Column: You Can Always Go Back To School

Virgil and Mike Hale decide to release an album for free and share the numbers and their experiences.

Virgil Dickerson: We are excited to announce that we have made the decision to give away Mike Hale's upcoming album, "Lives Like Mine" for free digitally. Mike just announced it in his Punknews.org column, "For Those Still Standing" which has been his journal of his life after making the decision to quit his job, end his lease, sell back his car, and stop life as he knew it for a full time life on the road. 

Finding inspiration from Chris Anderson's FREE, QuoteUnquoteRecords.com, and the knowledge that any internet savvy music fan can get pretty much any album they want for free, I called Mike up a few weeks back to share with him my idea. It took him a minute, but after he thought it out, he agreed that this was as good time as any to do this. Mike is about to release his 2nd studio album (an absolutely amazing album), due out in stores on April 28th and is about to start a Full U.S. and Canadian tour with labelmates, Ninja Gun which starts on April 10th. We felt that by accepting FREE music as one of our tools, our ability to turn people onto this album and this tour would greatly increase.

Stop by the site liveslikemine.suburbanhomerecords.com to download Mike's incredible new album, "Lives Like Mine".

In the end, it is our hope that as many people as possible listen to the albums we release. So much work goes into the making of a brand new album and we hope that if you like what you hear, you might consider buying a copy on CD, on vinyl, or through a donation. Any proceeds raised from the sales and donations will go towards recouping the expenses that went into making the record. Any profits will be split equally between MIke Hale and Suburban Home Records.

Mike Hale released his first album, "Broken With No Hope" on Asian Man Records along with a split 7" with Chris Wollard. April 28th, 2009, will see the release of his 2nd album, "Lives Like Mine" on LP, CD, and digitally. The album was recorded and mixed by Armond John Anthony, mastered by Chris Fogal (Black In Bluhm), guest vocals provided by Allyson Seconds (recorded by Kevin Seconds), cover art by Sten, and layout by Brandon Proff. The near future will bring a split 7" w/ Kevin Seconds on Side One Dummy, an Under the Influence split 7" w/ Joey Cape on Suburban Home, and another split 7" with Chris Wollard. Mike also plays in the rock band, In the Red, who released a new album, "Volume 2" on Suburban Home Records. Mike also fronted the No Idea Records' act, Gunmoll, who put out a number of releases.

Hypebot readers, in the coming weeks and months, I plan to share with you our numbers. I will let you know how many times the album was downloaded. I will report how the tours are doing. I will share sales numbers with you. I will report all of these numbers and you can help me determine if this is a good way to take advantage of FREE. Wish us luck! Mike Hale begins a full United States/Canadian tour with Valdosta, Georgia's Ninja Gun. The tour begins on April 10th in Gainesville, Florida:

4/10/2009 Gainesville, FL @ The Atlantic
4/11/2009 Tampa, FL @ Transitions Art Gallery
4/12/2009 Sarasota, FL @ Sarasota VFW
4/13/2009 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
4/15/2009 Richmond, VA @ Mojo’s
4/16/2009 Philadelphia, PA @ The Kyhber
4/17/2009 Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes
4/20/2009 Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East
4/21/2009 Montreal, Quebec @ Absynthe
4/22/2009 Ottawa, ON @ Cafe Deckuf
4/24/2009 Torotno, Ontario @ El Mocambo
4/27/2009 Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar
5/1/2009 Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Music Hall
5/2/2009 Colorado Springs, CO @ Triple Nickel Tavern
5/3/2009 Denver, CO @ 3 Kings Tavern
5/4/2009 Salt Lake City, UT @ Burt’s Tiki Lounge
5/6/2009 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
5/7/2009 Portland, Or @ Satyricon
5/8/2009 San Fransisco, CA @ Thee Parkside
5/9/2009 Los Angelos, CA @ Blue Star
5/10/2009 San Diego, CA @ O’Connels
5/11/2009 Pheonix, AZ @ Modified Arts
5/13/2009 San Antonio, TX @ Rock Bottom
5/14/2009 Austin, TX @ Emo’s
5/15/2009 Houston, TX @ Walters on Washington
5/16/2009 Dallas, TX @ The Prophet Bar