Michael and Marisa
Encyclopedia
Michael and Marisa are a teen brother/sister pop rock duo from Boston, MA. Having opened for nationally renowned artists such as American Idol
finalist David Archuleta
, Disney’s Mitchel Musso
and Nickelodeon’s Drake Bell
, the siblings have performed well over 200 shows nationwide at some of the country's largest venues. In June 2008, they released their debut album, Kickin’ It Together.
towers, Michael made music with anything he could find to strike up some noise. At the young age of 3, he scribbled musical notes on coloring books and by age 4, he was stringing notes together and writing music. Following Michael’s insistence, his father, Steve, signed them both up for guitar lessons so that they could bond while practicing. At only 6 years old, Michael’s guitar skills soared quickly. His guitar teacher and mentor, Billy Garzone recalls, "Michael had a real knack for it. It's really rare to find a kid that young who has that much talent.” It wasn’t long before a 7-year-old Michael was playing covers of Buddy Holly
and Creedence Clearwater Revival
at open mic nights, music festivals and sports arenas, including a Jimi Hendrix
version of the National Anthem
at a Boston Celtics
basketball game in front of 18,000 people.
Shortly thereafter, bored with the violin and eager to jam with her younger brother, an 8-year-old Marisa soon began banging on the drums. She was no newcomer to the spotlight, having performed an ensemble role as Gretel in a production of The Sound of Music
, among others. It quickly became apparent that this was more than just a hobby for both Michael and Marisa. They were good. And so the pop rock power duo was born.
, and a rock version of Donny & Marie Osmond.
Having performed live a variety of cover songs by artists such as The Beatles
, Van Morrison
, Bon Jovi
, The Who
, AC/DC
, Avril Lavigne
and Miley Cyrus
, this double-bill team has played hundreds of shows at well-known venues across the nation for crowds in the thousands. Michael and Marisa have opened for Disney and Nickelodeon
national performers, as well as American Idol finalist David Archuleta
at Boston's House of Blues
. Their extensive tour and music festival roster also includes Nashville's Rocketown
and New York's Lincoln Center
, as well as the Camplified 2008 summer tour and The Bamboozle Roadshow
2010 tour. Dubbed a "rising force in the tween rock scene," the two are now hard at work building their repertoire of original songs.
in New York City, Michael and Marisa spent nearly two years working on their debut album, Kickin’ It Together, which was independently released in the spring of 2008 to rave reviews. They co-wrote the majority of the songs on the 12-track high-energy and engaging album, along with contributions from Emmy-nominated producer Amy Powers, Boston producer Billy Garzone, producer Russ DeSalvo
and Hannah Montana
songwriter Jeannie Lurie.
, an award-winning songwriter who has been instrumental in developing the careers of several artists, including Avril Lavigne
and Vanessa Carlton
. Gina Schock
, drummer for The Go-Go’s
, is also credited with a co-write. Though this latest EP may showcase a more evolved pop rock sound, lyrically, Michael and Marisa say they will continue to target kids their own age. Their first single off the album, "The Same," was co-written by the siblings and takes a stand against bullying in schools — 20% of the single's proceeds will be donated to anti-bullying cause, Kids Against Bullying. “If our song causes even one bystander to take a stand, that one action could be the start of a chain of events that could help to stop bullying," Marisa says.
, Children’s Hospital, Doug Flutie Foundation
, Toys for Tots
, The Rodman Ride and many others.
In the fall of 2008, Michael received an endorsement from Gibson Guitars. In the spring of 2009, Marisa received an endorsement from the world's largest manufacturer of drum sticks, Vic Firth
.
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
finalist David Archuleta
David Archuleta
David Archuleta, is a former United States Air Force Airman of Okinawan stationary troops and is currently an American male kickboxer.-Biography:...
, Disney’s Mitchel Musso
Mitchel Musso
Mitchel Tate Musso is an American actor, singer-songwriter and musician. Musso is best known for his three Disney Channel roles as Oliver Oken in the Disney Channel sitcom, Hannah Montana, Jeremy Johnson in the Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb and his role as King Brady in the...
and Nickelodeon’s Drake Bell
Drake Bell
Jared Drake Bell , better known as Drake Bell, is an American actor, comedian, guitarist, singer/songwriter, producer, and occasional television director. After beginning his career as a child star in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he appeared on The Amanda Show and became well-known among young...
, the siblings have performed well over 200 shows nationwide at some of the country's largest venues. In June 2008, they released their debut album, Kickin’ It Together.
History
Born less than a year apart, Michael (born December 23, 1997) and Marisa (born December 31, 1996) have both shared a love for music since an early age. Rather than building LegoLego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
towers, Michael made music with anything he could find to strike up some noise. At the young age of 3, he scribbled musical notes on coloring books and by age 4, he was stringing notes together and writing music. Following Michael’s insistence, his father, Steve, signed them both up for guitar lessons so that they could bond while practicing. At only 6 years old, Michael’s guitar skills soared quickly. His guitar teacher and mentor, Billy Garzone recalls, "Michael had a real knack for it. It's really rare to find a kid that young who has that much talent.” It wasn’t long before a 7-year-old Michael was playing covers of Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
and Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....
at open mic nights, music festivals and sports arenas, including a Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
version of the National Anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
at a Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
basketball game in front of 18,000 people.
Shortly thereafter, bored with the violin and eager to jam with her younger brother, an 8-year-old Marisa soon began banging on the drums. She was no newcomer to the spotlight, having performed an ensemble role as Gretel in a production of The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
, among others. It quickly became apparent that this was more than just a hobby for both Michael and Marisa. They were good. And so the pop rock power duo was born.
Music career
With Michael on guitar and Marisa on drums, accompanied by their power pop/rock vocals and harmonies, the duo continuously win over audiences with their energetic live tunes and talent. Many characterize the siblings as a cross between the garage rock pretend-brother-and-sister duo, The White StripesThe White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
, and a rock version of Donny & Marie Osmond.
Having performed live a variety of cover songs by artists such as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
, Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
, The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, 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"...
, Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
and Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
, this double-bill team has played hundreds of shows at well-known venues across the nation for crowds in the thousands. Michael and Marisa have opened for Disney and Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
national performers, as well as American Idol finalist David Archuleta
David Archuleta
David Archuleta, is a former United States Air Force Airman of Okinawan stationary troops and is currently an American male kickboxer.-Biography:...
at Boston's House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
. Their extensive tour and music festival roster also includes Nashville's Rocketown
Rocketown
Rocketown is a facility with entertainment space, a coffee bar, and indoor skate park, located in Nashville, Tennessee. First opening in Franklin, TN in 1994-95 by Christian artist Michael W. Smith, Rocketown was created as a safe, drug- and alcohol-free place for teenagers to hang out. After...
and New York's Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
, as well as the Camplified 2008 summer tour and The Bamboozle Roadshow
Bamboozle
Bamboozle! was a quiz game featured on Channel 4 Teletext in the United Kingdom. It was originally part of Teletext's "Fun & Games" category, though the rest of the category had been discontinued for some years before Bamboozle! ended...
2010 tour. Dubbed a "rising force in the tween rock scene," the two are now hard at work building their repertoire of original songs.
Kickin' It Together (2006-2008)
Currently managed by Aimee Berger of Primary Wave Music PublishingPrimary Wave Music
Primary Wave Music is an American music publisher based in New York and Los Angeles. Signed artists with the publisher include Hall & Oates, Chicago, Kurt Cobain, Steve Earle, Steven Tyler, Bo Diddley and most recently, Jessica Simpson...
in New York City, Michael and Marisa spent nearly two years working on their debut album, Kickin’ It Together, which was independently released in the spring of 2008 to rave reviews. They co-wrote the majority of the songs on the 12-track high-energy and engaging album, along with contributions from Emmy-nominated producer Amy Powers, Boston producer Billy Garzone, producer Russ DeSalvo
Russ DeSalvo
Russ DeSalvo is a producer, arranger, songwriter, and guitarist.DeSalvo works with Celine Dion, Lionel Richie , Laura Pausini, and Kyle Archer .In April 2006 DeSalvo and British singer/songwriter Natascha Sohl released a single entitled "Naked," material that they wrote...
and Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana is an American television series, which debuted on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Channel. The series focuses on a girl who lives a double life as an average teenage school girl named Miley Stewart by day and a famous pop singer named Hannah Montana by night, concealing her real...
songwriter Jeannie Lurie.
It's Like That (2009-2010)
In it for the long haul, the talented pair are set to release their highly anticipated four-track EP titled It's Like That, in the fall of 2010, which was co-written and produced by Peter ZizzoPeter Zizzo
Peter Eric Zizzo is a music producer, musician and BMI award-winning songwriter. Zizzo has authored hits for artists such as Celine Dion,, Jennifer Lopez, Marit Larsen, O.A.R, Jason Mraz, Donna Summer, Diana Ross, M2M , Sir Cliff Richard, Clay Aiken, and Howie Day...
, an award-winning songwriter who has been instrumental in developing the careers of several artists, including Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
and Vanessa Carlton
Vanessa Carlton
Vanessa Lee Carlton is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Upon completion of her education at the School of American Ballet, Carlton chose to pursue singing instead, performing in New York bars and clubs while attending university. Three months after recording a demo with producer Peter...
. Gina Schock
Gina Schock
Gina Schock is best known as the drummer in the all-girl punk/pop band The Go-Go's....
, drummer for The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....
, is also credited with a co-write. Though this latest EP may showcase a more evolved pop rock sound, lyrically, Michael and Marisa say they will continue to target kids their own age. Their first single off the album, "The Same," was co-written by the siblings and takes a stand against bullying in schools — 20% of the single's proceeds will be donated to anti-bullying cause, Kids Against Bullying. “If our song causes even one bystander to take a stand, that one action could be the start of a chain of events that could help to stop bullying," Marisa says.
Discography
- July 2006: "I Can’t Stop" (studio single)
- June 2008: Kickin’ It Together (studio album)
- November 2008: "Rockin’ Radio"/"Happily Ever After" (two-track EP)
- October 2009: "Mr. Know It All" (studio single)
- September 2010: It's Like That (four-track studio EP)
Videography
- December 2006: "I Can’t Stop" (music video)
- August 2008: "Rock U Now"/"Rockin’ Radio" (music video)
- May 2009: "The Fear" (parody/cover of Lily AllenLily AllenLily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
's single, "The Fear") - December 2009: "Mr. Know It All" (music video)
- December 2010: "The Same" (music video)
- May 2011: "You feel like Saturday"
Personal life
Despite a busy music schedule, Michael and Marisa make the time to go to school, hang with friends attend Tae Kwon Do and dance classes, and still manage to find time to ride roller coasters, swim at their grandparents’ pool and hang out with their friends. They have studied Tae Kwon Do for seven years, both earning black belts after five. When they are touring together, they can’t get enough of it. "Performing is one of our favorite things," Michael explains. "The more performances, the better! If we could tour every day, we would." While the less-than-a-year-apart siblings resemble identical twins with similar mannerisms, they are really quite different. Marisa is extremely driven, with a competitive nature, and Michael is the more laid back and artsy of the two. Says their mother, Janet, "They are really close and would go to the ends of the earth for each other."Philanthropy and Endorsements
Michael and Marisa have performed a variety of benefit concerts for charities including the Starlight Children’s Foundation, The Jimmy FundThe Jimmy Fund
The Jimmy Fund raises vital funds to support adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1948 to raise funds for patient care and the fight against children’s cancer, the Jimmy Fund now supports the search for new cancer...
, Children’s Hospital, Doug Flutie Foundation
Doug Flutie
Douglas Richard "Doug" Flutie is a former American and Canadian football quarterback. Flutie played college football at Boston College, and played professionally in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and United States Football League...
, Toys for Tots
Toys for Tots
Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which donates toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. The program was founded in 1947 by reservist Major William L...
, The Rodman Ride and many others.
In the fall of 2008, Michael received an endorsement from Gibson Guitars. In the spring of 2009, Marisa received an endorsement from the world's largest manufacturer of drum sticks, Vic Firth
Vic Firth
Vic Firth is an American musician and is the founder of Vic Firth Company , a percussion stick and mallet manufacturing company that he started in 1963. The company bills itself as the world's largest manufacturer of drum sticks and mallets...
.