Sleepwalking (2005) - Download
Words and music ML
All Rights Reserved
The bank clock slowly swept around
Gathering interest from the crowd
Nobody in line knew I was on the edge
No more negotiation, do it my way instead
Feels so good to be on the run
I always knew that I would be the one
To try my hand while the others keep talking
Yeah, I’m done sleepwalking
Shaken, tremble, the teller was so scared
She filled my bag while the other people stared
She said ‘Hey man wipe that smile off your face’
I shrugged my shoulder, something made me say
(chorus)
Now’s the time for me to get away…
I left the bank and I gave away the money
Never regretted anything I’ve done
My soul might be corrupt, but now I know
At least I got one
ML – vocals, keyboards
Derek VanScoten – electric guitar
Jim Ruberto – bass
Tyler Hornby – drums
Originally released 2005 on Michael Lloyd Band's Highwaters EP
For more visit http://www.mlband.com
12/31/07
Sleepwalking
45 At A Time
45 At A Time (2005) - Download
Words and music ML
All Rights Reserved
He plays all the good gigs around town
Knows the tops and tails like a good boy should
You’d never know from how he walks so tall
There’s something scares him all the time
Somebody might play it better
Much better than he might ever
Makin’ his way, 45 At A Time
Shakin’ em down down down
And makin’ them come alive
Behind closed doors of course he needs to get paid
He needs his fifty or he will not stay
He won’t stay
Then his eye wanders to the girls down front
And for a moment it’s worthwhile
Just for a moment it’s worthwhile
(chorus)
Now and then his patience is wearing thin
But still the muse it chooses him
Hey hey still the muse it chooses him
(chorus)
ML – vocals, keyboards, synth bass
Tyler Hornby – drums
Amelia Earhart – groupie vocal
Sherman Arnold – cell phone voicemail message
Originally released 2005 on Michael Lloyd Band's Highwaters EP
For more visit http://www.mlband.com
Highwaters
Highwaters (2005) - Download
Words and music ML
All Rights Reserved
Splash up on the sand and sink into me like a lotion
Do it again and again, cause I’m the beach and you’re the wave
It’s how you roll up on that shore that sets my body in motion
But your love is a flood, and I’ve realized
It’s something I can’t contain
You’re pouring down
All over me
I want you so
Foolishly
Damn the Highwaters
Damn the Highwaters again
It’s like I’m wearing jeans in a heatwave, but I keep putting you on
Stylish self-absorbed wrinkle-free crooked seams
Now it’s time I put your love on the line and let it dry out in the sun
It’s gonna shrink so much, it ain’t long enough
To fit anyone
(chorus)
ML – vocals, keyboards
Jim Ruberto – acoustic guitar, bass
Tyler Hornby – drums
Originally released 2005 on Michael Lloyd Band's Highwaters EP
For more visit http://www.mlband.com
Wildfire
Wildfire (2005) - Download
Words and music ML
All Rights Reserved
Campfire was glowing in a ring of rock
When I read your letter, found out you been untrue
Surrounded by a thousand pine, but not enough to keep it inside
I smolder for a moment, and the next thing I know
The flame was just outside of town
When will the blame come crashing down
For the Wildfire
At first they didn’t realize, I couldn’t tell them what I’d done
I let it spill down over the mountain now nobody can go home
Because of you it had begun, I wanted to explain to everyone
I’d never get that chance, I saw the sideways glance
The flame was just outside of town
When the blame came crashing down
For the Wildfire
Blazing treetops explode overhead
They sound as loud as words left unsaid
Now everyone can stand and watch my place burn
Light it up so there’s no chance I can ever return
If they had felt my shame, they would have done the same
ML – vocals, keyboards
Jim Ruberto – electric guitar, bass
Jefferson Hamer – acoustic guitar, banjo
Derek VanScoten – electric guitar solo
Tyler Hornby – drums
Originally released 2005 on Michael Lloyd Band's Highwaters EP
For more visit http://www.mlband.com
So Easily
So Easily (2005) - Download
Words and music ML
All Rights Reserved
It’s not your style to say goodbye
So it ain’t like I’m sittin here wondering why
The summertime is here my dear
A warm wind blows at night but there ain’t no atmosphere
Now the sun’s shining in through my window and I want to feel it go straight to my head
Forget how I smiled at you sleeping there next to me chasing me ‘round my own bed
These are the things that won’t fade away
These are the things that won’t fade away
These are the things that won’t fade away
Won’t fade away, my babe
So Easily
Now I ride around in a land of make believe
I know it ain’t so good for me but I can do it so easily
You’ve gone ahead, that’s something that I can’t pretend
Neither is the feeling I get when I think of you here again
I never got to tell you about all of the daydreams where you and I drive the highway
Mountains and valleys and brightly cold mornings so cold we could not break away
(chorus)
All of the places I was sure we would go to, they’re still standing waiting for me
I’ve forgotten the memories we won’t get to make, but they won’t stop haunting me
(chorus)
Mike Liguori – vocals, piano
Gonzalo Teppa – acoustic bass
Tyler Hornby – drums
Originally released 2005 on Michael Lloyd Band's Highwaters EP
For more visit http://www.mlband.com
Leave Well Enough Alone
Leave Well Enough Alone (2005) - Download
Words and music ML
All Rights Reserved
On the outside it felt good
Indications said we should
Come together you say 'I know'
Deep inside we find ourselves
Motionless and you can't help
Wondering why we have to let go
And I can understand how you might feel that way
But I don't understand
Why we can't
Leave Well Enough Alone
What happens if we try again?
Question isn't if but when
Expectations become hollow
I want to believe you when you say
Somehow we will find a way
But I can tell that you don't think so
And I can understand how you might feel that way
(chorus)
Sometimes when senses overload
All that glitters is not gold
You say this time you've been cured
But I see you're not really sure
(chorus)
ML – vocals, keyboards, synth bass, loop sequencing
Tyler Hornby – drums
For more visit http://www.mlband.com
12/30/07
What I'm Listening To
In no particular order...
KT Tunstall - Eye To The Telescope
Peter Rowan and Tony Rice - Quartet
Bruce Hornsby and Ricky Skaggs - (Self Titled)
Jay-Z - Kingdom Come
The Roots - Game Theory
Erik Satie - Greatest Hits
Keane - Under The Iron Sea
You?
12/29/07
How To Get Real CDs
If you'd like a real CD of any tracks here, or a copy of the Highwaters EP I released in 2005, you should email me. I'll ask you to make a donation and to give me your address, and I'll send 'em right over.
Contact Me
My email address is mike@mlband.com.
I'm not going to give you my phone number. You might call at an inappropriate time of day.
Tell me what you think of the tunes.
Tell me what you think of this blog.
Commission a song. Cool gift idea. I work cheap, and I can write it about whatever / whoever you like.
Remix one of my tracks and send it to me so I can feel bad that I didn't think of it that way in the first place. It's all good.
Make A Donation (Awesome!)
I'm honored if you tell friends about this site. I start jumping up and down and shouting (in a good way) if you toss me a few bones to support the cause.
How much is up to you. A dollar per tune is the industry standard. If you're on the podcast, maybe donate the cost of a CD. Any amount is great. Your support means the world to me.
Easy Instructions:
You do NOT need to create a PayPal account to donate. Just follow these 4 steps:
1) Click the Donate button in the right-hand column. It takes you to PayPal.
2) Enter the amount, click "Update Totals."
3) After the update, look near the bottom left for "Don't Have a PayPal account?" Click "Continue," and you'll be asked for your credit card info.
4) Fill in your info and you're done.
By the way...
I take requests (not for covers - for new original music). If you want to commission a song about someone or something, or submit a song idea, or tell me what's what, please email me right now.
The Lowdown On The MLB Podcast
The MLB free music podcast includes all the tracks I've released. It's completely free, but I'm keeping all my rights to the music - so don't stick my song in your $100 million dollar movie starring Charlize Theron without throwing me some bones. Hi, Charlize.
If you like the music, a tip or donation would be most appreciated. Just like the renaissance, you're a patron of the arts and I'm a starving artist. Have I told you how good looking you are?
Click here to subscribe in your favorite podcatching program. Neato.
Or if you prefer to copy and paste the feed manually, it is:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/MLBand
If you have no idea what I'm talking about here, it's good to admit it. Basically, if you subscribe to the podcast, your software (such as iTunes) will automatically check for new tunes from me.
The podcast files you'll receive are just plain old mp3 audio files. You can resave them in your music library, burn them on CDs, stick them on your iPod, print them out and make hats, whatever you like.
If you're still confused, email me.
The music of the Michael Lloyd Band
From An Ocean Overhead (2008, online only):
Quicksand
My Weekend With Britney
Cascades
Learn -Explicit Lyrics-
Telescopes
Never Enough
Live Recordings:
Never Enough (Live on KGNU)
From the Highwaters EP (2005):
Sleepwalking
45 At A Time
Highwaters
Wildfire
So Easily
Leave Well Enough Alone
Making Wiseguy Comments
It's easy for you to mouth off on here. Just look for the little "Comment" link at the bottom of any of the postings. Keep it PG for all the young people. They've never heard anyone talk like you before. Have some class for a change.
12/28/07
Never Enough (Live on KGNU)
Never Enough (2006) - Download
Words and Music ML
All Rights Reserved
This is a live radio show recording of the as-yet-unreleased track "Never Enough." It's the full band on KGNU-FM in Boulder, Colorado, from part of a one-hour set, Memorial Day 2006. Jim Ruberto on guitar, John Boom-Boom Nelson on drums, and Jonathan J-Nuts Barkin on bass.
I'm working on a studio version of this song now, with some of Johnny Boom-Boom Nelson's drums... Stay tuned.
All Six Songs At Once
All Six At Once - Download
Words and Music ML
All Rights Reserved
If you're joining us late, you can get caught up in less than 30 seconds by listening to all six tracks from my 2005 Highwaters EP, all at the same time. You may want to turn the volume down so it doesn't ruin your speakers.
I will also post the six tracks individually and in their entirety, when I am done trying to be clever.
12/19/07
About The Music
Michael Lloyd Band's piano-driven album rock is an island. You swam a thousand miles through an ocean of glazed, tired balladry to get here. Now enjoy some fresh fruit and our attractive natives.
MLB is my solo singer-songwriter-producer project. Who am I? That's revealed below. All the songs are available for free download or on the free podcast. Tips and donations from kind listeners like you support the continually growing catalog. I think the future of music actually looks more like the past - when musicians relied on the generosity of fans and attractive, wealthy patrons like you. For example, imagine I'm Mozart and you're Hieronymus Graf von Colloredo.
I also like to use this site to pass along the "best" of the Internets. I promise I'll do my damndest to keep you entertained or tip you off to something cool or useful. Web nerds can subscribe to this site via RSS, while others can join my email list. Everybody wins. Dreams do come true.
I especially like it if you contact me to yammer on about stuff, or ask me to write a song for you or someone you know. You can leave comments all over this site, too.
More About Me + The MLB's History
I was born in Anchorage AK and grew up in Morristown NJ playing ice hockey and baseball. I became a musician after I moved to Colorado for college, eventually spending time in the jazz and jam band scene around Denver and the University of Colorado where I studied with Grammy winner Chip Stephens. Unbelievable player and a great teacher.
After school I created the Michael Lloyd Band, and in September 2005 me and guitarist/bassist/producer/toughguy Jim Ruberto completed the band's debut Highwaters EP. Drummer John Nelson and bassist Jonathan Barkin rounded out the core group, and we played a busy schedule of shows and festivals in 2006. In '07, Jared Banta played bass and Matt Beckemeyer played guitar. You can see our old web site here. All in all, we got great reviews in the press and became very, very wealthy.
We did get great reviews, but we did not get wealthy. While the group has disbanded, I'm continuing to write new stuff, sometimes collaborating with old friends and releasing the songs here. Some previous reviews to prove I'm not lying:
Indie-Music.com Top 25 CDs of 2006
"Unpretentious creative fusion between funk, jazz, and rock, all centered on Lloyd's rhythmic keyboard work. If mainstream radio was playing this kind of music, I'd tune in." - Jamie Anderson
2006 Marquee Magazine Front Row Center Award Winner
One of Colorado's Best Bands (9/06)
"The only way to describe the Michael Lloyd Band is through its members. Mike Liguori, 29, was born in Anchorage, Ak., grew up in Jersey and was knee deep in the Front Range scene throughout his stint at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Jim Ruberto, from western New York, rocks the hell out of steel guitar on cue and is a pretty killer producer and musician. The drummer, John Nelson, has backed Al Wilson, and bassist Jonathan Barkin has studied with Kai Eckhardt of Garaj Mahal. Face it, they’re cooler than you. Plus, the noteworthy artwork on the website is almost as unique as the deliciously bad-ass jazz-gone-jam that, once it’s stamped its place in your skull, will make you preemptively groove."
"Denver’s Michael Lloyd creates music that is easy to like from the catchy, piano driven funk grooves to the soulful vocals. Almost like a jazzier Ben Folds Five, you can tell Michael pays attention to song-crafting while not writing over your head and keeping the enjoyment factor intact. Songs like 'Wildfire,' '45 At A Time' and the Harry Connick-ish ballad 'So Easily' are subtly brilliant." - Mark Waterbury
Smother.net Music Reviews
"From the first moment on 'Highwaters,' I was thoroughly impressed with their piano-centric pop-rock songs. Imagine Ben Folds with Jamiroquai’s smooth vocals and groovy basslines. Denver, Colorado is their home fort and if they know what’s good for them they’ll be supporting this band and helping them achieve the national exposure that they deserve." -- Smother.net, 11/2005
