This is a great story I heard this morning on PBS’s Studio 360. The article is from the Home of All Things Mingering.
Between 1968 and 1977 Mingering Mike recorded over fifty albums, managed thirty-five of his own record labels, and produced, directed and starred in nine of his own motion pictures. In 1972 alone he released fifteen LPs and over twenty singles, and his traveling revue played for sold out crowds the world over.
How is it that such a prolific musician has gone under the radar for the more than thirty years? The answer is that all took place in Mike’s imagination, and in the vast collection of fake cardboard records and acapella home recordings that he made for himself as a teenager in Washington, D.C. in the late 1960s.
In 2003 two record diggers (Dori Hadar and Frank Beylotte) stumbled into the world of Mingering Mike at a flea market. There they discovered a collection of albums that were made solely of cardboard, each intricately crafted with gatefold interiors, extensive liner notes, and grooves drawn onto the “vinyl.” The crates contained albums not only by Mingering Mike, but also other unheard of artists such as Joseph War, the Big “D,” and Rambling Ralph, on labels such as Fake Records, Inc., Decision, Sex, and Mother Goose. There were even soundtracks to imaginary kung fu films and a benefit album for sickle cell anemia.
Hadar posted pictures of the albums on Soulstrut and Mike instantly became a cult hero. He tracked Mike down and eventually Mike revealed his story of how as a lonesome teenager he dreamt of being a soul singer, songwriter and producer. And how he lived out his dream by creating an amazing imaginary career for himself.
Mike’s discography is enormous. We’ll be adding more albums, 45s and songs in the coming days.
In the meantime, check out the galleries and the new MINGERING MIKE BOOK, out now on Princeton Architectural Press!
Possibly one of the most confusing aspects of dealing with digital imagery is resolution-specifically, what it really is and how changing it affects an image. You’d be shocked at the number of brilliant designers who don’t know how to change an image from 72 dpi to 300 dpi-without turning it into a pile of pixel mush. That is, until now. (Read more)
Most hams and other geeks love to personalize our possessions. This project takes that concept to a whole other level. I would even go so far as to classify it as computer hardware porn.
