Michael Lee Firkins
Encyclopedia
Michael Lee Firkins is an electric guitar
player whose sound fuses bluegrass
, country, blues, and jazz elements into his distorted rock sound. He is noted amongst guitarists for his prolific use of hybrid picking
at high speeds.
Firkins was born in 1967, in Omaha, Nebraska
, to musician parents; his father was a lap steel guitar
ist and his mother a pianist. He started playing acoustic guitar at age eight. Though mostly self taught, he also took lessons at a local Omaha music store. Learning the songs of the times, Michael was heavily influenced by the guitar stylings of Lynyrd Skynyrd
, Led Zeppelin
, AC/DC
, and Black Sabbath
.
By 1979, Michael had a Gibson SG
and a Fender Princeton Reverb. Now wielding an electrified tone, he played in local bands and in church from the age of 12 until 18. In 1985, Michael started touring the country in cover band
s. Unsatisfied with only playing other artists' songs, he eventually went back to Omaha and began teaching guitar.
For the next few years, Michael's musical influences were expanding. Virtuosos like Jerry Reed
, Chet Atkins
, Albert Lee
and Danny Gatton
were among the list of new favorites. As Michael continued to enhance his chops, he recorded a five-song demo of instrumental guitar tunes that showcased his guitar playing. The demo was sent to Shrapnel Records
, resulting in a record contract and subsequent release of his first album.
In 1990, Michael released his self-titled debut album. This release showcased Michael's encyclopedic knowledge of bluegrass and country licks. With the strength of this album and the help of an international advertising campaign from Yamaha
guitars to promote the company's Pacifica
models, Michael's first release sold more than 100,000 copies. This well-received album also landed Michael the top spot in the category of “Best New Talent” in a readers' poll in Guitar Player magazine that year. He was also hailed as “One of the Most Influential Players of the Next Ten Years” by Guitar for the Practicing Musician
. Michael's music was also popular in Europe, as Firkins won the Edison Award, which is the equivalent of a Grammy in Holland.
Michael went on to release three more records for the Shrapnel label. His sound would go on to incorporate even more diverse music styles, specifically jazz
, as shown in a cover of Duke Ellington
's “The Mooche” on Firkins' third album, Chapter Eleven. Cactus Cruz was his last recording for Shrapnel in 1996.
In 1997, Firkins recorded Decomposition for Nuerra Records. An album composed of covers, Firkins pays tribute to some of his earlier influences, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Winter
, and Jimi Hendrix
.
In the early 2000s, Michael teamed up with fellow virtuoso guitarist Gabriel Moses for a side project titled "Dose Amigos" which has been most frequently compared to the likes of Tenacious D
. Both guitarists incorporated elements of bluegrass
and heavy metal
at extremely high speeds, with humorous themes. The project showcased Michael and Gabriel's original technique of emulating a slide guitar with the use of the tremolo arm.
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
player whose sound fuses bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, country, blues, and jazz elements into his distorted rock sound. He is noted amongst guitarists for his prolific use of hybrid picking
Hybrid picking
Hybrid picking is a guitar-playing technique that involves picking with a pick and one or more fingers alternately or simultaneously. Hybrid picking allows guitar players who use a pick to perform music which would normally require fingerstyle playing. It also facilitates wide string leaps Hybrid...
at high speeds.
Firkins was born in 1967, in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, to musician parents; his father was a lap steel guitar
Lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
ist and his mother a pianist. He started playing acoustic guitar at age eight. Though mostly self taught, he also took lessons at a local Omaha music store. Learning the songs of the times, Michael was heavily influenced by the guitar stylings of Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, and Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
.
By 1979, Michael had a Gibson SG
Gibson SG
At the launch of the SG in 1961, Gibson offered four variants of the SG; the SG Junior , the SG Special, the SG Standard, and the top-of-the-line SG Custom. However, Gibson's current core variants as of 2010 are the SG Standard and the SG Special...
and a Fender Princeton Reverb. Now wielding an electrified tone, he played in local bands and in church from the age of 12 until 18. In 1985, Michael started touring the country in cover band
Cover band
A cover band , is a band that plays mostly or exclusively cover songs. New or unknown bands often find the cover band format marketable for smaller gigs, and these bands may be known as a wedding band, party band and function band. A band whose covers consist mainly of songs that were chart hits is...
s. Unsatisfied with only playing other artists' songs, he eventually went back to Omaha and began teaching guitar.
For the next few years, Michael's musical influences were expanding. Virtuosos like Jerry Reed
Jerry Reed
Jerry Reed Hubbard , known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, innovative guitarist, songwriter, and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films...
, Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, Albert Lee
Albert Lee
Albert William Lee, born 21 December 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England, is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked both in the studio and on tour with some of the most famous musicians which stretch through a very wide of genres...
and Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography...
were among the list of new favorites. As Michael continued to enhance his chops, he recorded a five-song demo of instrumental guitar tunes that showcased his guitar playing. The demo was sent to Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records is a guitar-oriented record label started in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney. Guitarist Marty Friedman , one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album Unsung Guitar Heroes II in 1980 with the band Vixen. Vixen would later change their name to Hawaii...
, resulting in a record contract and subsequent release of his first album.
In 1990, Michael released his self-titled debut album. This release showcased Michael's encyclopedic knowledge of bluegrass and country licks. With the strength of this album and the help of an international advertising campaign from Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company...
guitars to promote the company's Pacifica
Yamaha Pacifica
Yamaha Pacifica is the name of a series of electric guitars manufactured by Yamaha. The line was originally designed in Yamaha's California custom-shop by Rich Lasner, working with guitar builder Leo Knapp...
models, Michael's first release sold more than 100,000 copies. This well-received album also landed Michael the top spot in the category of “Best New Talent” in a readers' poll in Guitar Player magazine that year. He was also hailed as “One of the Most Influential Players of the Next Ten Years” by Guitar for the Practicing Musician
Guitar for the Practicing Musician
Guitar for the Practicing Musician was a guitar magazine published in the United States by Cherry Lane Music in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1992, it was the most popular music publication at newsstands, selling 740,000 issues over a six-month period. It was popular for publishing songs with guitar and...
. Michael's music was also popular in Europe, as Firkins won the Edison Award, which is the equivalent of a Grammy in Holland.
Michael went on to release three more records for the Shrapnel label. His sound would go on to incorporate even more diverse music styles, specifically jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, as shown in a cover of Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
's “The Mooche” on Firkins' third album, Chapter Eleven. Cactus Cruz was his last recording for Shrapnel in 1996.
In 1997, Firkins recorded Decomposition for Nuerra Records. An album composed of covers, Firkins pays tribute to some of his earlier influences, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
, and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
.
In the early 2000s, Michael teamed up with fellow virtuoso guitarist Gabriel Moses for a side project titled "Dose Amigos" which has been most frequently compared to the likes of Tenacious D
Tenacious D
Tenacious D is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. Composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Jack Black and lead guitarist and vocalist Kyle Gass, the band has released two albums – Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny...
. Both guitarists incorporated elements of bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
at extremely high speeds, with humorous themes. The project showcased Michael and Gabriel's original technique of emulating a slide guitar with the use of the tremolo arm.
Discography
- 1990: Michael Lee FirkinsMichael Lee Firkins (album)- Personnel :* Michael Lee Firkins – electric guitar* James Kottak – drums* Jeff Pilson – bass guitar * Mark Rennick – bass guitar , mixing* Steve Fontano – engineering, production* Joe Marquez – engineering* Marc Reyburn – engineering...
- 1994: Howling Iguanas
- 1995: Chapter ElevenChapter Eleven (album)Chapter Eleven is the second studio album by guitarist Michael Lee Firkins, released in 1995 through Shrapnel Records.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Michael Lee Firkins – electric guitar, engineering, mixing, production*Mike van der Hule – drums...
- 1996: Cactus Cruz
- 1999: Decomposition
- 2007: Black Light Sonatas
External links
- http://www.michaelleefirkins.com/
- http://www.countdown2weekend.com/firkins/