IOU Arts

Album Notes

This album was created by dozens of musicians coming into stuido and saying hey listen to this tune and before auditioning giving a background on song and somehow the songs that stuck and are included on this album are for the most part the ones with the deepest most heart felt stories behind them. So when you listen go and check out the song "Bio" and realize songs are not only original but authentic stories of peoples real life experiences. 

Another different approach to our studio is that on the first album 100% proceeds of CD sales we donated to the local "Rescue Mission" here in our area to feed and assist the needy. We raised over $1000.00 which may not seem like allot of money but to a bunch of basically starving artist. So helping the less fortunate and raising the awareness of the tremendous benefits the Arts have to our society is a major goal of IOU Studio's.

Here below is a very brief description of some of the stories behind some of the songs of our 1st album.

There's a song on here about a guy who has Bi-Polar decease and during the recording of this Album he had a full blown psychological breakdown where he walked from Lansing, Michigan, to Fort Wayne, Indiana, was roaming through a neighborhood when he saw a cross on someones door then walked to the door rang the door bell and told the home owner I've arrived this is the place of my life's calling. Of course was hauled away in a paddy wagon and ended up in a padded room and actually wrote one of the songs on this Album from the padded room.

There's another song where one of the song writers during the period of the recording of this Album me and my wife went to dinner with them usually we would go in there home and play a game or two of billiards this night they decided to call it in early. However next morning the song writer calls my wife she answers the phone and he tells her that his wife my wife's best friend passed away right in front of him that morning. He was of course devastated and disappeared for around three years, then recovered and wrote loving and passionate song about the loss of his true love which is on this Album.

Another song is about a guy who one day in a hospital lost his only child in miscarriage and him and his wife were told they could never have children and wrote a song inspired from the loss and the act and power of kindness and the Holy Spirit.

Another song was written shortly after the invasion of The Iraq War while watching CNN and Secretary Rice explaining the political reasons for going to War contrasted with the heroism of our Soldiers but the darkness of our politicians who sometimes use military to benefit financially.

Another song about a seventeen year old girl who ventures to Venezuela to get and take back to the States her true love or about when she was bullied in High School and how she more than coped but amazingly grew stronger.

A song about walking into an office one morning to find out minutes later you're walking out the door jobless with kids to feed. An original blues idea of a blues song with a feel good message and beat how cool is that!!

An acoustic rock song about the endless era's of Sex Drugs and Rock n Roll and those priceless musicians we all miss Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley, and many more who did not know the limits of when to have fun and when to know better, this song has a tribute video you will like for sure!!

These are a handful of the songs on this Album so how can you not purchase this Album to discover and match songs to the episodes and how they were expressed through the passion of music. Truly great songs are written from life's experiences that stain or glow our souls in such a way our feelings must be released to the audio waves we call music, but are really therapy for our hearts, body and soul.

Here below is an historical look at how studio came about and 1st album 

Hello name is Erik Mackey founder of IOU ARTS. Let me give you a quick history on how the music studio and this album came about. Graduated from MSU around mid eighties and was working in the Cable TV industry and doing photography, weddings, portraits, fine arts, the typical stuff. Was getting somewhat bored. So somehow that voice came to me. We all know the “Voice” but most times can’t or won’t put a name to it. Anyway the “Voice” said go get yourself a guitar, learn how to play, write some songs and record a cd. The next day went to Elderly Instruments in Lansing Michigan. There where what seemed like a thousand guitars hanging. Looked across the room and saw a white and red guitar that I thought looked cool. Sat down and strummed it. Of course not knowing anything about how guitars should play decided it looked cool, so let’s buy it. Put guitar up on counter gave them the couple hundred dollars asking price and walked out with antique 1964 Fender Mustang that is worth well over a thousand dollars today and has been a favorite guitar in studio ever since, in reality not the recommended manner in which to purchase a guitar. A little more research might be recommended.

Well to make a long story long ended up taking some lesson’s from a guy named Denis Bach, could not have found a better guitar teacher. Later after learning a few basic chords signed up for a song writing class at Lansing Community College, of course ended up writing a few songs for the class. Short time later ended up buying a used reel to reel recorder. Thus the very first recording session I had my brother, Stefan and his wife, Susan over. Susan went to Eastman Kodak, school of music, very renowned and graduated from MSU with Masters in music. To say the stuff we recorded was inventive would be a huge understatement. But the rush of playing music from deep within then playing it back was an absolute thrill and I was hooked.

We then started to record basically heavy metal Album were half way finished one night I ask hey where's the vocalist? "oh hey he said he couldn't make it anymore he has decided he's going door to door letting people know that our government is adding chemicals to our water system to alter our minds well that was the end of the Heavy Metal album era. Next effort more Country Rock half way done when tragically lead vocalist wife passes away from brain Tumor.

Well flash forward some twenty plus years and several different recording gizmos later and were just now finishing that album from so long ago. However I forgot to mention the “Voice” also said “You must not do this album alone. You must have others contribute and their contribution will be the real lesson” Well no truer words or should I say voices were ever spoken!

So drum roll please! Now let me introduce to you the Iconic, charismatic, epic, well I could go on and on but basically unbelievably great individuals who have made this album possible. But before I introduce them just let me say that the stories, events, crisis, joys, and laughs had by this group of musicians in the process of making this album I’m presently writing a screenplay because it warrants being seen to be believed and life lesson’s learned. I will of course not being using actual names or character’s because I do not believe in exploiting actual people’s lives.

So when I said long story long this is just how this album was started you will have to go see the movie to see the rest of the story behind the full making of the album. However you can be one of the first to buy the Album and feel the exhilaration of donating to all the struggling musicians everywhere and relieve your guilt of all the Album you have downloaded/stolen from the internet.