Biography
The road that has led Kurt Michaels to the creation of "Inner Worlds, Part One" has been a long and winding one; a circuitous route that has taken him through a thousand one-night stands.
Inspired (as a child) by a baby sitter who reminded him of Happy Days' Fonzie, Kurt would sit through makeshift concerts in lieu of bedtime. Later, fueled with a stack of 45's and a transistor radio, Kurt became immersed in the Top 40 hit makers of the early sixties: Chuck Berry, Spencer Davis and Otis Day, to name a few. When the Beatles came to America, Michaels' destiny became irrevocably cast to a future involving music.
Michaels' thirty-five year musical career has allowed him to share the stage with many of his jukebox heroes, including Berry, Davis, and Day, not to mention Wolfman Jack, Badfinger, Bobby Vinton, the Marvelletes, and the Chiffons. "[It] was a surreal, cartoonish experience, like scenes out of some Fellini movie. But in the end, what I got out of the experience was just that; out." "Out" meaning the development of a harmonic palette that unabashedly defies conventional parameters.
Though Michaels would at one point turn his back on his first love to pursue what some would consider a "more practical lifestyle," he would eventually return.
The gift this prodigal son offers is "Inner Worlds, Part One." And what a gift it is.
Described as "Olias of Sunhillow meets The Prisoner," Michaels provides a roller coaster of sensory delight, ranging from audio adrenaline to the strangely sublime. Michaels refers to his creation as "music by accident".
In creating this CD, Michaels tapped into a muse that in turn tore into his brain with a vengeance. He built a laboratory of sound within his Chicago-based headquarters and set himself loose upon it.
Michaels describes his venture into "Inner Worlds Part One" as a "schizophrenic mess that turned into a happy accident".
One track, "The Village," is a quantum visit to the Orwellian realm of the sixties controversial hit television series, "The Prisoner," where a British Secret Service Agent is incarcerated in a nightmarish psychedelic detention center. Michaels captures the flavor of the show and brings it into the now with flourish.
"The closest thing I can compare ["Inner Worlds, Part One"] to is something like Revolution 9 or Tomorrow Never Knows - you know, the phase when the Beatles were experimenting with the technology of the time, creating a collage of sounds and looping them together. "
When asked about his philosophy of "music by accident," he simply responds with the flippant aphorism: "[Music} is a force of nature - and if you are a musician, you are compelled to serve it."
"Outer Worlds--Part Two" is the follow up release to Kurt Michaels' critically acclaimed debut CD, "Inner Worlds--Part One". Unlike the first CD, a solo ambient/electronic effort, created in his home-based studio and dominated by synthesizer playing and programming skills, "Outer Worlds --Part Two" is a compilation of live recordings archived from shows played during 2004-06 and featuring Michaels' .dreamlike "fourth dimensional" guitar playing in an atmospheric electronic setting.
"Inner Worlds was about learning how to express myself in a way so I could forget all the rules I'd learned in selling out my musical soul many years ago when I figured out how to get paid for doing it. I wasn't trying to make a hit. I was trying to create art...something original and intrinsically me, and I think I succeeded. A lot of people don't relate to it, but I have had enough people tell me some of the most wonderful, validating things, which has lit a fire in me that won't be going out anytime soon.
"Once you make a record, logic tells you to go out and play, so that you can promote it The problem with Inner Worlds was that it was not so much about my ability to play as it was my ability to program and work with these various software applications to create all that music. In order to recreate that music in a live setting, I’d need ten sets of hands. That just wasn't going happen. The kind of musicians I am accustomed to working with are used to getting paid an adult wage for their music--something that doesn't happen easily when you are trying to sell new and eclectic original music, particularly by a virtually unknown artist like me. So by working in "electronica," I really didn’t have to worry about organizing a band. I was able to take responsibility and do it myself, which was great, and quite common with this type of music. However, once it was done, I really had no desire to learn how to recreate the material I'd composed & recorded for Inner Worlds. This meant I was going to have to distill what I do, down to its very essence..... in real time....and actually playing an instrument. No way was I gonna go out and manipulate a mouse, twiddle knobs, buttons and faders and call that a performance. My mission was to find a way for me to be able to go out and play, do what I do, and most importantly, keep *myself* interested and motivated, and ‘in the moment.’
"It took me a year to figure out how to approach a live performance in the spirit of Inner Worlds. Since I didn't have the desire to recreate art I'd already done, I decided to take the opposite approach, and use live performances as an opportunity to let people experience me creating new music. In other words, the shows are completely improvised--something very common amongst ambient/electronic musicians. The only way I could do this live would be to revert back to the instrument I'm most facile with.....the guitar. That helped me to be more comfortable calling upon my lifetime of musical experiences and create something new in front of an audience. I spent a relatively small amount of money and retooled my FX processing to accommodate an approach somewhat akin to what Robert Fripp does with his solo Frippertronics gigs. Rather than simply interact with myself, I usually involve one other musician (a keyboardist), mostly Jim Gully, (although performances by John Melnick and Michael Cosentino are also featured on "Outer Worlds"). These excursions are not for everyone, but for me it was the most natural way to approach a live performance in the spirit of Inner Worlds. A lot of the music I immersed myself in while growing up, emphasized improvisation, particularly in live settings (Hendrix, Cream, Mahavishnu, Chick Corea, Miles Davis etc), so really this was a trip down a road I was already quite familiar with.
"Outer Worlds--Part Two" opens with a suite of music (Senor Wences, Lambchop & Chucky) culled from the string of 2006 shows that Michaels was selected as opening act for in support of The Syn ( www.synmusic.net ) on their first American tour. The Syn, for those who aren't familiar, are fronted by singer Steve Nardelli and bassist Chris Squire of the legendary progressive rock band Yes, who were joined on tour by drummer Alan White, also of Yes. For those shows, Michaels was accompanied by long-time friend and co-conspirator Jim Gully on keyboards. To perform for rabid Yes fans, and win them over, was a true "trial by fire," and not recommended for the faint of heart.
Track four is "Jade Princess," which this time features Pan Asian-tinged accompaniment from Jim Gully. Michael Cosentino’s EWI accompaniment highlights track five, "Hitch Hiker on Venus." Track six, entitled "One," is a 43-minute magnum opus collaboration with keyboardist John Melnick. The performances sparkle throughout, and frequently demonstrate outright clairvoyance in the performances captured on the cd.
"I am very fortunate to have musicians like these to perform with, and even more so to be able to count them as my friends." Michaels said.
All this bodes bright for the future and begs the question...indeed....what worlds will Michaels next excursions take us to?
Instrumentation
Kurt Michaels - guitar
Jim Gully - keyboards
Discography
Inner Worlds part one - Eitux Records released in 2003
The Second Attention - A.M.Y. cd (compilation)
Portals III - Progressive Music Society (compilation)
Outer Worlds - Umbrello Records released in 2007
all tracks from Inner Worlds and Outer Worlds are in rotation on AOL and Yahoo radio on progressive and ambient channels, as well as being played on over 50 land air and internet stations.
Links
| http://www.myspace.com/kurtmichaels1 |