Mike spent the early years of his life growing up on the island of St. Thomas listening to the Caribbean grooves of Calypso and Reggae. Without the knowledge and availability of mixing equipment, Mike used a prehistoric dual tape machine to edit the music and create a sound he enjoyed and called his own. Jump forward 15 years and Mike is doing the same thing today. Only now, he is living in Chicago and using a mixer, turntables and records.
Mike moved to Chicago in the summer of 1994 and was immediately drawn to the thriving House music scene. Working at the legendary Gramaphone Records music shop for over three years, Mike received an invaluable education on the past, present and potential future sound of House music. It also provided the opportunity to experiment and fine tune his craft of mixing and EQing, as well as learn some of the skills from the worlds most talented DJ’s and producers. This education has since made it possible for him to personally contribute to the ever-growing global House movement.
He has played at all the premier clubs in Chicago: Shelter, Crobar, Metro/Smart Bar, and Red Dog. He currently holds a weekly residency @ Domaine in Chicago, as well as monthly residencies at several other Chicago nightclubs. When not playing these venues, his high demand keeps him busy traveling throughout the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. Past achievements also include regular guest appearances on Chicago radio 92.7 FM to help promote the underground House movement through the late night airwaves. Currently, Mike is one of a very select few to enjoy a residency on the XM Satellite Radio station “The Move” (ch. 80). XM is the nations first 24 hour commercial free digital satellite radio service broadcast from coast to coast! Mike can also be heard in the Chicago-land area on Q101FM’s electronic show “Sonic Boom” every Saturday night.
When not traveling, mixing at a club or radio broadcast, or promoting his upcoming events, Mike finds himself hard at work in the studio creating his own beats and melodies taken from a vast library of sounds. The future looks very promising as Mike begins to release his own material this spring on his newly developed Lacquer Crackers record label. Lacquer Crackers will primarily focus on sounds ranging from Funk, Jazz and Disco to tribal rhythms and drums as well as tools and beats for DJ’s and producers.
Relentless percussion, deep-energetic Chicago flavored House, and dubby-funky House with a “freaky-funky-twist of Disco” are just a few ways to describe Mike’s unique sound. His sound constantly evolves making each of his sets special. His seamless mixing style motivates a room to a point where you think you’ve had enough, but then all of a sudden… there’s more! His music is a relentless Energizer; it keeps going & going & going!
