Knights of the Mystic Eye

This is the band that actually got back together (No, seriously) – after 50 years! - and the saga of the Knights of the Mystic Eye is as long and storied as any secret society: 

The band’s lineage dates back to the 1960s when Mike and Paul first played together as teenagers, in the psychedelic blues rock band,  The Tour. 

The late Nash the Slash (Jeff Plewman) joined the band, adding electric violin, and they quickly evolved into a progressive rock band, Breathless. 

By 1972, life happened and Paul was accepted to medical school and had to leave the band, he still played guitar daily and he would eventually become one of the most renowned transplant surgeons in Canada. A year later, Nash also left Breathless to form Canadian progressive rock group, FM (of Black Noise fame). 

As the band’s line-up shifted, Mike worked at a record store during the day, and made time to jam with his band. He also started to branch out creatively, collaborating with Nash and FM, producing, writing songs and designing their album art. 

By the late 70s Mike began recording his first album (as his money allowed) playing most of the instruments himself.               Mike Waite and Eyes- Cosmic Wave was released in 1981 and included the single “Me and the Silver Surfer”. 

In 1983, Mike (who had been working continuously in record stores since 1969) bought his first store - a Sam the Record Man franchise in Mississauga. He later moved to the Danforth and changed the name to Mike’s Music. 

In 1983 Mike produced and played on an album for Nash The Slash (American Bandages) and later in the ‘80s produced two albums for his band FM, Con-Test and Tonight, featuring the singles “Just Like You” and “Dream Girl”.  By the mid 90s the retail record business became really tough and keeping his store from going under took up all of Mike’s time. Making music had to wait. 

Into the 21st century, Mike started obsessively practicing guitar and his old friend Paul, who was playing with a Transplant-Doctors’ based band, The Marginal Donors, talked him into making time to get together and jam. Regular rehearsals became rigorous; Mike began song writing again; and as a two-man psychedelic blues rock band (a la Black Keys and White Stripes) they became Knights of the Mystic Eye and were ready to play live shows - then the pandemic shut everything down. 

The pair decided to make the best of their newly found spare time and working with Engineer River Radcliffe, they quickly recorded 3 relevant songs: No Fault Blues, Everything You’ve Heard About Us (Is True) and a cover of the Beatles’ Come Together, and in October 2020, released them on BandCamp, Spotify and most other streaming services. 

After some encouraging feedback and with another COVID shutdown they decided to take their time and make a full album (as an introduction and showcase to possibly get some gigs!  That’s how COSMIC TOP SECRET came to be – In December 2021, Knights of the Mystic Eye self-released their album on CD, having actually gotten the band back together after 50 years