Naresh Michael

Naresh is getting extensive radio play on KDVS and KYDS. He's played somewhere around two hundred shows on the West Coast. He recently performed for Africa MTV which averages about four billion European viewers. CBS13 News aired a spotlight story on his unique style which you can view in his videos. He also performed as a day player for the billion dollar Bollywood film Aij Kal and is working with Brazen Promotions for his national publicity campaign for hisl 2010 National Electro Tango Tour.

The appeal of tango is universal. Everybody finds tango music (not just the dance) to be fun, sexy and passionate. The tango is neither new in this entertainer’s native homeland of Sacramento, California, nor to Naresh Michael himself. After making his debut performance at age fourteen, Naresh has performed solo and with bands in clubs, theaters and restaurants throughout northern California. He has a growing fan base of all ages, from college students to seniors, who enjoy his theatrical stage performances and unique musical approach.

Explaining Naresh's history as a songwriter can't be done without mention of his uncle Michael Naumer who was one of his biggest influences. He introduced Naresh to both the Arican School and the musical instrument the chemnister or pre-bandoneon, a favorite for playing Latin tango. This antique and precious family heirloom that Naresh now plays was a gift, courtesy of his cousin Kurt Naumer. The instrument was first played by his uncle’s father, Helmut Naumer, born in Germany in 1907. In 1926, Helmut moved to the United States to experience the West that he had read about in novels of cowboy life. He brought the Bandoneon with him and settled in Santa Fe where pieces of his pastel works of art still hang in the Bandelier museum collections. It is with great honor and gratitude that Naresh now carries on the love for world Tango music having learned on the same instrument as his great uncle Helmut.

Today, the tango from South America now calls to him with hopes of future visits back to the roots of his beloved Arican School in Chile and further studies of tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The tracks on "Searching the Desert for Love Potions”, Naresh’s first seven-song demo, reflect tones of struggle and pain arising from a difficult period of Naresh’s life when he carried the grief of many losses all at once. Shortly after his uncle Naumer’s death, Naresh lost his job as a singer at a restaurant, his friend wrecked his car and his first serious relationship ended. In search of a more permanent nature within, Naresh moved to Mount Madonna, lived in a tent and undertook a vow of silence. During this time of deep introspection, he received his spiritual name “Naresh”--a special gift from the guru and founder of the commune. It is a sanskrit Indian name but Naresh is actually Cajun, his parents from Louisiana.

His hybrid of tango-hip hop never made Naresh a consistently welcomed performer everywhere. He was forced to evacuate the art gallery where he lived on J Street when it was shut down for having underground hip hop shows. He tried to be more careful about his choice of venues and sleeping arrangements but his next move to Santa Rosa placed him sleeping in a sound booth breathing in unsealed fiberglass board particles. Living sleepless nights at the recording studio/bachelor pad called the 440, Hip hop vocalists from the Bay Area would wake him to lay down tracks. Unfortunately the studio ended up being vandalized by crack-heads.

Despite his past challenges of appealing to two widely separated demographics of tango and hip hop fans, Naresh still strives to unify these diverse tastes affirming that the sex appeal and drama of tango is universal beyond borders. Writing originals that thoroughly mix the two styles for his debut album, Naresh draws influence from similar bands like the Gotan Project from France. Naresh’s live shows are theatrical, sophisticated and uplifting to watch.

Naresh works with accompaniment ranging from a pianist, strings, seven-piece band, up to a full orchestra or just singing to his own arrangements with guitar and bandoneon.

For more info on Naresh visit his other websites www.nareshmichael.com
www.reverbnation.com/nareshmichael

Or call the man himself 1-877-326-DIVO