As the remarkable John Fogerty once said, “You should
play with real musicians; the best music comes from real people
interacting with each other”. Fortunately, John Michaels
followed that sage advice, surrounding himself with outstanding
musicians his entire life. Fuse an alarming wit reminiscent
of the great Peter Sellers with the charm and smoldering sensuality
of James Coburn, add a feisty serving of virtuosity and you
might have a taste of what Chicago performer John Michaels is
all about. Don’t let that charisma and engaging persona
distract you. John Michaels is the connoisseur of ‘quirk’,
winding it around his pinkie finger and driving it home with
his vocal flair, plucky guitar and a penchant for storytelling.
John has carved a distinctive niche of his very own into an
avant-garde/folksy wall of sound for more than 25 years.
Without pretense, he delivers in a faintly Dylanesque style
with remarkable acuity and scope from blues to folk to rock,
nonpareil lyrics, thanks to the highly palpable chemistry with
collaborator Brian McMahon, primary architect of the extraordinary
prose on John’s latest CD, “A Legend In His Own
Mind”. John’s sojourn into music began at age 12,
on the northwest side of Chicago, when his mother, a singer
of Appalachian influence, supportive of his desire to develop
musicianship at a tender age, purchased a guitar, taught him
a couple of chords and the rest has been musical history in
the making!
With the solid experience of performing in a cover band from
his late teens throughout his twenties in “Mystery”,
his brainchild, when other pals were in college, John was touring
and having the time of his life entertaining audiences from
Indiana to Michigan, from Iowa to Wisconsin and Minnesota-covering
the songs of Pink Floyd; Blue Oyster Cult; Santana; Creedence
Clearwater Revival and The Stones. Following the ‘Mystery’
years, John formed a hip rock band, “Flipit”, graduating
to frontman and rhythm master. He soon discovered that he felt
most comfortable singing and strumming on his Taylor 810, amusing
and engaging audiences with his droll, sardonic wit, warmth
and an innate proficiency to make that intimate connection with
any crowd. A repertoire with over 40 songs, John’s influences
range from Sarah McLaughlin to John Fogerty, Paul Simon to John
Mayer. He masterfully transforms and rotates that combination
of lyrical imprinting with a cult status similar to Stan Ridgway,
gigging in Chicago venues such as “Uncommon Ground”;
“Rascals”; “Zone 46”; “The Note”
and “Wise Fools Pub”.
As a solo performer, John is a determined, dedicated artist
and entertainer, or as he so amusing phrases it, “Going
to hypnosis was the key. No matter what my state of mind is
now, if I strap on my guitar and even one person enters the
room, it triggers a highly entertaining personality to take
over, and I black out”! The music industry needs to take
note of this formidable indie artist, who is more than a legend
in his ‘own’ mind!
Bio by Lyric LaCeile vert.love@gmail.com
