Karen Michalson Interview

INTERVIEW WITH KAREN MICHALSON FROM TheCelebrityCafe.com ARCHIVES

DM) Your career in entertainment seemed to have started with the band, Point of Ares. What's the story of the foundation of the band?

KM) A dream story. A continuous never failing to delight and amaze dream! Seriously. Point Of Ares had such an improbable birth and was so unexpected! I was a fiction writer before I became a musician. Point Of Ares was actually the dream child of one of my unpublished novels, a novel about a bass player and his rock band. Writing this novel and this character obsessed me into teaching myself bass guitar and forming my own band, so it was out of that novel that Point Of Ares was literally born.

DM) How did you go about forming the band? Did you actually tell people you were inspired based on your novel?

Yes. If anyone cared enough to ask. If someone asks me why I play bass, I tell them I took up bass because I created a fictional character who did. What the hell? What better reason to play?

As to forming the band. Yes, I actually told people Point Of Ares was a musical project to showcase my novel writing and it was actually difficult at first to get and keep bandmates for that reason among others. At the time I formed the band my novels were unsigned and unpublished, and asking other musicians to support songs based on those literary projects which I of course had great faith in was . . . well, a more than a bit cheeky. Especially since most musicians do not think multi-media, do not think of literature and music being natural allies. Our first album was based on my (then) unsigned ENEMY GLORY trilogy, was "fantasy/adventure rock" with very literate intricate lyrics -- not at all the alternative angst or heavy metal that most musicians in my locale (Central New England) are into. Lots of people would fake interest, join the band, and instantly try to 'overthrow the bandleader.' I got good at firing people, because you know, it's my band and those 'mates who didn't... shall we say… appreciate my vision for it… well, there's the door - go form your own band. That was difficult because my novels really did have no prospects at the time, so I could see why nobody wanted to take their potential on faith. Now of course there's a few of those same people who want back in, who "believed in it all along, could you use a fourth member?" No, I couldn't.

Eventually we settled on a workable line-up with our first drummer. He left due to health problems, and then our second drummer, Ryan Des Roches, joined -- Ryan has been an absolutely wonderful complement to Point Of Ares, and a terrific drummer. We're a solid trio with me doubling on bass/keyboards (tripling on vocals) and Bill playing guitars.

DM) From the band, you've gotten an authoring deal. How did that come about?

KM) Part of what sells books today is being able to convince a publisher that you will be able to do the work to generate the publicity to sell the product. Marketing potential is not the only factor, but having your own "publicity machine" in place and demonstrating some success as an independent artist certainly helps make your package more attractive. Point Of Ares has been a wonderful publicity machine for my fiction writing by making my characters known throughout the music underground before Tor ever saw my manuscript. So the band was a factor in that way. Our debut album, Enemy Glory, was a rock concept album based on the fantasy trilogy Tor signed. The songs were all sung from the point of view of my characters, and I would dress like my characters on stage and we'd put on theatrical rock shows and include spoken word passages from my book and include the audience in our little world and I began to collect email and letters from POA fans who bought the album and were asking to buy the book. Asking to buy manuscript copies -- not even caring if it was properly published yet. Asking would I please consider putting it on the web. The album was reviewed all over the world, and every one of those reviews (and every interview I gave) mentioned the novel. I created a record label along with a nationally distributed mail order catalogue of other independent progressive rock bands, Arula Records, the name Arula being a place name in my novel. That sort of thing was a factor, although how much of a factor I can't say for sure. And that was really my original intent with POA, to draw enough attention to my books to a) convince a publisher to take a chance on them or b) have enough built-in audience to self-publish. A lot of people thought I was crazy, but I'm used to that. I don't really care. It worked.

DM) And the songs you sing are based on your books?

KM) The songs on our first album are based on one of my books. Our second album is inspired by ancient Greek myths.

DM) Do you have fans that like your music, but don't know about your books, or vica versa?

KM) I hope not. I mean I formed Point Of Ares to help draw attention to my books. I looked around and saw that there were so many more vehicles for self-promotion in the music underground than in self-publishing (which I was also prepared to do if Tor hadn't made an offer). I always thought that fans who like Point Of Ares, like the concept of this incredibly poetic, theatrical, literate rock band with wild shows like rock versions of Renaissance Faires, would be natural readers for my books. So I mentioned the books all the time - everywhere. We did reached a point where I felt our fan base was big enough that it was time to self-publish, then my agent called with an offer.

DM) Do you frequent Renaissance Faires?

KM) No, I've only been to two in my life. I thoroughly enjoyed them, but it is difficult to find the time to "frequent" them. I'd like to see Point Of Ares play a Renaissance Faire, but it would have to one that would be cool with a rock band in the spirit of the Renaissance -- the Northeast Performer once called us "Renaissance troubadours with electric guitars" so we would fit in spirit if not in historical accuracy -- and we do dress like Renaissance minstrels on stage.

DM) Are there any other projects that you're working on?

KM) Yes, I'm writing another novel and I'm writing a third album with Point Of Ares. Actually, Point Of Ares just released a second album, THE SORROWS OF YOUNG APOLLO, which has been getting excellent reviews, and is available with our other releases through Arula Records at our web site. Arula also recently released a compilation disc called SPOKEN LIVE! This album is a compilation of live spoken word performances from some very talented Boston-area poets. There is more information about this project on Arula's website.

On the live front, Point Of Ares is involved in two very exciting series of shows this year, in addition to our occasional spot gigs. The first is a monthly series of Theatrical Rock Nights, where all poets, actors, musicians, singers, dancers, and solo performance artists are welcome to share the stage with us throughout the evening. Please come dressed as your favorite archetype! Dress as the person you were meant to be before the world made you hide your true self! We declare these nights to be Carnival, sacred to Dionysus, the god of theater and rock n' roll! Enter the fantasy and dance with the dragon! Rock like it's a religion, 'cause it is!

The second is a series of shows we are playing along the East Coast this summer in support of the Women 'N Rock 1999 Charity Concert Series Tour to help fight against heart disease in women. We are performing in as well as helping to promote and organize the New England leg of the tour.

DM) How did you get involved with those charities?

KM) I was introduced to Terri Seymour, the founder and force behind the Women 'N Rock Tour, through a mutual friend. I was very impressed with what she was doing, and she impressed upon me what a serious health problem heart disease is for women - she lost her mother to heart disease. It was hard to say no to her obvious drive and passion. Terri told me today that MTV has taken notice of Women 'N Rock and is calling it "the best unsigned band tour featuring female artists." We are very proud to be part of that.

DM) What's next in the future of Women 'N Rock?

KM) I hope it gets bigger and better every year. I understand that several corporate sponsors are going to sponsor it next year.

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