Basement Floor
Basement Floor is a Baltimore rock band that was active from the 1970s through the early 2000s, touring up and down the east coast, and selling thousands of records. Basement Floor is not playing live anymore, but we are in the process of remixing and finishing dozens of songs we did over the last 30 years, songs that were never released. Now we’re finishing them and making them available.
BASEMENT FLOOR GREATEST HITS ALBUM
Volume 1 is now available for the first time ever on CD! The remix of the album was released May 16, 2008! The album includes 2 songs that were recorded during the August 1982 to May 1983 sessions that were never issued. After weeks of baking we were finally able to successfully transfer the original 8 track master tapes to 24 bit digital files. After the transfers we remixed the old demos that comprised the first Basement Floor album – originally released on vinyl & cassette tape back in December, 1983 on Eastern Records.
The album was titled “Basement Floor Greatest Hits”. Most of the songs on the original album were suppose to be on the ill-fated Atlantic Records project “We’ve Got You Covered” but the deal went bad. It was a 5 year, 5 album deal so by the time 1983 rolled around we should have been on our 4th album – so as a joke we titled the album “Greatest Hits. After 4 years of constant writing we surely had enough songs to compile a greatest hits collection. We thought the songs on the album were good but not necessarily our best or greatest songs…:~)
It was all tongue-in-cheek for the sake of making light of our recent business troubles.
There are many more unreleased songs that were recorded during the late 70s through the late 80s that still need to be mixed. We are hoping to do this over the next few years so we can make these songs available as well.
Check out my interview with Derrick Miller of Hardrock Haven. It was a lot of fun – gave me a chance to remember some of the fun with Basement Floor. Click here to hear the interview.
The first Basement Floor album, BASEMENT FLOOR GREATEST HITS Volume One is available on CD. CDs are in stock and ready to ship. Click here for more information. Also available for down load at iTunes.com.
Some information about the BFGH re-issue.
The original tapes were in bad shape having been sitting in the boxes for over 20 years – they became sticky and simply would not play. I baked the tapes over a few week period & after many edits & splices I was able to get a near perfect transfer!
The original masters are 8-track tapes so some of the instruments share tracks. On some of the songs the drums were recorded to one track so the balance between kick, snare & cymbals could not be changed. Other than that I think the remixes went well – I was able to clean some stuff up through the wonders of digital audio. I was also able to bring out some instruments that were lost in the original mixes – on the original vinyl release.
The CD re-issue contains session notes as well as a few bonus tracks not available before. While searching the archives I found dozens of songs that were recorded by Basement Floor during the early to mid-80s. Most of these songs were never released. Many of these recordings were demos but the quality is pretty good & we plan on making the music available in some form in the future.
Check out the Hardrock Haven interview with Tim by Derric Miller. For interview: Click Here.
All new digital remixes & digitally remastered from the original 8-track master recordings.
Empire
EMPIRE is not playing live any more, but we still work on music project together. Johnny recorded several guitar tracks on a few new Miskimon Brothers songs that will appear on a new Rock album to be released in late 2024 or early 2025. Over the years, EMPIRE sold thousands of rock music records in the U.S. as well as Germany and the Netherlands.
Some Notes from Tim, Mark & Johnny.
We would like to thank everyone listed below for their kind words, hard work, & support of independent, original rock & roll. Please support them and check out their websites, magazines, & radio stations!
HARD ROCK HAVEN.NET – KANSAS
HARK ROCK HAVEN LIVE INTERVIEW with TIM
BURN MAGAZINE – UK
CAT HOUSE – ITALY
ROCK REPORT – BELGIUM
STRUTTER MAGAZINE – NETHERLANDS
STRUTTER MAGAZINE – HOLLAND
MEGA METAL – USA
ROCK UNITED – CANADA
HEAVY MUSIC PORTAL – ITALY
Empire BIO
EMPIRE delivers emotional, popular sounding, yet uncompromising rock music. Hailing from Baltimore, Maryland, USA, the band is comprised of Tim Miskimon (principal songwriter, lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Mark Miskimon (co-writer, alternate lead and backup vocals, drums), and Johnny Blade (lead and backing vocals, and guitar). Together they form a dedicated team of musicians focused on presenting their own style of music that is rich in vocal harmonies, aggressive guitar riffs, melodic bass lines, and powerful drumming. Inspired by the best elements of rock music, both old and new, EMPIRE’S material is demanding and distinctive.
Founded by brothers Tim and Mark Miskimon, EMPIRE, (originally named Basement Floor) was a top rated East Coast act for over fifteen years. They’ve played thousands of clubs, concert halls, colleges, and outdoor arenas and opened for national acts throughout the United States. Their independently released debut CD “Driven By Rock” received major AOR airplay in several East Coast markets and has sold thousands of copies. EMPIRE has received considerable press, radio, and TV exposure, as well as winning numerous Battle of the Bands competitions.
Tim and Mark began in music very young, creating and singing melodies. They learned to play different instruments proficiently. They were encouraged by their parents who started them out with an electric guitar and an organ, respectively. Southpaw Tim was given a right-handed guitar and to this day plays right-handed guitars upside down. Mark very quickly traded in the organ for a set of drums. Their musical influences include The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bon Jovi to name just a few.
Tim is prolific as the principal songwriter for EMPIRE, having catalogued at least 900 songs. Attracted to music with a strong melodic content, Tim says his influences range “from metal to country, blues to classical, and anything in between as long as the melody’s there.”
Mark’s steady, aggressive drumming gives EMPIRE’S songs a spirited consistency. Together with Tim, he’s co-written and/or played on commercials and jingles for Pepsi, the American Red Cross, various cable TV programs, and news and sports themes for television and radio.
Mark and Tim are always working with one another, interchanging parts on different projects in their multi-track studio. Their instrumental and production contributions include country albums “Home For Me” by Lynn Smith, “Just Listen” by Bruce Houck, “Shut Up And Go” by Gatewood & Witte, rock CDs by Space Band, The Mirrors, The Melvin, Thee Katatonix, & Mike Parr, gospel CDs by Nacoe Brown, Carol D’Antoni, an R&B CD by Gaynell Colburn (percussionist for Stevie Wonder), a reggae CD by Soldgie (Rebel With A Cause), and three smooth Jazz CDs by Cabo Frio.
In addition to their work with EMPIRE Tim and Mark have released several other recordings including their first solo project titled “Sons of Riley”. The Sons of Riley CD, released in July, 2002 is chock full of AOR which received heavy airplay in several major markets around the East Coast of the USA throughout 2003.
Johnny Blade has been a stalwart of the local rock music scene in Maryland for the last 12 years. He played in several local cover bands in the early 1990s including acting as front man for his own band, “Blade Runner”. Johnny joined up with Tim and Mark in September 1994. His main musical influences are Kiss, The Beatles, Ozzie Osborne, Randy Rhodes, and Steve Vai. His arrival gave an aggressive edge to an already lively and polished band. His musical skills have helped EMPIRE carry on the tradition of excellence they have achieved for over 15 years.
The long awaited 2nd album by EMPIRE was released on July 2, 2004 by Perris Records of Houston, Texas USA. The album received great reviews in the USA as well as in many countries in Europe.
Our songs are available for down load around the world at Amazon, Itunes, Spodify, YouTube, etc.
PLEASE SUPPORT US BY DOWN LOADING & BUYING OUR MUSIC THROUGH LEGAL VENDORS – OTHERWISE WE EARN NO MONEY AND CAN’T CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR ART!
Miskimon Brothers
Now we’ve come full cirle, back to where the music began all those years ago. Even before there was a Basement Floor Band Tim & Mark were writing and recording new song ideas.
Finally the Miskimon Brothers released their long awaited album Shenandoah Sunrise, chock full of classic country, easy listening Rock, with a touch of Americana.
Basement Floor Productions
Musician and record producer Tim Miskimon is the heart and soul behind Basement Floor Productions. Tim has been in the music industry for more than 30 years, and is a talented instrumentalist, playing 12 instruments. Tim is also a professional songwriter and has written songs for bands, jingles for radio and TV, and more.
Sons of Riley
THE HISTORY
Sons Of Riley started out as a solo project featuring songs recorded by Tim & Mark during 2001 & 2002. This was during the time when Tim & Mark were not performing live other then a few reunion shows with the Basement Floor band.
After a Basement Floor show in July, 2001, Tim & Mark along with lead guitarist John Derry decided to record a new BF album. They were in need of a bassist since long time BF bass player Elmer Oechsler decided not to carry things forward beyond the live reunion show. They employed John’s brother-in-law Harry Jackson to play bass. By this time Tim & Mark had over 20 new songs in the can. As Basement Floor Tim, Mark, John, & Harry recorded 7 new songs & it was during this time that they decided to change the bands name to Sons Of Riley.
The seven new BF recordings along with six of Tim & Mark’s solo recordings were joined together and that is what became the Sons Of Riley CD. The CD is basically a solo project by Tim & Mark along with a few songs written by John & Harry.
In the fall of 2003 John & Harry decided that they didn’t want to continue performing live so everyone went their seperate ways. It was right around this time that Tim & Mark along with Johnny Blade returned to the studio to record a new Empire CD. Empire signed a record deal in May, 2004 with Perris Records and released the new CD titled LEECHES in July, 2004. (Click for more EMPIRE News).
The Sons Of Riley CD has received great reviews both in the USA as well as in Europe – so if you would like to pick up a copy before they are all gone now would be the time to click on one of the links below.