Michael McMorrow
Encyclopedia
Michael Sean McMorrow is an American
musician
, composer
, and producer, and founding member of jam band
Stolen Ogre
.In addition to writing songs for the group, McMorrow plays keyboards
and acoustic guitar
. Michael is a voting member of the Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences.
-born mother, and from his Irish
-born grandfather Frank McMorrow, a fiddler
. At 11 years old, Michael was writing, arranging and performing his own compositions on the family piano, and at 12 he won California’s statewide Young Composers Competition.
Wanting to write and play original music, he found like-minded players and enthusiastic audiences in the college town of Ellensburg, Washington, where his band The Yarddogs thrived for close to seven years. The Yarddogs performed with groups such as Delbert McClinton
, Jefferson Airplane
, Paul Rodgers
and Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart
. One reviewer called the Yarddog sound “a shotgun wedding of electric country blues and Pacific Northwest Rural Rock and Roll.” Michael first met Stolen Ogre guitarist David Simpson during this time when David joined the Yarddogs in their final years.
Michael has also made appearances in Yes
drummer Alan White
's All-star Band.
Michael McMorrow is an a member of the Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences, a voting member of the Grammys and is currently a board member of Music Aid Northwest.
) Festival tour, where his musical encounters with Brendan Hill
(of Blues Traveler
) brought the two to form a band.
Stolen Ogre went on to be a National 2005 Relix Magazine Jamoff Winner with the McMorrow-composed "Icing", and highlighted as "Top Bands to Watch" in Relix's December/January 2006 issue.
in the launch of Twisted Radio from KISW Radio in Seattle.
He later produced an internationally documented concert for the International and American Red Cross during the Gulf War
. The show marked the debut of The Lovemongers, (an acoustic side project of Heart), and included Alice in Chains
, and Soundgarden
's Chris Cornell
. He has since gone on to produce and be involved in many Northwest benefit events.
As executive producer and musical director Michael is currently producing Synergia Northwest, a concert event to raise funds and awareness for youth music in the Pacific Northwest, Spring 2011. Synergia Northwest blends classical, contemporary, professional and student musicians into one concert, unifying cultures, ages and musical genres, raising funds to provide extended learning, enrichment and performance opportunities to Northwest area students who would not have the necessary financial resources. A first of its kind event conceived and developed by McMorrow and two years in the planning, Synergia Northwest 2010 proved to be everything it was billed to be and more, all in the name of Washington State Youth Music Education.
Northwest recording artists who lent their talents to the 2010 historic breathtaking performance included some of the Pacific Northwest's most high profile rockers all backed by the 46 piece Synergia Northwest Orchestra. These artists included among others Grammy award-winning drummer Alan White (Yes, John Lennon) renowned guitarist Howard Leese (Heart, Paul Rodgers, Bad Company) with Randy Hansen, Mike Derosier, Michael McMorrow - Grammy nominated Eugene, Oregon native Tracy Bonham (Mother, Mother), visionary six-string violinist Geoffrey Castle, Seattle Seahawk's Blue Thunder Drum Line and a 31 year in the making reunion of original members of "Heart" with Leese, Derosier, Steve Fossen, Roger Fisher and powerhouse vocalist Somar Macek. A special tribute to the groundbreaking music of the late artist and Northwest Native American Indian Beaver Chief by his children and brother in acknowledgement of the area's deep cultural heritage also highlighted the event. Synergia NW has the support and involvement of Seattle Symphony Orchestra Conductor and Young Musicians Excelling Chair, Maestro Gerard Schwarz, Young Musicians Excelling, the Washington Music Educators Association and the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra.
McMorrow has volunteered with prison
ers at the Monroe Reformatory, and is an active supporter of public school music programs. He is an a member of the Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences, a voting member of the Grammys and is currently a board member of Music Aid Northwest.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, and producer, and founding member of jam band
Jam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
Stolen Ogre
Stolen Ogre
Stolen Ogre is an American rock band based in Seattle, Washington. Michael McMorrow and Blues Traveler drummer Brendan Hill formed the group after they met on the H.O.R.D.E...
.In addition to writing songs for the group, McMorrow plays keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
. Michael is a voting member of the Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences.
History
McMorrow's first training in music came from his TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
-born mother, and from his Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
-born grandfather Frank McMorrow, a fiddler
Fiddler
A fiddler is a person who plays a fiddle or violin.Fiddler may also refer to:*Fabrangen Fiddlers, an American musical group founded in 1971*Tupolev Tu-28 "Fiddler", a fighter aircraft*Fiddler , a DC Comics villain...
. At 11 years old, Michael was writing, arranging and performing his own compositions on the family piano, and at 12 he won California’s statewide Young Composers Competition.
Wanting to write and play original music, he found like-minded players and enthusiastic audiences in the college town of Ellensburg, Washington, where his band The Yarddogs thrived for close to seven years. The Yarddogs performed with groups such as Delbert McClinton
Delbert McClinton
Delbert McClinton is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist....
, Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
, Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers
Paul Bernard Rodgers is an English rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two less successful bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has recently toured and recorded with...
and Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
. One reviewer called the Yarddog sound “a shotgun wedding of electric country blues and Pacific Northwest Rural Rock and Roll.” Michael first met Stolen Ogre guitarist David Simpson during this time when David joined the Yarddogs in their final years.
Michael has also made appearances in Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
drummer Alan White
Alan White (Yes drummer)
Alan White is an English rock drummer known for his work with the progressive rock band Yes. White was also a member of the Plastic Ono Band, playing live in 1969 at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival, which was recorded and released three months later as Live Peace in Toronto 1969...
's All-star Band.
Michael McMorrow is an a member of the Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences, a voting member of the Grammys and is currently a board member of Music Aid Northwest.
Stolen Ogre
Michael was a part of the Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere (H.O.R.D.E.H.O.R.D.E.
Horizons of Rock Developing Everywhere or H.O.R.D.E. Festival was a touring summer rock music festival originated by the musical group Blues Traveler in 1992. In addition to travelling headliners, the festival gave exposure to bands, charities, and organizations from the local area of the...
) Festival tour, where his musical encounters with Brendan Hill
Brendan Hill
Brendan Colin Charles Hill is the drummer for American jam band Blues Traveler.-History:Brendan Hill is one of the original members of Blues Traveler. In 1983, while attending school at Princeton High School in Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Hill met Blues Traveler harmonica player John Popper...
(of Blues Traveler
Blues Traveler
Blues Traveler is a rock band, formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. The band has been influenced by a variety of genres, including blues-rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, soul, and Southern rock...
) brought the two to form a band.
Stolen Ogre went on to be a National 2005 Relix Magazine Jamoff Winner with the McMorrow-composed "Icing", and highlighted as "Top Bands to Watch" in Relix's December/January 2006 issue.
Producing and benefit work
McMorrow worked closely with nationally syndicated host Bob RiversBob Rivers
Bob Rivers is a well-known American rock and roll radio on air personality in the Pacific Northwest as well as a prolific producer of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas song parodies....
in the launch of Twisted Radio from KISW Radio in Seattle.
He later produced an internationally documented concert for the International and American Red Cross during the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. The show marked the debut of The Lovemongers, (an acoustic side project of Heart), and included Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
, and Soundgarden
Soundgarden
Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...
's Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...
. He has since gone on to produce and be involved in many Northwest benefit events.
As executive producer and musical director Michael is currently producing Synergia Northwest, a concert event to raise funds and awareness for youth music in the Pacific Northwest, Spring 2011. Synergia Northwest blends classical, contemporary, professional and student musicians into one concert, unifying cultures, ages and musical genres, raising funds to provide extended learning, enrichment and performance opportunities to Northwest area students who would not have the necessary financial resources. A first of its kind event conceived and developed by McMorrow and two years in the planning, Synergia Northwest 2010 proved to be everything it was billed to be and more, all in the name of Washington State Youth Music Education.
Northwest recording artists who lent their talents to the 2010 historic breathtaking performance included some of the Pacific Northwest's most high profile rockers all backed by the 46 piece Synergia Northwest Orchestra. These artists included among others Grammy award-winning drummer Alan White (Yes, John Lennon) renowned guitarist Howard Leese (Heart, Paul Rodgers, Bad Company) with Randy Hansen, Mike Derosier, Michael McMorrow - Grammy nominated Eugene, Oregon native Tracy Bonham (Mother, Mother), visionary six-string violinist Geoffrey Castle, Seattle Seahawk's Blue Thunder Drum Line and a 31 year in the making reunion of original members of "Heart" with Leese, Derosier, Steve Fossen, Roger Fisher and powerhouse vocalist Somar Macek. A special tribute to the groundbreaking music of the late artist and Northwest Native American Indian Beaver Chief by his children and brother in acknowledgement of the area's deep cultural heritage also highlighted the event. Synergia NW has the support and involvement of Seattle Symphony Orchestra Conductor and Young Musicians Excelling Chair, Maestro Gerard Schwarz, Young Musicians Excelling, the Washington Music Educators Association and the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra.
McMorrow has volunteered with prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
ers at the Monroe Reformatory, and is an active supporter of public school music programs. He is an a member of the Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences, a voting member of the Grammys and is currently a board member of Music Aid Northwest.