Gig Michaels
For the past 8 years Mount Holly has been home to singer/songsmith Gig Michaels. Since he was a teenager, Gig has had a guitar in his hand and words in his heart. He learned the value of hard work in the tobacco fields of Pine Level, NC. The solid work ethic instilled in his youth has finally begun to pay off. As I am writing this, Michaels is experiencing a highlight, but certainly not the pinnacle of his career.
His band is releasing their 3rd CD, plus they are literally embarking on a rock and roll cruise. Michaels, lead singer for the band SwampDaWamp, based out of Charlotte, along with his fellow band members, are performing with Southern Rock legends Lynrd Skynrd on the Simple Man Cruise. Also on the roster are some heavy southern rockers/new country players, including 38 Special, Dead Confederate, Molly Hatchet, The Outlaws and more.
How do you get from the tobacco fields of Pine Level to leading your band into opening for a great southern rock legend like Lynrd Skynrd? Short answer – the FANS. Swampdawamp was voted as the People’s Choice, beating out Little Feat and Shooter Jennings. We wanted to know more about Gig Michaels and how he arrived at this point in his journey.
Gig says his love for music started when his older sister bought him a Beatles album – Magical Mystery Tour. “Then my older brother turned me on to Lynrd Skynrd, Black Sabbath, Yes, all that good stuff, man.”
Michaels started writing poetry in his adolescence, and picked up the guitar at age 16, about the same time he got his driver’s license, and was hanging out with the wrong bunch. About two months into his driving career, the NCDMV suspended his license for a year. “This turned out to be a cool thing, because I was totally pulled out of the scene.”
Shoebox Memories Video
The self taught musician found himself home alone with his poetry and guitar. “This is when I began putting my words to music. I’ve always been a music lover. Music has been my best friend. Music is a healer – I feel like that’s a power that we possess as well. That’s our reward in songwriting, when someone comes up and says, ‘Man, thank you so much for writing that song, it helped me get through something’ So that’s what music was for me. ”
He played guitar and wrote music for several bands over the next few years. Once he played for a cover band briefly, but his preference was always to pen and perform original music.
In the mid 90’s Gig made his way to Nashville, leaving family, including one son, after being chosen to be a guitarist on Vince Neil’s (Mötley Crüe) tour in support of his 2nd solo album. Just before the tour began Vince was faced with the unexpected death of his daughter Skyler which cancelled the tour and left Gig jobless in Nashville.
To continue to support himself, he took on drywall construction jobs and continued to work the Nashville circuit making connections with several people including Charlie Adams, drummer for Yanni. The two began a new musical project and Adams convinced Michaels to sing. With strong song writing skills and rich, raspy vocals, Gig quickly started to make a name for himself. He began working on a solo project in the late 1990’s.
With the years away from his son weighing heavily on his heart and mind Michaels abandoned the solo project and moved back to Charlotte. “It just got to the point that I realized that I needed to be a bigger presence in my son’s life.”
Gig shelved his musical career, got a hair cut and a job. He spent some time getting acclimated to Charlotte, making a few friends and spending quality time with his son. Almost certainly, the love of music began to grow once again.
He started getting solid musicians to come on board to begin a new band with a new sound. One of the first members was high school buddy Kennon Knight. After a couple of years and priority changes within the band, Gig was looking at starting over again. He quickly set out to make sure this next project would be a viable business endeavor.
In 2007 the SwampDaWamp lineup was set and their first studio release was out in the market. They very quickly started to gain a fan base and began to tour almost non-stop spreading their southern rock music to anyone who would stop to listen.
In a short amount of time they were the opening act for such legends as Marshall Tucker Band, Gary Allen, Craig Morgan, David Allan Coe, Toby Keith, and many more.
In order to keep the momentum they released an EP in 2008 with 3 incredible songs, that were originally slated for a full album release and shot a video for the single release ‘Dance’. The infectious groove and hooks along with the storytelling lyrics quickly spread across the internet via youtube. The band was being sought after for larger tours. They were invited out to Sturgis, and recorded a DVD of their 28 day travel to and from the event.
In 2009 their manager passed away, leaving Gig in charge of management while they were in the studio preparing for their 3rd release “Rock This Country”.
They have had a short break in their tour schedule which gave them time to perfect their performance for the Simple Man Cruise. They will also appear at the CMA Musicfest in June, a big country music fan fair.
Swampdawamp’s third release, “Rock This Country”, (Big Penny Entertainment) delivers 12 brand new songs, including the sexy song “Lady” which pays homage to the beauty of women, to the softer “Daddy Said” which tells the story of a son who carries his father’s wisdom in him. The title track is an energetic nod to the working man going after the American dream. The official US release will be in February 2010, exclusively available in Best Buy.
Shooting for their first video from Rock This Country will begin soon. “There will be an opportunity for friends and fans to be extras in the video. The first single from “Rock this Country” is Lady,” Michaels said.
In parting, Gig said, “The best part of it all is when we are on the stage. This is a solid 90 worry-free minutes about the business end of things. It’s a release that is untouchable by anything else.“
DIGITAL SONG DOWNLOAD
Exclusive to ROCKS! Entertainment Magazine, you can get a free download of their first single, Lady, from Rock This Country. Click Here
To purchase CD’s or Digital Downloads of all of their releases please visit http://www.swampdawamp.info/music.htm
