Julia Sherred's Geeky Pleasures

My featured independent musician for the month of December is Mike Lombardo. I had the opportunity to interview Mike last week for my Geeky Pleasures radio show on Party 934 | 102.5 FM in the Hudson Valley NY. Below you will find his bio as well as a few of his tracks for you to sample.

Mike Lombardo has been banging on pianos since before he can remember. Shortly after graduating a year early from the prestigious Berklee College of Music with a degree in songwriting, Mike set to work sharing his music with listeners all over the world via the internet.

Known for his quirky yet charmingly addictive piano rock tunes, interwoven with thoughtful ballads, Mike makes use of Creative Commons to allow his fans to collaborate, create new things with, and share his music. Mike goes far out of his way to connect with his fans on an individual basis, and he used this “fanpower” to co-found the website“Too Much Awesome” which allows “New-Model” artists and fans to connect in new and exciting ways. Mike founded the site with fellow songwriter Jeff MacDougall, with whom he also competed in Quickstop Entertainment’s Masters of Song Fu.

Mike’s Stephen-Fry-Tribute-meets-Coldplay-parody “Viva La Fry” was chosen to be the title track of the forthcoming Viva La Fry album, organized by Nuts On the Road.

Mike’s songwriting also made international headlines in June ‘09 when he crafted ‘Colby’s Song’ after hearing the touching story of Pixar helping to fulfill a dying girl’s last wish. Colby’s story, along with Mike’s song, circulated the world via chain emails and messageboards.

Mike is currently at work on his trio’s second full-length album, with an expected release in April ‘10.

Mike Lombardo loves you.

Deciding on only a few tracks to include here was difficult but here they are. I decided to go with the tracks I played during the interview.

Rock Song

Fly Mary

The Voicemail Song

That Will Be The Day

To listen to more of Mike’s music and to download some of his song for free (including one of my favourites Parting Blessing (I Hope You Get Herpes)) go to http://mikelombardo.bandcamp.com/

You can also find him on YouTube here, keep up with his tour dates and news here and follow him on Twitter @mikelombardo. Also check out his newest website and community, Too Much Awesome.