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THE QUICK SUMMARY

(This is a pinned post summarizing the SneezingCow basics…scroll down for newer posts.)

Mike’s latest book (Forty Acres Deep) (indie booksellers scroll down to lower left for wholesale info). All the other books (including Population 485) and CDs and DVDs and whatnots.

The Voice Mail page. (For free samples, click on the episodes without the miniature padlocks.)

Mike’s ability to spin his 20+ books and wide range of life experiences into humorous and heartfelt live presentations have put him in great demand as a public speaker. In addition to his one-man theater shows, Mike has delivered entertaining keynote addresses at conferences for software companies, hospitals and health care organizations, fire and EMS providers, farming and agricultural groups, national and regional utility cooperatives, business and economic development entities, governmental agencies, mental health organizations, dental hygienists, faith-based organizations, logging conventions, book festivals, MFA programs, libraries, and countless others. If you’re interested in retaining Mike for your event, please contact his booking agent here.

The mailing list signup (explained very specifically). We hope you’ll consider joining; it’s old-fashioned but way more loyal than social media. It’s also the best and most direct way to know when Mike’s got something new or is performing near you.

Upcoming live events.

Free Episode of Michael Perry’s Voice Mail #207: Andy and Alabama

Took us a few years, but here we are.

Welcome to Michael Perry’s Voice Mail, episode 207. This one’s available to free and paid subscribers alike. Click here to listen.

In today’s episode I share the story of heading down to Alabama to tell stories and sign books in roadhouses and meet a friend I’d never met before. It all began thanks to a tornado and a guy who used to live under a bridge. And although we didn’t read Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, we coulda, and probably even finished it during the three hours we found ourselves adrift in the Gulf of Mexico.

It’s not my usual episode, but I hope you’ll enjoy tagging along as I introduce you to a fellow who went from living under a bridge to selling 20 million books.

A fish. The fish.

None of this would have happened if Andy hadn’t stopped by Arcadia Books.

All about Andy Andrews. And Andy’s books.

All about Mike’s books (including the Montaigne one).

A special thank you to Austin Andrews who opened for us at the Flora-Bama. Stunning singer/songwriter. Hear three of his songs here.

Bill-E’s, the place with the amazin’ bacon.

Mike’s recent YouTube visit with Andy:

This was a free episode. If you’d like to receive all episodes, click here. It says “Subscribe Now” but you won’t actually be subscribed until you review your options and confirm.

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The desk in Andy’s studio.

I made the desk!

Tellin’ stories in the Flora-Bama roadhouse.

Signin’ books over there by the foosball table…

…and the pool table.

MARGINALIA

From Andy’s book The Bottom of the Pool (which I marked up on the flight home).

So good to know I’m not the only one. This section of Andy’s book could have been pulled right from the “Confound the Fool” chapter on absentmindedness in my Montaigne book.

Andy’s books are different than mine. But I learn from them if I read with personal intent.

The man in the boat beside me. Thank you, friend.

This Week’s Tent Show Radio: Riders In The Sky

Check out Mike (FacebookInstagram / Twitter / Threads) hosting Tent Show Radio. On this week’s episode, enjoy masterful musicianship and quick-witted humor from Grammy Award winners Riders In The Sky!

During intermission Michael Perry shares a humorous or heartfelt (or both) story drawn from his beloved books and offbeat life experiences.

Regarded as one of the “most historically significant acts in the history of American music” by Billboard magazine, the GRAMMY award-winning quartet of Ranger Doug, Woody Paul, Too Slim, and Joey the Cowpolka King, have kept the heritage of Western music alive as they have entertained audiences across the world for more than 40 years. Riders In The Sky kick off each performance with their trademark greeting, “Mighty fine and a great big Western ‘Howdy,’ all you buckaroos and buckarettes,” their live shows showcase each player’s masterful musicianship with an added dose of broad, quick-witted humor as they pay tribute to the classic cowboy songs of the 1930s and ‘40s.

Since their start in 1977, Riders In The Sky have released more than 40 albums, starred in the anthology television series “Tumbleweed Theater,” wrote and starred in their NPR syndicated radio program “Riders Radio Theater,” hosted their own children’s program on CBS, and have made more than 7,000 appearances all over the world. The Grand Ole Opry and Western Music Hall of Fame inductees have become well-known to new generations for their work with Disney & Pixar, notably their tune “Woody’s Roundup” from Toy Story 2 and the full-length GRAMMY award-winning companion albums for Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc.

Follow this link for all the available viewing options.

Stream it here along with other Tent Show Radio episodes.

Tent show Radio is broadcast each week on many fine independent stations, which can be found here: https://sneezingcow.com/ten-show-radio-stations/.

This Week’s Tent Show Radio: Them Coulee Boys

Check out Mike (FacebookInstagram / Twitter / Threads) hosting Tent Show Radio. This week’s episode features Them Coulee Boys.

During intermission Michael Perry shares a humorous or heartfelt (or both) story drawn from his beloved books and offbeat life experiences.

Them Coulee Boys craft a brand of Americana that blends folk, punk, bluegrass, and rock & roll. They sing their conversational songs in 4-part harmony, often with a banjo stomp and rhythm section punch that drives the audience onto the dance floor and into community. Their trusty van has propelled them thousands of miles across the country and into the hearts of strangers, who tend to leave each show as family.

Soren Staff and Beau Janke, who both grew up amidst a stretch of glacial melt-carved river valleys in the upper Midwest, and more often than not could be found with an instrument in hand, became fast friends and formed their electric music partnership, after having met as counselors at a bible camp in northern Wisconsin in 2011. The duo played their first gigs as the rough-around-the-edges folk/rock/Americana outfit Them Coulee Boys in 2013. The additions of Jens Staff on mandolin, Neil Kraus on guitar & bass, and Stas Hable on drums helped to grow the band into the rollicking outfit it is today.

With three full-length albums and an EP behind them, including 2019’s Die Happy, they released their fourth studio album Namesake in 2021. The new album feels familial, like old friends with no need for small talk. There are moments of power and punch, balanced with an intimacy only felt between the ones we love. The ten-song collection spans from pure and genuine ballads to a leaping, countrified take on rock and roll. Namesake finds Them Coulee Boys following a new trajectory, combining their signature take on folk-grass and Americana with comfort on electric instruments and playing rock and roll. The record lives and breathes. It’s both intimate and bombastic.

Follow this link for all the available viewing options.

Stream it here along with other Tent Show Radio episodes.

Tent show Radio is broadcast each week on many fine independent stations, which can be found here: https://sneezingcow.com/ten-show-radio-stations/.

Letters from Forty Acres Deep

In this our FIVE STARS/ZERO STARS world, how grateful I am for readers who take the time to share both their time and their heart. And especially so in the case of Forty Acres Deep, a book I wasn’t sure I should write.

This Week’s Tent Show Radio: Anishinaabe Dibaajimowin – An Ojibwe Story

Check out Mike (FacebookInstagram / Twitter / Threads) hosting Tent Show Radio. This week’s episode features Anishinaabe Dibaajimowin: An Ojibwe Story.

During intermission Michael Perry shares a humorous or heartfelt (or both) story drawn from his beloved books and offbeat life experiences.

On this poignant episode of Tent Show Radio, celebrate the rich culture, history, and spirit of the Anishinaabe people in a musical theater experience that honors the indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes region. The acclaimed original show “Anishinaabe Dibaajimowin: An Ojibwe Story,” which debuted in 2021, features Michael “Laughing Fox” Charette and Severin Behen, members of the Blue Canvas Orchestra, and artists from Red Cliff, Bad River, LCO, and Fond du Lac.

Observe, as talented indigenous artists and tribal elders, weave compelling stories with profound and lucid narrations that convey their rich oral traditions and moments of significant history in their culture – the establishment of treaty rights and the protection of indigenous children. Traditional and modern music merge with ancient storytelling that meets spoken word and hip-hop while you journey through the legends, history, and hardships of the Anishinaabe people.

Follow this link for all the available viewing options.

Stream it here along with other Tent Show Radio episodes.

Tent show Radio is broadcast each week on many fine independent stations, which can be found here: https://sneezingcow.com/ten-show-radio-stations/.