Michael Simic (Mikelangelo)
Michael Simic (Mikelangelo) - Michael Simic (Mikelangelo)
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Aloha folks,
I’m Michael Simic, also known as Mikelangelo. I grew up in Canberra in the 1970s and as a kid spent most of my time drawing, reading, daydreaming in the bush, and playing Dungeons and Dragons. In the 1980s, my brother started bringing home punk and new wave records, which augmented my TV pop/rock music education from shows like Countdown, Sounds and Sesame Street. I started seeing local and touring live bands every week, and this led to me playing in bands and starting to write songs.
In 1989, I formed my first band, Prik Harness (later P. Harness), with my school friend Geoff Hinchcliffe. I mostly played drums and acoustic guitar, and Geoff electric or acoustic guitar. We both shared lead vocals and worked with a lot of great musicians, including Greg Walker (Machine Translations) on bass and organ, and Gavin Findlay (Splinters) on bass. During the 1990s, P. Harness did and made a lot of weird shit and had a lot of fun doing it. We released two albums and an EP and excited a lot of people along the way, while confounding many others. We played our last show in 2000.
That same year, I formed Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen with Phil Moriarty (clarinet), David Branson (violin) and Ben O’Loghlin (double bass). We did most of our early shows entirely unplugged, lit only by candlelight. This electricity-free style of performance forged a deep connection in our playing together. It also gave us complete freedom to move through the audience and create buoyant chaos.
A year into the band’s life, David died in a car accident on the way to a rehearsal.
He was our greatest advocate, and we wondered if we’d have a band without him. David’s brother Pip Branson joined us on violin, and he is part of the line up to this day, along with Phil Moriarty, our accordionist Guy Freer, who joined in 2004, and our bass player Sam Martin who joined in 2006. The band has released four independent albums, and toured widely, building a national and international following. We are planning to make our next album and live show in 2024.
I’ve always enjoyed playing solo and have continued to record and perform on my own under the Mikelangelo moniker, and under my given name of Michael Simic. I’ve had other bands and collaborations along the way, including The Tin Star, Balkan Elvis, Spectres Of Love, Cave-Waits-Cohen, La Clique and La Soiree, and various projects with Undine Francesca, and with Clare St Clare.
I now live in the town of Braidwood in NSW (Australia) with my wife Rose, our two children Sunny and Miro, and our dog Luna.
If you’d like to see, hear and read more, go to:
www.patreon.com/michaelsimic
www.michaelsimic.com
www.blackseagentlemen.com
I’m Michael Simic, also known as Mikelangelo. I grew up in Canberra in the 1970s and as a kid spent most of my time drawing, reading, daydreaming in the bush, and playing Dungeons and Dragons. In the 1980s, my brother started bringing home punk and new wave records, which augmented my TV pop/rock music education from shows like Countdown, Sounds and Sesame Street. I started seeing local and touring live bands every week, and this led to me playing in bands and starting to write songs.
In 1989, I formed my first band, Prik Harness (later P. Harness), with my school friend Geoff Hinchcliffe. I mostly played drums and acoustic guitar, and Geoff electric or acoustic guitar. We both shared lead vocals and worked with a lot of great musicians, including Greg Walker (Machine Translations) on bass and organ, and Gavin Findlay (Splinters) on bass. During the 1990s, P. Harness did and made a lot of weird shit and had a lot of fun doing it. We released two albums and an EP and excited a lot of people along the way, while confounding many others. We played our last show in 2000.
That same year, I formed Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen with Phil Moriarty (clarinet), David Branson (violin) and Ben O’Loghlin (double bass). We did most of our early shows entirely unplugged, lit only by candlelight. This electricity-free style of performance forged a deep connection in our playing together. It also gave us complete freedom to move through the audience and create buoyant chaos.
A year into the band’s life, David died in a car accident on the way to a rehearsal.
He was our greatest advocate, and we wondered if we’d have a band without him. David’s brother Pip Branson joined us on violin, and he is part of the line up to this day, along with Phil Moriarty, our accordionist Guy Freer, who joined in 2004, and our bass player Sam Martin who joined in 2006. The band has released four independent albums, and toured widely, building a national and international following. We are planning to make our next album and live show in 2024.
I’ve always enjoyed playing solo and have continued to record and perform on my own under the Mikelangelo moniker, and under my given name of Michael Simic. I’ve had other bands and collaborations along the way, including The Tin Star, Balkan Elvis, Spectres Of Love, Cave-Waits-Cohen, La Clique and La Soiree, and various projects with Undine Francesca, and with Clare St Clare.
I now live in the town of Braidwood in NSW (Australia) with my wife Rose, our two children Sunny and Miro, and our dog Luna.
If you’d like to see, hear and read more, go to:
www.patreon.com/michaelsimic
www.michaelsimic.com
www.blackseagentlemen.com
