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Michael Cardenas

Acoustic / Folk

Santa Fe Springs, CA

Folks - see all 1120

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Folktale

1970 saw my Mother in labor for 24 hours to deliver me at Beverly Hospital in Montebello, California. She was employed there as a nurse the day her water broke and my Father worked there as a janitor. In my youth the three of us Roberto, Sara & I lived in Whittier, California. I got my first acoustic guitar at 10 and it was impossible to play because it hurt my hands. A year later I was presented my first electric guitar by my Mother's new boyfriend. It was the sort of offering you give to a son who is grieving from a divorce and rejecting the new replacement for his father. A year later the stigma attached to that guitar led me to acquire a proper electric instrument and private lessons to further my knowledge of music. Around this same time I tried my hand at acting and learned alot about the stage, but music proved to overshadow any of my efforts in theatre. I was locked in my room for days at a time studying theory and composition. My teenage years were spent playing punk rock and metal. In 1988 I attended the Musician's Institute while simultaneously cultivating a close relationship with funk music. Somewhere in my early twenties I came upon folk music and learned how to sing. That would last for a few years until I put the guitar and songwriting down out of frustration. I never felt like I fit in any of the bands that I had joined. So I turned to woodwinds and jazz for nourishment. I learned flute, bass clarinet and alto saxophone playing the music of my heroes. Through that experience I somehow ended up on bass and singing again. The music which came from that time in my life is very special and pretty. The comfort of it was equalized by the trauma of losing my Father to cancer in 2000. As result I came back to guitar and tried playing death metal. People really do love that music, but it's rare when bands can retain motivation long enough to make a career out of it. The most natural thing for me to do now is write sad and often socially caustic music.

CD's available at cdbaby.com do me a solid and visit this link for merchandise + downloads

Albums - see all 3

  • You Evil and I

    You Evil and I

  • Circle Single

    Circle Single

  • The Springs Demo

    The Springs Demo


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comments - see all 8

Natalie says:

you make beautiful sounds. hi!

posted Jun 16


Xiobhan says:

listening. thinking. enjoying.

posted Jun 13


Happy Garaje says:

thanks for the add! your music is great!

posted Jun 4


Vee says:

Thanks for the add I appreciate your version of "By Your Side"

posted May 28


Badlands says:

You know I can't smile without you I can't smile without you I can't laugh and I can't sleep I don't even talk to people I mean And I feel sad when you're sad I feel glad when you're glad But you must know what I'm going through I just can't smile without you You came along just like a song You brightened my day who'd believe you were part of a dream That only seems light years away and you know I can't smile without you I can't smile without you And you must know what I'm going through I just can't smile without you Some people say that happy this way That something it's hard to find Into the new leaving the old behind me And i feel sad when you're sad I feel glad when you're glad And you must know what i'm going through I just can't smile without you Into the new leaving the old behind me And I feel sad when you're sad I feel glad when you're glad And you must know what I'm going through I just can't smile without you

posted May 22


fuckingmegan says:

:D

posted Apr 29


Cortney says:

LOVE your music!

posted Apr 23


Kristen says:

awesome. sounds terrific, by the way. lovely.

posted Apr 20