I'm not too interested in being contacted via postal mail. I've never been a letter type of guy, in fact I had a pen-pal when I was 10 and I never wrote him, but he never wrote me so whatever.
Email me at mike@mikevasas.com
The best way to contact me is via email. I check my email probably about as much as someone with a rash scratches. Of course I don't check my email when I'm at work, so if you email me and I don't respond, know that I will soon.
For publicity information email amanda@mikevasas.com
My wife Amanda does all the publicity for my work and my work with The Beasts of Burden. If you have questions about use of music or images, would like to arrange for information or interviews, want a press kit, please contact her...or I suppose if you just want to say hello.
HERE's A BIO I WROTE THIRD PERSON...GET YOUR CONSONANCE ON [SEE BELOW]
The Beasts of Burden are the backing act for Mike Vasas's songs. Hailing from Detroit, the pop-rock act has its roots in the songwriter material of Vasas, but they take it to surprising musical landscapes. More than just a bunch of sidemen, the BOB are a creative unit that actively collaborate with Vasas on all the arrangements while performing and recording. Ryan Malinich is the percussionist. Brian Richard plays the bass. Matt Mepham plays guitar. Together with multi-instrumentalist Vasas, the BOB perform live sonic supernovas and release recordings of textured tuneful tapestries.
The sound? Maybe 1970s art-pop? Some funky grooves and polyrhythms thrown in for good measure. Brian Eno solo records? Todd Rundgren? Electric Light Orchestra? Bowie? Nilsson?
Mike Vasas and The Beasts of Burden make sing-songy music with an emphasis on texture, groove and joyous fits of chaos.
I was born in Dearborn at Oakwood Hospital on February 17th, 1982 to Mike and Sharon Vasas. I have a sister named Jenny who is now married to Dennis. They live in Florida which is warmer than where I live...Lansing, Michigan. I live there with my wife Amanda and our cat Boo. I teach music and study skills at Harper Creek Middle School but also teach Kindergarten music in two of the little elems too.
Anyway, I went to Edsel Ford and then studied music at Kalamazoo College and also completed a minor in history. At Kalamazoo I took private voice lessons with Jim Turner, and private composition lessons with Elizabeth Start and Keith Murphy. I was part of the Mike and Dave show, an RA and a TA at Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo College is a liberal arts school, so I learned about all sorts of stuff but in the end it was my relationship to music and my excitement to be an educator that led me to Michigan State University. There I completed a Master of Arts degree in Music Education. I also completed a teacher certification program and taught songwriting as a graduate assistant under John Kratus. I breifly studied composition with Mark Sullivan there.
I am certified to teach music to students in grades K-12, and am prepared to teach music to college students as well. I worked under Judith Evans at Lansing Everett High School for my student teaching internship. I have substitute taught throughout most of Lansing Schools. I have also taught middle school students in beginning songwriting at an MSU summer program.
This website is mostly devoted to my personal music projects. I wrote my first official song when I was 14 and promptly stopped for almost a year. After that I began writing music at 15 and haven't stopped until now. Before 14, I played piano for many years and always improvised and explored the instrument. At 15 I began playing guitar. I write music on piano and guitar, sometimes notate things, sometimes arrange parts, etc. I have no genre or style I write in. I do whatever comes out. I like all types of music, especially music that disregards genrefication, which is why I started Grammy Hall Records. The Beasts of Burden is my live performance band. I am also a member of the Early Minor Quintet. I love recording, arranging and producing music.
What else? I am Lutheran. I have this thing for minimalist art. Arvo Part, Dan Flavin and The Hulot movies by Tati are comfort food. I enjoy going to museums, art exhibits, theater, opera, and other stuff of that nature. Amanda and I are regular thrift and antique shoppers. I collect postcards. My favorite television show is a tough tie between Red Dwarf and The X-Files, although the British version of The Office, The Boondocks and Boston Legal are pretty hilarious. I really only need PBS on my TV, though. I don't mind watching or playing most sports, but the only sport I really care about is Hockey. I played it for about 7 or 8 years. I like reading books.
I update this website myself. Originally, however, the main design was created by Viktor Persson at http://arcsin.se/ and I used it by permission. I actually bought the rights to use his "hobbit" template and then I reworked the graphics to fit my needs.
I work on all my web-related stuff through Dreamweaver and Flash, but have been experimenting with Contribute and other monkey-business. Images are edited and processed for the web via Photoshop. Sound not from records is mastered with Sound Forge. I make any movies you see on this site with Vegas Video. I like Blogger and will stand by it. Ipoweweb is my domain name and web space provider.