The Scene: The Mark Mikel Band featuring Chris Shutters

3/9/2011

NAME: Mark Mikel. I play live with The Mark Mikel Band featuring Chris Shutters. The lineup is Brian Albright, bass, vocals; Ev Harris, drums; Greg Robie percussion, vocals; Chris Shutters, lead guitar, vocals, flute; and me, acoustic guitar/vocals)

YEAR STARTED PERFORMING: I started performing in 1976 with my band Marikesh. We lasted until 1989. Then came The Mark Mikel Hallucination (1991-1996). I was also in the psychedelic band The Pillbugs for many years (1996-2008). The performing band I'm in today started in summer, 2010.

STYLE OF MUSIC: Electric/acoustic melodic hard rock/pop with a psychedelic edge.

SOUNDS A LITTLE LIKE: When I sing it tends to sound a little Beatle-y, and when Shutters sings it tends to sound a little Clapton-y.

INFLUENCES: Me? 60s psychedelic groups mostly. The band as a whole? Pretty much everything.

FAVORITE LOCAL VENUE: The Village Idiot (Maumee). Honorable mention goes to Cheers Sports Eatery (Holland) and Centre Court Lounge (Toledo).

CDS: Marikesh "Love is What You Want" (1985), Mark Mikel "Sorghum Pudding" (1993), "The Idiot Smiles" (1994), The Mark Mikel Hallucination "Blatant Rip-offs" (1996), The Pillbugs "s/t" (1998), The Pillbugs "The 3-Dimensional in-Popcycle Dream" (2003), The Pillbugs "Happy Birthday" (2004), The Pillbugs "Buzz for Aldrin" (2007), Mark Mikel "Cosmic Surprise" (2007), The Pillbugs "Monclovia" (2007), The Pillbugs "Everybody Wants a Way Out " (2008), and coming this spring, "Dark Ocean Colors" with my recording partner Scott Hunt).

Chris Shutters CD: The Chris Shutters Band "A World Apart" (2009)

WEB SITE: Theofficialmarkmikelpage.com, and illuminatingdrink.blogspot.com/