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05.28.04
Michael Celedon has waited patiently for us to interview
him, and we're waiting just as diligently to watch this
rising star make it big. Read on to learn more about
Celedon, his music, and a few entertaining road tales.
 Give
us some background. Where did you grow up and when did
music enter the picture?
I always wanted to start off an interview like the
first Lord of the Rings, "in the beginning," but I'm
definitely not that cool. I popped out on November 18,
1981 at around 6pm. My mother said I must have been
a singer with all that screaming I was doing. I told
her that I was trying to tell those doctors to get away
from me with those scissors!! I grew up in Dallas, TX,
where I still like to roam and call this city home.
I would have to say that music entered my life in the
womb. My mother said she would jam anything from the
Beatles to Santana to Marvin Gaye to Curtis Mayfield
and even classical music. She said I would always dance
around too. So, I think she started me very early in
introducing great music to me. I started piano lessons
in elementary school and absolutely hated it. I didn't
like to read music, like my teacher tried to teach me.
I would just memorize all the songs and jam during the
lessons. I finally told my parents that they were just
wasting their ‘dinero' with the lessons because
I wasn't feeling that at all. Later in middle school,
I picked up the violin and loved losing myself in great
classical pieces. I played for about 6 years and still
love to jam here and there. I was given an accordion
at around 15 and I would wear that sucker out everyday
for countless hours. I taught myself how to play it
and would jam along to lots of my favorite Tejano songs.
The guitar came after graduation and that was where
I think I found my true instrument. I taught myself
the guitar also and listened to every song I could,
to try and pick it up. I think everybody started off
by learning "More than Words", by Extreme. I would play
that along with Hotel California and some Beatle tunes.
I loved locking myself in my room and just jamming.
So after all the covers and such, I started writing
my own stuff and testing that out on my friends and
such. We would go to open mics and just get crazy and
here I am today, still jammin'.
You have an EP out; when was that put out? Was it
your first release?
The infamous EP was recorded in December of 2002.
It was a cool project that I wanted to pursue. It was
my first time to actually record in the studio and I
have to tell you that it was amazing. I realized then
that this was what it was all about and that I have
to keep coming back here to keep making the tunes. It
was definitely the first but not the last!
Any plans for a full-length release? Give us some
dirt on what to expect album wise in the coming months.
You'd be surprised at the number of emails I get daily,
asking me the same question! My goal right now is the
full length. I'm working very hard to get the songs
finished and ready for the studio. My only reason why
I'm not rushing this is because I don't like album fillers.
I don't want to have 3 good songs and the rest be songs
that are just ‘okay.' This is why I'm taking my
time and trying to get those 10 or 11 GREAT songs that
I will totally be proud to give to you. I hate buying
cd's and just getting a great single and nothing else.
My goal is to make you want to listen to the cd all
the way through, over and over and over againJ I have
lots of new jams that are currently being worked on
and hopefully we'll have that full length soon. So I'm
sorry that it's taking so long, but hang in there with
me and I promise not to disappoint!
So we'll be patient! Your song on the EP, "Catch
your Breath", give us the origins of it.
 Wow
let me see...that song has a funny origin because I
wrote it while hanging out in the studio with my friend,
Ryan Cabrera. He was actually working on his first cd
and I'd go to help with the producing and stuff like
that. It's funny to me because I went inside the bathroom
with a guitar and starting jammin'. It was in that bathroom
that I wrote that entire song. I don't know what it
was about that place, but the words and the music just
flowed out. I guess it provided me a place to gather
up my thoughts and just let them all out. I think we
all do a lot of thinking in the bathroomJhaha. The song
is about a person that has been looking deep inside
themselves for so many answers. Answers that sometimes
can't be resolved with one question, but a deeper look
of what is going on around them. It's about a longing
to do something more than the ordinary routine and how
an experience or anything as sweet as a kiss, can change
your whole perspective on life. I wanted to portray
myself just giving in to someone else and the feelings
that go along with that passion. I really love the song
and it still remains a fan favorite.
It sure does! So what do you do in your spare time?
I love going to live shows and checking out new bands.
I get emails all the time about new bands that I should
give a listen to. I love discovering new talents that
way. Also, I love writing and jamming on the guitar.
It's my form of meditation where I can totally
get lost for hours at a time in the music. It's
amazing to me. I'm a movie going freak and love
to catch all the upcoming flicks. Traveling has become
a new passion of mine. I love road trips!!!
Tell us a funny fan story.
HAHA. Lots of funny things have happened and I do have
some stories, but one that comes to mind was after a
show. I was hanging out after my show and talking to
lots of peeps when a group of guys came up to me. One
guy was like, "yeah yeah man we really love your music..."
the guy went on to say "man every time I take a shower
I bust out your cd and jam to that stuff...it's great
man!" His friends and I all looked at him like WHAAAAAT!?
I couldn't help but bust out laughing. I do have the
privilege of having some really awesome fans and I'd
like to thank them all for their continued love and
support! They rock and sometimes bring me cookies.
What album changed your life and why?
Lots of albums have a special meaning to me like Crash
by DMB or Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay. Real
music like that just makes me want to grab my guitar
and write for hours at a time. They are so pure, yet
complex in the structure of the songs. In those records,
so much music is going on at one time and I love the
way it all seems to come together in perfect harmony
to make some really kick a$$ songs.
Who are you currently listening to?
I'm always trying to find new artists to jam
to. In the car right now we've got Damien Rice,
Switchfoot, little Mayer, Duncan Sheik, sexy Gavin DeGraw,
and of course the new Five for Fighting!
What has been your greatest challenge as an indie?
 I
really love what indies do. It seems the majority of
them are totally about the music and not some huge label
and all that jazz. The biggest thing is to get that
same exposure with your music. As an indie, I don't
have a label pushing my music down everyone's throat,
so I have to do it myself with the help of all the fans
and great websites like Discovering Artists, who cater
to the Indies. But, I think the word is getting out
and lots of great things have come from the help that
everyone has given me.
How do you differentiate yourself in a world of
guys with guitars?
I know it seems like everywhere you go, there's
some dude with a guitar doing the same thing I'm
doing, but I think it has to do more with the songs
and your attitude about it all. I love to write music
about life and my experiences. I feel this creates a
sense of community with the fans and makes them feel
the music like I did when I first wrote the song. I
think with heart-felt songs and true faith in what I
am doing, I have continued to distinguish myself from
the crowds.
Anything else you'd like to add?
I'm a big fan of rain and long walks on the beach...favorite
color is blue (of course) and Discovering Artists'
rocks my socks off!!! LOVE YALL SO MUCH!!
Thanks Mike! We wish you all the best and encourage
you to keep us posted about your rising successes!
For more visit: http://www.michaelceledon.com/
Interviewed by Kristen
Fischer
DiscoveringArtists.com
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