Michael

For those who love guitar

A self professed music junky, Michael first picked up the guitar when he was eleven years old. Within a week he had written his first song, the infamous “Through The Marshes”. With the solid success of a poorly written song behind him, he nestled into his basement couch for hours on end to hone his skills. His fingers blistered, then bled, then were taped up, and then bled some more. The couch developed a permanent butt imprint. But the perseverance paid off. Before Michael knew it he was playing parties in basements, Churches, Jr. High Schools and then Universities. At nineteen he was playing before three thousand people at the inaugural Molson Park Summerfest in Barrie, Ontario.

Things progressed well and Michael headed into Nimbus Nine recording studio, home of Alice Cooper and The Guess Who. Michael was one of the last to record at the studio before it closed. After the masters were completed Michael was creating a lot of interest from major music labels.

Then his career and life took an unexpected turn. A former band member armed with guns, not happy that Michael was seeing his ex-girlfriend, broke into his home and held him hostage for several hours. The S.W.A.T. team was called in and the gunman was killed. There was a long legal police inquiry into the incident and the entire ordeal completely de-railed Michael for a few years. When he finally climbed back on his feet, he was diagnosed with cancer. After that, Michael gave up on music and put his time into business, which he was very successful in.

But once again fate intervened. One day, Michael’s daughter Sophie told him that she wanted to learn to play guitar. Michael said, “No, it will ruin your life”. She relentlessly pestered him until he finally caved in and showed her a few things. She continued to learn on her own, and wouldn’t you know it, the kid was actually good, really good. Some might even say she has a phenomenal talent for playing guitar. Her love of playing the guitar and passion for all types of music became contagious. She saved Michael from a dreary existence without music and made him realize how much he loves it and missed it. Now father and daughter lead guitarists perform together whenever they can. Michael’s love of every form of music, and perhaps long hiatus, has lead to an explosion of creativity. He is currently finishing his cd “ I Believe in America” as well as writing and recording for several other projects.