By: David Rachac
After being blown away seeing Bill Mike play solo acoustic at the MMA booth at the Wild River Festival in September, I bought the Bill Mike Band’s CD Better News and was equally stunned. The album contained eight fresh-sounding, guitar-driven hybrid-pop songs that evoked a menagerie of early ‘90s alternative rock styles with none of the overwrought posturing that normally accompanies them. And seeing this power trio play at Lee’s just added to my admiration of them – they brought all of the joyful noise and flash of their recording to the stage while allowing themselves the space to improvise and reconstruct songs as they went along.
People might use Smashing Pumpkins and Rage Against The Machine as touch points to describe the Bill Mike Band’s sound, and it would be a fair place to start. Guitarist/singer Bill Mike brings a similar genre-bending sensibility to his music, melding hard rock, hip-hop and power pop in a way that would appeal to fans of all types of music. Musically, Mike’s unique guitar style might best be compared to Vernon Reid from Living Color. He doesn’t play guitar so much as he wrestles sounds out of it, from crunching power chords and Van Halen-like fingertapping to coaxing feedback squeals and inducing electronic chirps from his many foot pedals.
But this isn’t to say that the Bill Mike Band is purely a star vehicle for the singing frontman. Chris Morrissey might be better known for his quieter bass work for Haley Bonar and Mason Jennings, but with the Bill Mike Band he is an absolute monster, bashing out a huge low-end that gives Mike the freedom to weave in and out. Drummer Steve Goold plays in a variety of lesser-known bands in town (as well as teaching at a couple of area colleges), but plays with such a combination of aggressiveness and precision that it won’t be long before he is recognized as one of the scene’s top talents.
Indeed, the Bill Mike Band might contain more individual talent than most any local band (both Mike and Morrissey received MMA nominations in 2006), but it is their ability to incorporate all of their musical interests and backgrounds into one interlocking whole that is so impressive. From the bombast of “Secure” and “Wearing Out Love” to the yearning “I Need A Favor,” the Bill Mike Band seems determined not to be constrained by any musical boundaries or expectations, but to embrace everything and to just let the music flow out of them.
But even more than the music, you also get this overall good vibe from Mike, both in his lyrics and in his earnest demeanor. He thanked The Abdomen for opening the show, mentioning they were 2005 MMA award winners [for Best Teen Band] and acknowledging the guts it took to play in front of an unfamiliar crowd. He profusely thanked Little Man’s Chris Perricelli for loaning his amp when Mike’s kept cutting out. He also acknowledged Lee’s as being the “cleanest bar in Minnesota,” noting that someone “waxed the paneling throughout the bar, which means someone cares.” It is the positive perspective that makes you hope that success is just around the corner for the Bill Mike Band.
Little Man closed the night (also a power trio with some musical muscle, with Perricelli being nominated for two MMA awards and bassist Ben Foote actually winning one), mostly playing tunes from their forthcoming CD Soulful Automatic. It has been fun over the last year watching these tunes grow branches and roots, continuing the ‘70s arena-rock vibe of 2004’s Big Rock, and I am looking forward to their CD release party in early 2007.
Set List
Secure
Leftover
Wearing Out Love
I Need A Favor
Count To Three
Truce
Courageous
Oh I Hear You
All Over Again
Bill Mike photo by David Rachac. Little Man photo by Stacy Sandstrom.
Location Info:
Lee's Liquor Lounge
Artist Info: Bill Mike, Little Man
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