Mike.Falzone: Press

"On Falzone’s, release Fun With Honesty he uses his witty lyrics and a soulful voice to become something a little funkier than the average singer/songwriter."
Beyond Race Magazine, February 2008

(4 of 5 STARS!!) While most college campuses see their fair share of student bands and musicians, it is now extremely rare to see an act that not only comes off unique and impressive, but one that also manages to live on even after the college years end. Fairfield University is fortunate enough to have had both of these things all in one act."
The Fairfield Mirror, 1/31/08

"His radio-friendly sound has enough quirks and intriguing arrangements that both John Mayer’s legions and cultish Candy Butchers cronies can listen without qualms"
Christopher Arnott, New Haven Advocate, Jan 2008

The days of a young musician signing with a record label and having an album released nationally are just about history, so it has become incumbent upon artists to find other methods of having their music reach listeners.
Local singer-songwriter Mike Falzone has stumbled upon a "novel" way to get his new album, Fun with Honesty, exposed to a wider audience: He has hooked up with the Borders Books & Music chain.
Falzone, a Stamford native who spent most of his 23 years living in Stratford, played some shows at Borders outlets and formed a connection with one of the chain's district managers, Craig Kennedy.
Basically, Falzone said in a phone interview Monday afternoon, "I bugged the hell out of him.
"I'd been playing in-store shows for him for a while, just like little events here and there," Falzone said. "Eventually, I said to him, 'I'm working on this thing that I'm really proud of and I want to make a big push for it. It's good enough to be in the stores, but I don't have a label. Would you want to take a chance and help me out a little and put it in your stores?'
"He said, 'No problem,' and set me up with a tour so I can do some performing and signings. So far, it's been working out really well. We're at the very beginning stages of getting it out there, but it's great exposure."
Though his upcoming touring schedule is dotted with Borders appearances in Connecticut and Rhode Island — including one in Farmington Sunday at 2 p.m. — he has several other dates coming up in the region. Falzone will be part of a Mardi Gras party at the Acoustic Caf (335-3655) in Bridgeport Saturday night at 7, at Chef's Table (255-1779) in Fairfield Tuesday night at 6 and he'll have a proper CD-release party Wednesday night at 7 at The Space (288-6400) in Hamden.
Falzone is working hard to promote Fun with Honesty as, even though it's his third release, he feels this one has finally captured the sound he's been seeking.
"This is the first time I've ever been in a studio with full production," he said. "The first two CDs were my music with hip-hop machine beats behind them because it was all I could really afford to do.
"But this time, I spent money and went in to a real studio with real musicians and got a nice big sound. Everything that I wanted to do for the past couple of years, I got to do. Everything's real. It's not like computer beats. It's real people putting their own feel on the music."
To help flesh out his sound, Falzone turned to Darian Cunning, one of the most talented musicians on the local music scene. Cunning produced Fun with Honesty at the studio at the Black Rock Art Center.
"Ever since I was in high school, I would drive to the Acoustic Caf and watch Darian in open mics and stuff," Falzone said. "He was one of my biggest inspirations. I would see him doing crazy stuff just with a couple of pedals and an acoustic guitar and I was like, 'If I work at it, there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to do the same things.' "I used to travel far and wide to watch him play. And I've been seeing him for years and he still just blows me away every time I see him play."
Falzone's love of music started at a young age, when he would sit and listen to records with his father. He also had an uncle that played in a Beatles cover band, so, as Falzone said, "I was always around it, so I always wanted to do it."
"I learned how to play in third grade and I think I played my first show in eighth grade," he added. "I've been playing shows ever since."
He released his first album, Between the Airport and Lordship, when he was a junior at Fairfield University. "I thought my songs were good enough to put up for sale. Looking back, they weren't," he said with a laugh.
His second record, Fairview, came out "about a year after that" and it was, he said, "a little better, not great."
Still, having records out helped him secure slots on local showcases, which helped him discover other artists on the circuit.
"I listen to mostly local music," Falzone said. "If you ask me my favorite bands, I'd say Christina Abbott, The Smyrk, Darian Cunning. "So whenever I'm offered an opening spot, I jump at it because, not only do I get to play before a new audience that's come to see somebody else, but I also probably will get another favorite band by the end of the night."
Falzone also was lucky enough to snag an opening assignment at a concert by Third Eye Blind at the Webster Theater in Hartford. It was a big step from local clubs to a venue packed with about 1,400 people.
"It was a ridiculous amount of people," Falzone recalled. "The place was like completely sold out, wall-to-wall. It was just one of those great opportunities that comes up every once in a while."
Even though the crowd was much larger than any he's played before or since, Falzone claims he wasn't at all nervous.
"Not really," he said. "I used to get really nervous, but now if I feel any tension it's because I just want to run up there and play. I can't wait to go up there and I can't wait to give it all I've got."
He's going to have to keep giving it all he's got if he wants to attain his goals as a musician. Falzone is realistic and harbors no pie-in-the-sky dreams of becoming a megastar.
"I don't want to be on 'MTV Cribs' or anything like that. I just want to be comfortable and play music," he said. "I want music to pay my rent instead of a regular job. "It sounds clich, but it's been what I've wanted to do ever since I was little. It's been my goal. Like some kids want to be an astronaut or a fireman, I wanted to be a musician.
"There's a lot of the country that I haven't seen and I would love to see the country because my music takes me there. I would love to see other countries because my music takes me there."
For more information on Mike Falzone or for a list of tour dates, visit www.mikefalzone.com or www.myspace/mikefalzone.