Michael Hughes
I worked as a musician for about ten years after I finished my BA in English lit, which didn't sound nearly as interesting at the time as playing music. After an enjoyable but wasted youth of bands, solo & studio work, ten thousand nights in clubs & lots of touring, three albums with David Mallett, and a few years as a music journalist and free lance editor, I saw the writing on the wall. I said goodbye to all that & began teaching high school English & started building my project studio.

I've been recording stuff for a while now--people in the community, friends and students of mine. Some of the music up on my page was recorded on an earlier system (a Roland VS-1680), and some was recorded on my current system. As much as anything else, I'm interested in the art & science of making good sounding recordings.

I do original stuff and arrangements of music from a variety of sources. I'm trying to get at an emotional vibe and that elusive buzz with each recording, a core that I hope comes through in the sound of the instruments & the way I play. I've also recorded with some wonderful singers, too.

Most recently I've been playing & recording with a variety of different bands--The Anti-Depressants, The String Band From Hell, and a bunch of local geezers known as The Suck Tones. We like country blues, string-band band music, Hawaiian stuff, Western Swing, jazz and other less-definable sounds. Basically, we'll try anything, and with varying degrees of success, haha! These guys won't win any beauty contests, but at least they show up and sometimes they're in tune.
Your influences?
Just about everything I've ever heard--rock, pop & some of the great contemporary post-punk stuff, machine music, jazz, early music, Baroque music, 20th/21th century classical, contemporary acoustic-based music, soul, Motown, R&B, New Orleans music, songwriters, all of the great guitar players, American roots-oriented stuff, field recordings, early country, African & Middle Eastern musics, and, always, country blues.

Learning to play different instruments has also shaped my sensibility. Taking up the mandolin, for example, led me to bluegrass, string band music, turn-of-the-century mandolin orchestras, and Celtic, Italian and Russian music.
Favorite spot?
Working in my garden in the early spring or in my studio at 3 a.m.
Equipment used:
My basic setup: Digi 002 & a G5 with Waves. Great River & a Milllennia for preamps along with a collection of good mics. Instruments I play on these recordings include: a Moreira classical guitar, Fender & Parker Fly electrics & Martin steel-string guitars; a 5-string Shector electric bass and a mid-50s Kay stand-up bass; a 1938 EH-150 Gibson lap steel guitar, a 1953 Gibson Ultratone 7-string lap steel, a Remington table steel, a National Reso-Phonic Style 3 steel guitar, an Exel "frypan" 8-string lap steel and a customized National Reso-phonic tricone baritone guitar; an old Martin ukelele, a 1920s era Gibson A-1 mandolin modified with a fifth course, & an octave mandolin; a mid-'80s Dobro, a Bart Reiter open-back banjo; a djembe and various percussion instruments; and a Fantom X8 sequencer for keys, drum programming & other sounds.
Anything else...?
What's so funny 'bout peace, love and understanding?
Join The Mailing List
We will not store or use this email address other than for this newsletter.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
For my old friend Michael Silvestri. High-string parlor guitar, baritone guitar, mandolin, octave mandolin and lap steel guitar. You can hear Michael's beautiful guitar playing here: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=78325
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
Here's a solo guitar arrangement of the Charles Mingus tribute to Lester Young. My old man liked to wear a pork pie hat, too. I used a National tricone baritone guitar for this one.
A SoundClick Top 100 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
The String Band from Hell just finished up a year-long gig in Dis, which is why my clothes smell like sulfer. Banjo, mandolin, djembe, fiddlesticks, stand-up bass, acoustic guitar, lap steel & vocal stylings. Note: Play this one very, very loud.
A SoundClick #1 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
An instrumental from The Suck Tones inspired by the soundtrack of Sponge Bob and a question from Ezra. Remington 8-string table steel, mandolin, ukelele, acoustic guitar, electric bass & brushes on the djembe.
A SoundClick Top 100 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
An early Sunday morning improvisation, with the sweet old dog asleep in the next room. Dobro solo--trying out a C6/Am7 tuning & I think I really like it.
A SoundClick #1 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
One of those beautiful traditional American songs pulled up from the well by Bascom Lamar Lunsford in North Carolina in the 1920s. The Suck Tones here as a southern old time string band. This one's for Lou, Grant & Michel, the railroad men.
A SoundClick #1 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
Based on the memory of some recordings of guitar music from Zaire. Two 'rhythm' tracks from a table steel in C6 tuning, lead from an old Gibson lap steel; acoustic guitar, bass and percussion.
A SoundClick Top 100 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
Maybe you know the feeling? You thought you had something, and then it's going, going, and one day it's just gone, man. And, of course, that look on your face...The Anti-Depressants on lap steel, guitar, strings & stand-up bass.
A SoundClick #1 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
This is an improvised duet on classical guitars from me and Michael Silvestri, a coffee-fueled conversation from our days playing as Cadenza.
A SoundClick Top 100 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
Sarah Radovich, vocals; National steel, guitar, bass by yrs truly; Jeff Learman, piano; Chris Houle, drums; mixed by Bruce Valeriani of Blue Bear Sound, Ottawa; mastered by John Scrip of Massive Mastering.
A SoundClick Top 100 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
My take on Silent Night by Franz Gruber, who composed it on Christmas Eve, 1818, in the schoolhouse of Arnsdorf, Austria. Two steel-string guitars in 'Nashville tuning,' National steel guitar, acoustic bass--The Snowplow String Band. Thanks, Franz!
A SoundClick Top 100 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
The Snowplow String Band here with a little seasonal country waltz around the subject of dreams. This began life as an instrumental, but just a few days later it grew some lyrics. Acoustic guitar, stand-up bass, mandolin, piano and lap steel.
A SoundClick Top 50 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
A slack-key tune, trying to get at that aloha feeling, and Lord knows it's elusive sometimes. Slack-key steel-string (DGDGBD), National steel guitar in the same tuning, octave mandolin and my old blonde Kay stand-up bass.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
A shameless tribute to the late Israel Kamakawiwa Ole. Shane McMahon, vocal; yrs truly, guitar & octave mandolin. That's Shane in the pic.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
A little nocturnal piece from The String Band From Hell. Steel-string guitar, mandolin & octave mandolin. We've gotta returm to this one & make it sound like a guitar and mandolin orchestra...
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
We wanted this to feel like the last waltz at a summer night's contradance at the Liberty grange. A song for my mother. The Suck Tones on National steel, octave mandolin, guitar, bass & piano.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
My guitar arrangement of the piano composition by Abdullah Ibrahim. For Stephany--such a long night, and such a big mountain. Classical & steel-string guitars, electric bass.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
One of two versions I've heard of this beautiful Turlough O'Carolan composition. Guitar & mandolin; this is a practice recording made for a mandolin orchestra I started a few years ago.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
My favorite A.C. Jobim song: bassline descending in half-steps, lovely pedal point melody with leaps over the verb 'told,' the unbearable lyric. Classical guitar wi Fantom for percussion & pad in this 1.0 version.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
A song from Elder Joseph Brackett, written in 1848 while he resided at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine. Also known as Lord of the Dance. Sarah Radovich, vocal; yrs truly guitar--we kept it simple.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
Solo guitar, a piece in Gmsus4 tuning. A little meditation on transformative experiences & open tunings. That's Jeremy Young in the funny hat, reading his wonderful poetry at the Last Coffeehouse.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
A recording of the great Sam Cooke song, live & straight to tape in a Portland bar one afternoon a long time ago. Rock & a Hard Place here: Linda Pervier, vocals; Steve Hamelman, drums; Craig McRae, bass; yrs truly on Strat.
A SoundClick Top 50 song
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
A peaceful meditation done on the Fantom X & electric guitar, this is my first sequencer-based piece.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
A song about beginnings and endings. I didn't know I was writing it for myself! Fantom for piano & drums; lap steel lead on the bridge. Acoustic guitar with piano as a verse dialogue about what, exactly, happened.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
This begins with a minor scale loop in 5/4, a djembe & a second guitar enter in 4/4 & pretty soon there's 1/4 inch of ice on the branches. Another in my insomnia series.
download  play lo-fi play hi-fi  
A stately English dance from The Dancing Master, one of the great tune collections; around 1726. Acoustic guitar & octave mandolin.
play hi-fi  commenting Elegy
Overall Rating
Michael, this is unbelievably gut wrenchingly beautiful...I'm on my third listen! Amazing, my friend...simply amazing. Thanks so much for the wonderful comment on Sideways a while back, as well as the guitar mic tips.
play hi-fi  commenting Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
Overall Rating
Melody
Production
I'm so familiar with hearing Jeff Beck's
version of this tune, that this was a cool
refreshing listen for me. Great playing,
dynamics and tone! Nicely done smile :)
Overall Rating
Melody
Production
Excellent again, very cool.
play hi-fi  commenting Cold Rain Water
Overall Rating
Lyrics
Melody
Vocals
Production
Excellent work!
Very nice.
play hi-fi  commenting Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
Overall Rating
Melody
Production
Great song man, I like it a lot.
Hi Michael! Just dropping by to say hi and listen to some of your tracks. Take care. Amanell
Lovely songs! I like it a lot!

Congratz!
play hi-fi  commenting Wayfaring Stranger
Overall Rating
Lyrics
Melody
Vocals
Production
This song is wonderful. Very nice performances and strong vocals. Thumbs up way up!
play hi-fi  commenting I, Ezra, Arize
Overall Rating
Melody
Production
This great piece of instrumental music and it got my vote for best song. Just like the rest of your page it seems. Thanks for being here.
play hi-fi  commenting Cold Rain Water
Overall Rating
Lyrics
Melody
Vocals
Production
Yet another wonderful slice of music. I'm giddy I discovered you through the Soundclick Forum!
play hi-fi  commenting Cadenza
Overall Rating
Melody
Production
Well, this one got me back in the days of a wonderful road trip in southern Spain, brought back the images of those lands moving fast beyond the car window. Such a warm and intense piece of Music. This is what I like about music.
play hi-fi  commenting I, Ezra, Arize
I, Ezra, Arize!!! Wow!! What a perfect touch you have on the guitar and what a beautiful soul to this song-probably the best hawaiian tinged slide work outside of Jon Rauhause period. Would LOVE to hear you live, and hope some day to have the chance to work together.
Overall Rating
Lyrics
Melody
Vocals
Production
Wonderful tune!!!
Very beautiful acoustic textures!!!
Added to our stations.
Z&A
play hi-fi  commenting Cold Rain Water
Overall Rating
Lyrics
Melody
Vocals
Production
Great acoustic tune in all aspects!!!
Z&A
play hi-fi  commenting I, Ezra, Arize
Overall Rating
Melody
Production
Wonderful touch, love it!
Page 1 of 8  |  < previous    1 2 3 4    next >