Michael was first inspired to play music in high school after he saw an underground rock band called Wild Kingdom in Milwaukee, WI. Influenced by Wild Kingdom's mixture of funk and rock, Michael developed a love of playing music in the style of Jane's Addiction, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Parliament, James Brown and Sly and the Family Stone. His Junior year of high school, he joined his first band. The band quickly became a local hit in Milwaukee and at the University of Wisconsin. He traveled around the midwest playing to regional followings at clubs, colleges and festivals. He opened for George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars, The Violent Femmes, and Smashmouth. He cowrote music for shows aired on Showtime and NBC. Upon graduation, Mike began traveling playing music more extensively eventually leading to a tour out to the East Coast including New York City. He was amazed by the energy in NYC's music scene, and eventually relocated to New York. While living in New York, Mike has had the opportunity to work with musicians from the Sony Music label, musicians from Julliard, and other great players from diverse backgrounds. He has had the opportunity to perform abroad in Italy and the Caribbean. Mike continues to be influenced by other artists. The music he plays and produces is singer-songwriter based with funk and blues rhythms. He is inspired by the song-writing of Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, John Mayer, and Bob Dylan. He is influenced by the guitar playing of Hendrix, B.B. King, Adrian Belew, Frank Zappa, The Edge, SRV, and Clapton. He performs and records on custom guitars built by his father, a retired civil engineer.

SKILLS
Advanced jazz, classical, pop, blues and midi guitarist: Teacher of guitar beginner up to professional level: Music engineer and producer including film scoring: Vocalist and bandleader: Intermediate bass, trombone and keyboard player: Teacher of all band, orchestral and fretted string instruments beginner up to college level: Teacher of classroom band, orchestra, general music, jazz ensemble and related subjects: Music copyist, transcriber and arranger: Web designer using HTML and Flash.

EDUCATION
Master's of Music, guitar performance with a technology emphasis, New York University, New York, NY 2004
Bachelor's of Music Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison, WI 1997

SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS
Graduate Education Scholarship, New York University, New York, NY 2003-2004
Ascap Plus Award, 2004, 2005, 2006

COLLEGE TEACHING POSITIONS
New York University, Adjunct Faculty, New York, NY 2003-2004
Beloit College, Adjunct Faculty, Beloit, WI 1998-2003
Edgewood College, Adjunct Faculty, Madison, WI 2001-2003

COURSES TAUGHT
Group and individual guitar, piano, bass, banjo, trombone, trumpet, saxophone, trombone lessons (age 4 - adult)