Spring Break
Mission Man continues cancer fund-raising efforts
Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: Community
Since he was 13 he has been rapping a form of music that he said is most properly defined as "intelligent hip-hop." His first album came out in January 1997, he's working on his ninth and he has mainly frequented open mic nights in Oxford, Dayton and surrounding communities. He said he his performances have varied from empty establishments to crowds of more than 100 people. And he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon.
Mission Man's claim to fame is "Chillin' at the Papa," a song that highlights his employment at Papa John's in Oxford since 1998.
"People see me on the street and they don't know what else to say but, 'Chillin at the Papa,'" he said, laughing. "I'm like, I have 130 songs but, yes, I made that. I did write that song in five minutes."
And Mission Man said he typically does not sing on pizza deliveries-though he has on a few occasions-but he does pass out his demo CDs when the opportunities arise.
He said he always has demo CDs on him, calling them his "ID cards."
Over the years Mission Man has seen the dynamics of uptown nightlight change little, he said, however did point out that Miami has the potential to be a great music town-but it just isn't there yet.
"Oxford has the potential to have one of the best music scenes in the country, just based on concentration of people in a small area and I think the college students are open to that independent, independent-thought kind of music," he said. "But the bar owners don't want to take the risk, and they are business owners first and I understand that and it's frustrating for me as a musician. There are a whole lot of bands in Oxford that would turn out a decent crowd, but … if I brought out 50 people in a bar in Dayton they would love me, they would have me back every month. But here I've brought out 70 on a Tuesday but that wasn't good enough to have a weekly spot because 70 here on a weekend is nothing. If you've got 70 people in bar, like in a Brick Street, if they had 70 people there they would go out of business."
He's enthusiastic for his next mission, at Stadium Sports Bar and Grille's Battle of the Bands, scheduled for Oct. 17.
"I've been trying to make (music) my career for a long time," he said. "I want to do it on an independent level."
Mission Man's claim to fame is "Chillin' at the Papa," a song that highlights his employment at Papa John's in Oxford since 1998.
"People see me on the street and they don't know what else to say but, 'Chillin at the Papa,'" he said, laughing. "I'm like, I have 130 songs but, yes, I made that. I did write that song in five minutes."
And Mission Man said he typically does not sing on pizza deliveries-though he has on a few occasions-but he does pass out his demo CDs when the opportunities arise.
He said he always has demo CDs on him, calling them his "ID cards."
Over the years Mission Man has seen the dynamics of uptown nightlight change little, he said, however did point out that Miami has the potential to be a great music town-but it just isn't there yet.
"Oxford has the potential to have one of the best music scenes in the country, just based on concentration of people in a small area and I think the college students are open to that independent, independent-thought kind of music," he said. "But the bar owners don't want to take the risk, and they are business owners first and I understand that and it's frustrating for me as a musician. There are a whole lot of bands in Oxford that would turn out a decent crowd, but … if I brought out 50 people in a bar in Dayton they would love me, they would have me back every month. But here I've brought out 70 on a Tuesday but that wasn't good enough to have a weekly spot because 70 here on a weekend is nothing. If you've got 70 people in bar, like in a Brick Street, if they had 70 people there they would go out of business."
He's enthusiastic for his next mission, at Stadium Sports Bar and Grille's Battle of the Bands, scheduled for Oct. 17.
"I've been trying to make (music) my career for a long time," he said. "I want to do it on an independent level."
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Aaron Feldman
posted 10/03/07 @ 10:53 AM EST
While I went through a two week phase of playing MissionMan "beats" during my college career in Oxford, it is unfortunate that most of the listeners of Gary's music listen to it because they find it laughable and pathetic. (Continued…)
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