Michael Brown  - Bass & Vocals

 

It all started with violin and piano lessons at age 10.  His dad said that Michael was “born with the gift of music…he could pick up any instrument and play it”.  At 14 his father handed him a banjo and the Bonnie and Clyde movie soundtrack and he began a life long affair with the five string banjo.  At 15, he started playing bass guitar, followed with the guitar at 17, and the rest, as they say, is history…

sort of.

 

Throughout his school years in his hometown of Amarillo, Michael played string bass in the orchestra, electric guitar in the stage band, and guitar & keyboards in his own band.  His first professional gig, at 15, was as bassist for a regional touring country band that he joined by answering a ‘want ad’ - “bass player needed” in the local newspaper.  In the heyday of 70’s rock & roll, Michael decided a career in the recording arts was for him so he moved to Dallas to begin his process of becoming a recording engineer.  There he joined local band, The Menagerie, as lead singer and spent several years honing the voice that would, years later, belt out tunes with Spector’s Gun Collection, a Woodstock era classic rock tribute band. Through the years, Michael continued along his studio engineering path, acquired a degree in audio/broadcast electronics engineering, and produced albums for several musical groups, as well as countless songs for his own projects.  He studied classical guitar with Enricke Madreguera, revived his bluegrass banjo chops with banjo instructor Jim Keaton, and eventually co-formed The Hammerknockers, a Dallas based “new grass” band, and produced their first album. 

 

Then, in 2012, just as he did so many years before, Michael answered a ‘want ad’ - “bass player needed” and became bass player for Black Dirt Tango. He brought his entire bag of tricks to BDT, lending some of his own songs to the band, backing up on vocals, and produced the band’s first album.