Missy Higgins (Rock/Pop > Adult Alternative) - Favorite tracks: Sugarcane, Secret, Warm Whispers. Her big hit is Where I Stood.

Brad Passon (Rock/Pop > Pop) - Favorite track: My Last Name

Thriving Ivory (Rock/Pop > Adult Alternative) - Favorite tracks: Angels On The Moon (with video)

Great sites to find new music: Rhapsody, Ilike

Steve, Cindy, Melissa and Shawn at the Ronald McDonald House Red Tie Gala in downtown Cincinnati on Nov. 9, 2008.

My firm, Schiff, Kreidler-Shell, was a Bronze sponsor of the 2008 Ronald McDonald House Red Tie Gala at the Hyatt Regency downtown Cincinnati. I had the honor of representing our agency. Melissa and I took some of our best friends, Steve & Cindy, and we spent the evening with some of our agency clients.

Melissa and I agree that it was simply the best charity event we have ever attended. It was all class and tons of fun. Great food, spectacular band, and a bunch of great Cincinnati movers and shakers with charitable hearts. The House does such amazing and meaningful work for children and their families. Some of the people that have benefited from The House spoke to the crowd of over 500 and it really touched our hearts.

The live and silent auctions featured some of the most incredible adventures and items that I’ve ever seen. Some of the highlights for me: A day at the Porsche Driving School; 7 Days in an luxury vacation home in Sanibel Island; private flight to Chicago for a day of shopping on the Magnificent Mile. Someone donated a fur coat that generated over $9,000. The neatest thing is that the live auction began with people “bidding” to simply fund days, weeks, and even months for families in need…and the bidders receive nothing in return. I bid as high as could on the Chicago experience, but dropped out at the second to last bid.

Flickr pictures from the event

If you are looking for a cause, I strongly encourage you to take a look at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati and consider donating your time and money for a strong, trustworthy, and high-impact group.

Update: As of October 24th Rock ‘n Roll Road Trip is ranked #308 out of 846 entries. Thanks for your support. Vote now.

My good friend and fellow band member, Dan Snow, recently wrote a new tune called Rock ‘n Roll Road Trip. We all got together in Rob’s basement one afternoon and quickly put together some guitar and drums using Dan’s arrangement. Rob does some impressive, unrehearsed guitar work and I struggle through the lead vocals with a simple rock beat on the kit.

Dan captures the quintessential summertime road trip in this top-down, radio up rocker.

We’ve entered the tune on OurStage.com. You can vote for our tune and find some great unknown and unsigned artists.

Original lyrics and arrangement by Dan Snow. Copyright 2008.

Melissa and Shawn McCabe in their kitchen September 2008

Most who know me also know that I’m kind of a web geek. Being online is not my career (even though my wife might disagree), but it’s definitely a hobby and I even stretched my interest of all things digital into a side business. I’m not a gamer. I’m not a big eBay, celebrity gossip or online poker kind of guy…I’m just a web junky in general. I constantly read business and finance news online (yeah, I’m more of a total geek I guess). I also get a kick out of all the funny YouTube videos just like everyone else. I love music and there is no better place than the series of tubes invented by Al Gore to find new artists and tunes. Despite what you extroverts might say, the web is increasingly a great “place” to keep up with friends and business connections. I’m sort of a social networking-aholic when it comes to that.

I’ve just launched a new personal website at http://www.michaelshawnmccabe.com to serve as a hub for all of the aforementioned web goodness. My plan is to use the site to vent like one would with a journal, network to make more friends, play with new web marketing ideas and, most importantly, make money. Most who know me also know that I’m also a money junky. One of my best friends once replied to the question “Do you collect anything?” with the simple and fitting answer, “Money.” I not only aspire to be that quick in daily conversation, but I’ve also started the same exotic collection. So I recommend; do something you enjoy and make money while you do it.