ACS and SU2C. I hope you take advantage of this, as I would love to raise some money for both organizations and help eradicate cancer off the face of the planet. You can buy the CDs at CDBaby.com. Simply search for Mission Man, or you can download my mp3s there. Since I get 91 percent of the sale when you download my mp3s from CDBaby, this will allow me to generate the most money for cancer research. All of my iTunes sales will be donated as well, but I only get 63 cents on the dollar for those sales, so this is the least effective way to donate money to cancer research while getting my music at the same time.

I live in Chicago now

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:36:01 -0700

I just moved here last night. I love my new city, my new apartment, and my life. I had a fantastic time at the Tonic Room open mic tonight and I will be back next Monday, and every Monday thereafter for a while. One of the biggest reasons I made the move to Chicago is the music scene here. I can constantly perform, and that will help in so many ways.

Moving to Chicago

Wed, 28 May 2008 02:16:48 -0700

I posted this on my music page a while back, but I thought I would post it here as well. I am officially moving to Chicago on July 6th. I've been thinking about doing it for years. Every time I've gone there, the city has called to me. I love being there, and I'm really excited about moving there. I don't have a job yet, so obviously that's not the motivation for going. I simply found a great roommate/living situation, and I can't pass up the opportunity. I believe I'll grow as a person, as part of me is scared out of my mind to go. A bigger part of me is more scared to stay in Oxford, a wonderful, beautiful town that I finally recently became proud to call home, with no opportunities, for music or a job. It's an easy place to stay because it's safe, in so many aspects, but I need to take this step, and I'm glad that I am.

When I first made the decision, I was so anxious about moving that I was easily frustrated by every day annoyances, such as rude customers, bad traffic, bills, etc. I did lose sight temporarily of the fact that I still have a life here. A life that I love, and will miss in some ways. I am going from something great to something even better. I'm going there to experience new things, grow, and perform as much as possible. Of course, I'll have to get a job (because I'm not currently making any money from music), but that's a part of life I've had no problem with since I was 15. I am celebrating the move by giving you a big sale on my music. I believe this will be the biggest sale I'll ever have. From now until my first week in Chicago, you can download any of the following albums "Intro To My Mind" "Out Of The Shadows" "A Different Kid" or "Indiependent" for just $1, or get the Complete Mission Man Collection for just $5 from CDBaby.com.

I don't know when I decided to start pursuing being happy over being successful, but that is officially my philosophy. I've seen successful people be miserable, and people with less money and status than I have be immensely happy. Why worry about the intermediate step of success when it doesn't necessarily mean I'll be happy? I won't lose sight of that when I move. Until I move, I will be happy. After I move, I will remain the same, even if I can only find a job working retail, or *gasp* transferring to the Papa John's 6 miles from my apartment in Chicago. :)