The Ballad Of The Mike Plume Band
The first seeds of the Mike Plume Band were planted in western Canada, in September of 1985, when I met Ernie Basiliadis at high school football tryouts in Bonnyville Alberta.
My mom, my brother and I had just moved to Bonnyville from Moncton, New Brunswick in eastern Canada.
Ernie and I formed our first band and played around town thru our high school years.
I hit the road in 1987 and managed to get fired from every band I was in.
I lost touch with Ernie.
In 1989, I was teaching guitar lessons in Bonnyville and one of my students was a 13 year old kid. Enter future bass player Derek Mazurek.
In 1993 I put out my first album (Songs from a Northern Town) with Byran Bueckert on drums, Jackson Langley on guitar and Tino Zolfo on bass and began to tour around Western Canada.
I ran into Ernie.
I lost touch with Ernie.
In ’94 I was looking for a guitar player and offered the gig to Derek.
He said “No."
He said "No?
He said "No"
Mazurek, who, oddly enough, was playing in a band at the time with Ernie said he would fill in until I found someone.
Derek and Ernie said they knew of a guitar player from Fort McMurray Alberta.
Enter Dave Klym.
The gig was his by the second or third note.
The band that Derek and Ernie were playing in fell apart.
Mazurek now in need of a gig took the bass spot the second it opened up.
I didn’t see the forest for the trees.
I didn’t hear the beat for the drums, if you will.
Enter, finally and again, Ernie.
We did our first official gig together in May of 1996.
In 1997 we put out two albums “Song And Dance, Man” and “Simplify”
Somehow we managed to play just shy of 200 one niters all across Canada and Europe.
In 1998 we made our first jump into the USA.
Toured like fools in a hurry and played 225 shows.
We also recorded a new album called “Steel Belted Radio EP”.
In 1999 we played 249 one niters.
“Song And Dance, Man” was released in the USA on Eminent Records in June of ’99.
In 2000 we played another 220 shows.
Unfortunately, in April of that year Derek Mazurek had decided to make his exit from the band. He got married and decided to see what living a life in one town for more than 12 hours felt like.
I, for one, was heartbroken.
We trudged on.
Enter Meck Myers on bass guitar.
We recorded “Fools For The Radio” in November of 2000.
We released it on September 11th, 2001.
We did our last show on October 25th 2002 in Wakefield Quebec.
I was tired and in desperate need of a break.
Exhausted.
Confused.
Broken hearted.
So, after, give or take, 1200 shows in 8 years we called it a day.
Guess what? I lost touch with Ernie.
Dave, Meck and Ernie continued on without me.
The call themselves the Populars.
Over the last 6 years I’ve played 100 shows, tops.
I put out the album "Table For One" in '03 and "Rock And Roll Recordings, Volume 1" in 2004.
I left Nashville in May of ’03.
We moved to Toronto.
My wife and I had a daughter (Ruby) in July of ’04.
I found out what it was like to live in a town for more than 12 hours.
I liked it.
I liked it a lot.
We did a reunion show in July of ’04 for no other reason than the hell of it.
What a blast.
We did a second show in May of ’05.
Two hours long.
No set list.
No rehearsal.
Nothin’ but net.
Like falling off a rock.
Like rolling down a hill.
In May of 2006 Meck Myers left the Populars.
Enter Ben Wilson on the bass guitar.
My family and I moved back to Tennessee in August of ’06.
Suddenly I was back in the business of writing songs for a living.
A couple of phone calls in the early part of 2008 lead to the idea of maybe doing something again.
We played our first full original lineup show in 8 years at the Rutledge in Nashville in May of 2008.
Hey Ho Lets Go!
I never thought I’d be at this point again.
I never thought I cared this much about it.
I was wrong.
p.s. In December of 2008 Dave Klym decided that he wanted to see what life was like in one town for more than 12 hours at a time and therefore took his leave from MPB. I can't say I blame him. Long May You Run.
p.p.s. In January of 2009, original MPB guitarist Jackson Langley makes his return to the fold.