Goin Home - © and ® 2013 Michael Searching Bear
Produced by Michael Searching Bear

I have two nominations for the 2017 Just Plain Folks music awards.
(This is the same music awards I won Best Native Album for Voice From Within back in the mid 2000's).
Nominations are for the songs Far Cry & Goin Home. Both are Native American Song Nominees.

Goin Home is an intimate yet strong solo work that does show an emotional side of Michael Searching Bear
we may not have seen with recent releases. Filled with catchy phrases & sonic emotional tracks. Michael fills the music
palette with Native American flutes as well as his strong percussion and drumming. Michael has returned home.

Reviews:

Even though you didn’t ask for it, I’d like to tell you my opinions of ‘Goin Home.’ Basically it’s a matter of my having to tell you. I have to share with you how much your work touched me. This is the best CD I’ve listened to in a very long time. I believe this is your best work. To me ‘Goin Home’ is a culmination of not just what’s happened recently in your life but also everything you’ve done as a musician and more. On display ‘Here’s who I am.’ Even better there’s a very strong feeling of ‘Wait until you see what I can do.’ And I like that idea a lot. Often when I listen to new music for awhile I end up with an ‘earwig,’ a musical phrase that’s caught in my brain and keeps reminding me of what I’ve heard and coming back for more. A wave from a friend I suppose is what you might call it. It’s very rare for me to get an earwig from hearing a piece once. Morning Aurora and After the Storm both affected me that way. Wonderful! With Morning Aurora you introduce the instruments gently in a deceptively simple piece of music. Simple at least until you relax and listen. There is a great deal going on and the nuances throughout the piece highlight themselves as only a ‘simple’ setting would allow. I didn’t have to work at understanding it but at the same time it wasn’t spoon fed. After the Storm has a familiarity that reminds me of songs I heard in the past. Just the flavors, the barest hint of the influences which may or may not have crossed your mind as you wrote. I like to think there’s a connection. For instance After the Storm reminded me a tiny bit of the old Eagles cut ‘Journey of the Sorcerer.’ I listened to the Eagle song again and there is nowhere near the elegance and maturity of After the Storm but still your piece reached into my past. Your song is fresh and alive and it's all your own. That’s an overall impression I have in your CD. Telling us of your journey and inviting us to remember parts of our own. You’ve created an intimacy as you invite us inside. Lost Nations made an incredibly powerful connection between your personal journey and that of Native Americans as a whole. In doing so it’s clear that the two are the same. As it should be. Ending as it began, completing the full circle. I admit it brought me to tears with the sweet sadness of your melody. Haunting. The Huntress forced me to experience her search for prey. Heart pounding energy restrained and disciplined, running through the forest quietly, aware of everything, every sight and sound and every silence. And of course the scent of the prey. I detected a bit of Ian Anderson’s style of flute here and it brought a smile. Again bringing the hint of an old memory of my own. Goin Home but not running away. And that is what I feel throughout. You're not running away. As with the rest of the CD you maintain your dignity in the face of all the trials you’ve faced. From the background voices adding a depth to the piece and again a hint within the introduction. The hint of Birthright by Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe, which was another look at a Native tribe but on a different continent. There is no question this piece is about a journey. It doesn’t ask for the participation of the listener it commands it. You can’t hear it and be unmoved. You’ve kept all of the magically ethereal qualities of your work and added an underlying accompaniment familiar to us. In so doing you showcased the ethereal presence even more. It’s no surprise that in general percussion and guitars can easily overwhelm an instrument like a flute, but you use these instruments in an understated way that creates a synergy, not a competition. You stand as you are, no armor to hide behind and no illusions of what has past. The pain and a sense of hope fills the CD. There’s a freshness and a sweetness and the amazing warmth you’ve brought with all of your music. You held up your heart for us to hear. Thank you. Bless you Michael. -Les Russell

Michael Searching Bear's newest release " Goin Home" is an amazing sonic adventure that captures the essence of music meeting pure magic. His multi instrumental talent shines in these 12 new pieces. Each one a carefully bejeweled kaleidescope inviting the listener to peer inside and take away a view for themselves. Though primarily a flute creator, player and percussionist, Michael picks up other instruments, masters them and uses them in his compositions as easily as an artist picks up spare brushes. His addition of sprinkled guitars through out and especially a gorgeous dulcimer in New Baktun rewards the listener with gorgeous road markers for the listening journey. Having a great ear for arranging, Michael seems to always know when to "stop" adding "more", the songs leave the right amount of space to let the listeners imagination soar along with the peaks and troughs. These are not just "songs", each piece is a stand alone work of art that can be plucked out of the group and held on its own for enjoyment like an intriguing piece of glasswork. Morning Aurora and After The Storm leave me with new impressions everytime I listen to them. For those listening to Michael's music for the first time one is met with elements of his Native American heritage carefully woven through. Michael never resorts to the cliche "New Age-y" gimmicks that permeates a lot of the "heritage" music on the market. You can feel his constant pushing of himself and the limits of sound color to stretch a broader canvas over himself and his listeners, constantly widening a door to invite the curious to follow along with his searching. This is a cd that you can let play in the background to surround yourself with the spell of tone changing moods or delve into like a great chamber work with the glory of all its layers. I find myself suprised by a beautiful choral line that gently bubbles up from a a mysterious backdrop or can feel my pulse connecting with a clay shaker that steadily rebounds off a soulful drum. If you are looking for that one Cd this year that rewards you with something new in every listening, this is it. Michael Searching Bear is not only a flutist and percussionist but a composer who is one of the few that understands that music is a journey to share with a listener. Get the Cd and wander along on a journey searching for the wonderous. -Kenneth Leonard

"This is your best cd yet. I'm in love with the entire thing. I don't know what my favorites are because they're all my favorites. An amazing piece of work. Congratulations!" -Rebecca Russell

"I think you show wonderful ability in style and in tone to really build up a nice soulful approach. Your music has a musical form that is very good. I love the intense special and gratifying listen here. You really sum up what you are all in the chorus in my view. the verses have great parts that are right on beat to me. You show wonderful creativity and style of great musical integraty here." -Reverbnation Crowd Review

"This has a kind of western feel to it, the introduction's really, really good I love it! I really think it sounds very intriguing and I like how long it is. The instruments used add to the western sound and it has a really soft, well constructed sound." -Reverbnation Crowd Review

"Love the song. Old classic which is stuck in your head after you have listened to it. The jingles at the start are really appropriate with the western themed back music. Would recommend to everyone!" -Reverbnation Crowd Review

"The beginning of the song makes me want me want to grab my yoga mat. I like the serenity of the instruments and sound. This is a de-stresser on a hectic day. It has a VERY calm feeling to it. The rythem is relaxing and has a strong sense of relaxing vibes to it. I would recommend this be released on a yoga based cd. It has calmed my soul. Very impressed. GREAT job!" -Reverbnation Crowd Review

"there`s a very solid connection in this osng. the music seems to resonate in this mix. a song that is candid and poetic. a beautifully arrange set. this is a song that is creative and brings out a style that is so attractive. a very light hearted song. has a multitude of divese sounds, an instrumental presence that is very strong" -Reverbnation Crowd Review

"Heart-touching! I loved the dark, yet gentle arrangement of these instrumentals. It immediately took me to the early 1900s and I found myself fantasizing about being with cowboys and Indians. Very captivating! This song tells an amazing story even without lyrics." -Reverbnation Crowd Review

"Was invited into this song with an interesting instrumental right from the start. Loved the addition of the wind flute, brought a Native sound into the mix which went up a notch with the drum beat and rattles. A very interactive and moving arrangement that needed no vocals for understanding. I enjoyed this very much and when the harmony sound happened, it drew me into its embrace even closer. All the elements arrived and soothed. The ending was fascinating in that it almost sounded like a voice telling the end of the story. Rich sound all the way through." -Reverbnation Crowd Review

"Very relaxing. I love the flute playing. Sounds like Indian music. The drumming is very prominent sounding. The slide guitar fits and blends well with the song giving it almost like a country song style in the mix. The over all production of the song is great!!" -Reverbnation Crowd Review

"I like this, nice introduction it has a western kind of feel, like spurs and cowboys. The guitar playing is well done. Has a gunsmoke feel and I like the tamborine I could hear this as the score behind a scene in a western where they are getting ready to have a shoot out. Very interesting and well done. Not sure about radio, but definitely a movie. I like the dimensiona elements and it is consistent." -Reverbnation Crowd Review

"This instrumental is captivating, hypnotizing and very alluring. It 's simple, but give off this relaxing-mystery feeling to it. The artist that made this is creative and concise. Knows what they wanted the instrumental to be like. A good varied instrumental that have great potential." -Reverbnation Crowd Review

"the western guitar introduction has a ominous yet powerful feel. the whole song has that ominous powerful feeling to it. it would make a great track for a movie. the Indian flute track really adds presence to the whole of the instrumental. its a very old western like song with some kick too it. the melodies are have a lot of feel to them. it would really make a great background track to a movie." -Reverbnation Crowd Review

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