MIKESTARLING.COM
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THUNDERBIRD is the very first collection of guitar-based instrumental music by the Wisconsin-based composer-producer Mike Starling.

"The sound is definitely rootsy and homey, giving the tape an unfinished, spare quality, which works in its favor," wrote Ted Johnson in his review for LAX magazine. "A note on the tape cover says this is 'late-night listening music.' To me it sounds like the background music for some rustic weirded-out documentary; jangly and melodic but funky at unexpected moments."
Originally released on cassette in 1992, THUNDERBIRD: THE UNDERDUBS VOL. 1 is the first release in Starling's 4-Track Cassette Reclamation Project series launched in 2023. It's an early example of the "lo-fi" DIY music aesthetic, with the performer and his six-string at the recording controls adding occasional touches of bass, keys, harmonica, homemade hand percussion and vintage  drum machine loops to these 16 concise guitar improvisations:

  • ​Ocho
  • Stopped Dead in My Tracks
  • Outside My Window
  • Candy Gets the Root
  • Rutabaga Breakdown
  • All the Wrong Spaces/Swampwater
  • A Fistful of Lasagna
  • Annie's Fanny
  • Wilbur's Groove 
  • Learning to Solder 
  • Drowned 
  • G-Man Blues 
  • Radio Badlands 
  • Bassically 
  • Corn on Yer Cob 
  • Up Nort 

For a full list of music credits, tap any of the song titles above.
HEAR FULL ALBUM
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Mike Starling's original music is heard on numerous recordings and soundtracks, and his stories and photos have been featured in books, films, mags and other media.
MORE BACKSTORY
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This is the Thunderbird music project page on the official website of the writer, artist and musician Mike Starling. Thunderbid album cover photography/design by Starling. Music composed, performed, recorded and mixed by Starling in The Attic at 908 Vine, La Crosse, Wisconsin USA. Published by Bean Hoy Music (BMI). Website developed and managed by Nine Volt Media. ©MMXX-MMXXIV. All rights reserved.
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    • Hoodoo Mystery Box
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  • HOME
  • MUSIC
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • NEWS
  • PROJECTS
    • Hoodoo Mystery Box
    • Don't Read Between the Lines
    • The Backwaters Album
    • The City at Night
    • The Sons of Distortion
    • Cool Music for a Big Dumb World
    • 50-Cent Millionaire
    • Thunderbird: The Underdubs Vol. 1
    • The Noise Museum
    • Quiescence
    • I Remember Travel