Mike’s been playing guitar since he was a child. His older brother got him hooked on several kickass bands during his formative years. Bands such as Savatage, Testament, Metal Church, Suicidal Tendencies, and Van Halen influenced his musical development early on. The turning point for him came when he listened to Steve Vai’s Passion and Warfare for the first time. He immediately started writing songs and honing his chops in hopes of writing such deep and uncompromising music. During his pre-college years, Mike was involved with band (like many band geeks), playing guitar and percussion in Jazz Bands, Orchestral ensembles, and smaller combos. He was also heavily influenced by Dream Theater, Symphony X, Chick Corea, and the harmonic richness of the late Romantic-era composers whom he studied in school.

At this point, Mike’s guitar identity crisis was in full swing. He empathized with the grunge-era musicians who thought that the shred-excess of the 80′s was by and large, unmusical and really not that impressive when weighed against the sheer rhythmic/harmonic complexity of what was already happening in other avante-garde/fusion styles and instruments. Yet, he also enjoyed the melodic beauty of bands like Dream Theater, Flower Kings, Spocks Beard which, of course, were fueled by that same technical excess. He couldn’t escape his past, and eventually, realized, he didn’t want to.

In the following years, he was able to temper his style with the help of a string of fantastic musicians in various bands. Bands such as Aural Ecstacy, Clave Plague, Third Choir, Beyond Sovereignty (with phenomenal musicians Rob Rathunde, Jesse Pizano, and Craig Martinez). What Mike really wanted to do though, was take the melodic/progressive style which he had already established for himself and his solo-instrumental work, and add a giant shot of ripping metal (his earliest influence). Fortunately for him, Shreddy contacted him in early 2008. About 2 minutes after meeting Scott, Paul, and Ed, he knew that they would eventually play on stage together, and leave a trail of music-torn bodies in their wake. Through Mindwarp Chamber, he is finally hooked up with the caliber of musicians that merge with his eclectic songwriting and guitar playing in a way thats musically satisfying and synergetic and, above all, POWERFUL!