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Michael Stanley still keeps the pulse of working life
By JOHN BENSON
Over the past four decades of playing music, Cleveland’s Michael Stanley has hit nearly every Northeast Ohio venue of note. However, there was one location that had been missing from the Michael Stanley Band leader’s r sum — Packard Music Hall in Warren. That’s about to change when Stanley and his backing band, The Resonators, headline the SCOPE and Hospice of the Valley Benefit on Saturday.
“There should be a few surprises, for sure,” said Stanley, 62, who is also an afternoon disc jockey on Cleveland station WNCX-FM 98.5. “The cool thing is Jonah Koslen, one of the original Michael Stanley Band members, is opening up the show. I would imagine he’ll be joining us on stage for some things that we don’t normally do.”
This year marks a quarter of a century since the MSB called it quits, but that doesn’t mean the group’s namesake is ever too far away from the popular ’70s and ’80s act. Last Christmas, Stanley revisited the MSB album “Heartland” at a House of Blues show in Cleveland. Also, when he’s on the street he often runs into a fan or two who mention they were in attendance during MSB’s legendary 1982 four-night Blossom Music Center run.
Though the shadow of his past success still looms large, the singer-songwriter remains committed to his solo career, which in recent years has been somewhat prolific. It seems as though every year or two he’s releasing a solo album, with his latest effort being 2009’s “Shadowlands.” Stanley said his favorites from that effort include “I Am You,” “Skinny Jeans” and “It’s All About Tonight.”
“I thought this album was a little bit more up than a couple of the last ones, not that there was a concerted effort for that,” Stanley said. “So that was nice. Those things tend to lend themselves to the live situation, but I don’t really sit down and plan them out too much. I just write a bunch of songs and see which ones seem to work together and see if there’s some common thread that makes sense as an album and as an entity.”
If there’s been a common theme over the decades in Stanley’s work, it’s been his ability to capture the Rust Belt working-man’s life — the ups and the downs — into song. In fact, his music could be described as being a barometer of economic times in Northeast Ohio. Stanley is looking ahead at his next CD, which he hints includes some “bleak things” about making ends meet.
From a recording standpoint, apparently he doesn’t waste much time when it comes to writing and releasing new material.
“At my age, there’s not a lot of time to waste,” Stanley said, laughing. “You don’t know how long you’re going to be in the mode of doing it or wanting to do it. Hopefully, I’ll always want to do it. I think the last 10 years have been a pretty prolific time as far as the songwriting goes for me. I don’t want to do anything to get off that right now. There’s plenty of time to rest later on. So as long as the songs keep coming, and I feel that they’re worthwhile, I’ll keep rolling them out there and see what they think.”
Whether it’s releasing a new album or playing a live show for his fans, Stanley feels as though his music is giving back to the community he calls home. It’s also the same reason that finds him headlining the SCOPE Inc. and Hospice Of The Valley Benefit. It’s no coincidence that the fundraiser is for Hospice, an organization that Stanley came in touch with recently when his mother died.
“We’ve traditionally had a great time in the Youngstown-Warren area,” Stanley said. “There was a lot of MSB strength down there. And also, it’s going to help organizations in their community. It’s not for something that won’t be useful there. Having just gone through a situation where my family needed to pull on a Hospice organization, these people are angels, and you don’t realize it until you need them. So anything that I and we as a band can do to help that type of organization keep functioning at optimum strength is the least we can do.”