Mike Parrish Bio

MIKE PARRISH

“I’d rather find myself at 80-years-old sittin’ in a rockin’ chair, knowin’ that I tried, rather than wonderin’ how life might’ve been if only I had.” (Mike Parrish)

Emerging from the pump jack-speckled prairies and woodlands of Southeast Texas, Independent Country Music Artist Mike Parrish is nothing short of boastful of his heritage and proud of his Texas roots. The International Fame Games Radio Panel said, "Every now and then you get a band that seems poised to do something great. We think this is one of those bands."

When Mike was a kid you might’ve found him, on most any hot Summer day, walking the railroad tracks of the bedroom community of Hull, Texas with his lifelong friends Sammy Hundley or David Tidwell. Or you might have found him building a tree house while they dreamed aloud of their future exploits with a band they planned to call "Black Diamond." Often times, a stereo served as their amps, Mike's living room sofa was a makeshift stage and broom handles made perfect air guitars to the blaring music of bands like KISS, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Eagles and Led Zeppelin. They'd play those air guitars and leap from Mrs. Parrish's sofa just as they've finally leapt onto the European and Texas Country Music scene.

Life seemed to have simply gotten in the way of this childhood dream as Mike and Sammy grew up and moved away from their small home town but the dream somehow survived 30 years of perpetual motion. When fate landed Mike and Sammy back in Liberty County together, they picked up right where they'd left off almost as if there had never been any time or distance between them. Sammy was now an accomplished musician having performed all over the world while Mike had carved out a living as a

They didn't have a lot of great recording equipment in those days, in fact their studio consisted of only Sammy's Mac computer and the free GarageBand software that came with the machine. They recorded the 15 tracks that completed the “Texas in the Man” album, the title song built around the lyric, “It’s not about the man in Texas it’s the Texas in the man.” The album was released in September 2007 and by January 2008, Mike decided to retire from his law enforcement career and focus entirely on a life of making music. He had been elected Constable and had served in that unexpired position for two years when he made that decision. Sammy and Mike had been performing acoustic duo shows throughout the greater Houston area and the record was beginning to make some progress in European radio with a spattering of Texas and other U.S. stations airing tracks.

Texas Peace Officer having risen to the rank of Chief of Police twice in two separate Texas towns. This Parrish--Hundley reunion rekindled the fire that still smoldered within the dream and within their hearts, the dream of making music.

In June of 2006, in a beach cabin on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, Mike & Sammy recorded the first demo, “Runnin’ Outa Time” for Mike’s solo album, an album that would later be entitled “Texas in the Man.” This demo was Mike’s first choice because it spoke of the old railroad track that they’d often walked as boys and, since they were both now in their early forties, the title seemed so symbolic. While standing on that shore, Mike and Sammy knew that the time was now to record the album and fulfill a dream or their story would never be told. So they got busy.

By December 2009, the first 9 singles had made the European Country Music Association National Top 40 Charts a total of 24 times in 10 countries and the duo had been discussing the idea of recording a new record. The duo had had such a great time recording the initial solo album and, since they were seeing at least some success, a collaborative effort just seemed to be the next step. Both artists had a huge arsenal of material, both old and new, in their collection of original writings so their was no question as to what they would record, they just had to find the time to get back into the studio and lay the tracks.

Mike had already recorded "Back to You" and was working on the recordings for "Black Gold" and "When Angels Cry" when the pair committed to the first Parrish-Hundley project. Just to make sure their friends and fans remained interested in their work, Mike began releasing the singles to European radio while the duo was busy recording the new tunes for the duo album. Even though they had tentatively agreed to title the duo album "Black Gold," largely due to the great respect, love and admiration they have for their fathers (both of whom had raised their families in the oilfields of Southeast Texas, Mike had written a song entitled "Southbound Train" which featured both singers. The more they thought about it, the more "Southbound Train" seemed to be a better title for the new album because it reflected fond memories of the railroad tracks that brought them together as children and since the recording featured vocals from both artists it was naturally the perfect title for the record. Texas Country Music fans will still find traces of the Parrish-Hundley album being referred to as "Black Gold" even though an album with that title was never released.

The "Southbound Train" album showcases 13 songs and features names like Frank Debretti (Lead Guitar Player who has toured and recorded with Blake Shelton, Mindy McCready, SheDaisey, Duran Duran, Seal & more), Kurt Baumer (Fiddle player on tour with Lone Star for five years) and Roly Platt (Canadian Harmonica player featured on the album's title track) along with Alan Dossett on drums & percussion (Alan can be heard on the "Texas in the Man" album also).

Mike released "Call Me Billy the Kid," a Southern Rocker, while Southbound Train was in mixdown. All four of these tracks made the European Country Music Association National Top 40 Charts just as 9 of the "Texas in the Man" tracks had done before. By March of 2011, Mike Parrish solo tracks and collaborative Parrish-Hundley tracks had seen the European National Top 40 Charts a total of 30 times in 11 countries. Southbound Train is expected to be released very soon and the boys have already begun working on two more records, both solo productions, with talk of recording a Christmas album.

You might say that, while Sammy is no stranger to the music business and he's certainly paid his dues, Mike is a relative newcomer. However, the two have garnered several international awards since they've teamed up. In 2008, shortly after the release of "Texas in the Man," Mike was awarded the 2008 International Fame Games Radio Effigy Award for Most Popular Artist. In 2009, both Sammy and Mike won International Fame Games Radio Effigy Awards for Best Blues Rock Artist and Best Acoustic Artist. Also, in 2009, "Texas in the Man" & "Blue Jean Baby" were included in the soundtrack of Firestorm Pictures thriller "Apparition" starring Natalie Bolton of television's "Survivor" series. In 2010, the Parrish-Hundley won a nomination by the Academy of Texas Music and the Texas Music Awards as one of the Top 5 Best Live Texas Bands of the Year.

Mike returned to law enforcement in 2009, serving once again as a small town police chief, but still enjoys recording original music and performing live as an acoustic duo or with the Parrish-Hundley Band. Be sure to keep your eye on these two because you simply haven't heard the last of them yet . . . . not even close.