| Mike Neer has been kicking around in the music business for more than twenty years; why haven’t you heard of him before? It’s called “dues”—paying your dues. Mike doesn’t think of himself as a late bloomer; nah, if you wanted to use a gardening analogy, he’d probably say he’s been “laying down alot of fertilizer”. It’s not completely true, but in this business where you’re as good as your latest project, Mike’s continues to stay busy in a wide variety of settings.
Equally at home in myriad styles of music, Mike made a name for himself playing Hawaiian steel guitar with The Moonlighters from 2004 through 2007— on an instrument he only took up in the year 2003. “I fell in love with the instrument years ago, but after a few failed attempts to play it, I kind of gave up. It wasn’t until I found the Moonlighters and my National Tricone that I had a purpose for playing other than my own enjoyment. I now had a voice.” Mike used his knowledge of jazz and old-time Hawaiian music to great advantage by fusing them together, much in the same way that the early masters like Sol Hoopii and Benny Nawahi did. “I like to approach the instrument fresh every time I play, and I like to improvise most of my parts. It’s just the way I’ve always been. I guess I have a pretty small attention span, but that’s resulted in me having better ears.” Mike still considers himself primarily a guitarist, although these days he’s returned to his roots of electric guitar. “I'm plugging in again, and this time around the sound I'm going for is something more pure, where the hands are the real effects. I like to have the sound as unobscured as possible. I got a lot of that from playing acoustically on stages for a few years. It’s a real challenge and a pleasure to play unplugged using just a microphone to pick up the guitar’s sound, and I like the idea of showing up with just a guitar case, but these days I need a hand truck. I'm playing a Telecaster and an Ibanez AS50 (335-style guitar) and for acoustic/electric stuff I use a Michael Dunn Rhythm Futur Selmer-style guitar. I leave my old Epiphone Broadway home these days. Being born is 1937, I think she deserves a little bit of break." There have been many detours along the way. Mike was raised on Rock and Roll and played it for many years before developing an interest in jazz. “My grandfather was a jazz/swing clarinetist and tenor sax player, and he was elated when he found out I was joining the Kearny High School Jazz band. I didn’t last very long, though.” Years later, Mike would study jazz guitar with Mike Stern, Steve Khan and Peter Leitch. “I learned a lot, really, but most importantly I learned that I was out of my element.” Mike became a singer/songwriter while working on the Club Date circuit. He started a New Orleans-inspired R&B band with some friends that exploded into a full band with a horn section. “There are so many great musicians that I’ve crossed paths with, and a lot of them are just out there earning a living playing party gigs, and playing jazz on the side. I learned a lot from playing with them. They probably learned a few things from me, too. I’ve been called a ‘walking encyclopedia’ of tunes by a few. I’ve tried hard to forget most of the tunes, but some won’t leave….hahaha.”Keep your eyes and ears open for some new stuff coming from Mike in 2008. In addition to new music, there will be some seminars and workshops that Mike will be teaching on Hawaiian guitar and Swing guitar. Stay tuned.... |