..Hello. I'm Michael Ambrose, and I'm a musician. I do a lot of everything, but ultimately I'm a musician. I've also learned that if you have to tell people you're a professional musician, odds are you're probably not.
In my spare time, what little there is of it, I am a freelance web/print/graphic designer. I was also, at one time, an avid photographer. I suppose I still am to a much lesser extent. I still enjoy designing old-fashioned kitchy posters... pin-up and hula girls, tiki gods, that sort of thing... but music has since taken over the majority of my life.
I am quite sure I was born about forty years too late. I am a firm believer that the greatest musical recordings known to man were made on magnetic tape, and that no computer could ever reproduce that warm sound. I swoon for 1940's to early 1960's culture... kitsch and tiki, chrome and neon. I also enjoy reading the classics, the reds, and the beat authors/poets, not to mention my love for Steinbeck and Hemingway.
I'm an avid pianist and organist (classical, jazz, et al), but you'll also find me playing saxophone (satb), guitar, bass, mandolin, and pretty much anything else you could throw (or roll) at me. You'll find me working pretty much anywhere and everywhere: playing in the studios in New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, gigging up and down the East Coast, and touring nationally.
Currently I am fronting my own northern-soul influenced reggae band Steadfast United, a group featuring fellow die-hards of the east coast ska and reggae scene, as well as the legendary Lynval Golding of The Specials. Our EP is nearing completion and will be released in the spring. We will be making our live debut on March 16th at the 449 Room in Trenton NJ.
I recently completed a national tour, playing organ and piano for Dave Wakeling and The English Beat . We made our way across the entire United States and Canada through 2006. Our live show recieved rave reviews, and I had the opportunity to tour with some of the hottest musicians in the scene, as well as several Two-Tone legends such as Lynval Golding and Pauline Black!
When I'm home on the east coast, you will find me playing organ (and tenor saxophone in a pinch) for the New Jersey rough and tumble ska powerhouse known as The Hub City Stompers (Megalith Records). You'll also occasionally find me filling the same positions for New Jersey's two-tone throwbacks Bigger Thomas (Megalith Records).
...but don't get me wrong, I'm not all ska and reggae. Prior to joining up with The English Beat I was playing with a backing band for legendary Philly soul singer Don Gardner called The Solid Set. When I'm in town I still play guitar for my own stripped-down roots rock and roll/country/rockabilly project Reverend Hambone and his Church Keys , although this band will be on hiatus for some time to come. (Look for our first EP "Get Railed!" to be released soon!!)
In the past I have played guitar for a little-known post-punk band (that got post-punk right) called The Kinetics and organ for NYC ska and reggae sensation The Rudie Crew , although I still sit in with both bands on occasion. I used to play guitar for my own "fatboy surfabilly" band Los Gordos Locos , but we have since broken up. In a past life I was the alto saxophonist for Tri-State Conspiracy . I have started, led, or sat in with god knows how many other bands. I play more instruments than I can count on my digits, and I am an avid collector of vintage equipment. I am also a player and huge advocate of Eastwood Guitars ...
I have sat in with god knows how many other bands. I have had many years of classical and jazz training on both saxophone and piano. I play more instruments than I can count on my digits, and I am an avid collector of vintage equipment. I am always up for a good live or studio gig, so don't hesitate to contact me. Music is my life... I live for being on stage... I thrive on being in the studio... I get off on repairing, rebuilding, and customizing vintage equipment.
Discography:
The Color Green - 'Sara' (Single)
The Color Green - 'A Life' (EP)
Tri State Conspiracy - 'NYC Ska Swing' (Demo)
Tri State Conspiracy - 'Road Rage' (EP)
Tri State Conspiracy - 'Frantic' (limited live release)
Hub City Stompers - 'Blood, Sweat, and Beers' (Megalith)
Hub City Stompers - 'Mass Appeal' (EP available on Megalith)
Hub City Stompers - as yet untitled (Megalith, Fall 2006)
Bigger Thomas - 'We Wear the Mask' (Megalith, Fall 2005)
Los Gordos Locos - 'Get Lei'd with...' (Unreleased)
Rev. Hambone & His Church Keys - 'Get Railed!' EP (Fall 2006)
Michael Ambrose - 'A Guided Tour of New Brunswick' (*tba*)
Michael Ambrose - 'Lets All Drink to the Death of a Town' (*tba*)
Michael Ambrose - 'Live Every Day Like Its Your Last Day in Jersey' (*tba*)
The Nautical Miles - 'Songs for Guitar and Cembalet' (*tba*)
brother/theresa - 'Put Your Head Against the Speakers and Blow Your Brains Out' (*tba*)
The Kinetics - '(untitled)' (*tba*)
The Liquidators - 'Impressions of Japan' (*tba*)
v/a - Riot! Riot! Riot! - 'I've Been Fine' (Morieris, 2004)
Equipment:
Guitars
1966 Mosrite 'The Ventures Model'
1961 Silvertone (Harmony) H-75 Rocket (Cherryburst, 3pu w/ Bigsby)
1961 Harmony H-77 Rocket (Tobacco, 3pu w/ Bigsby)
1959 Harmony Hollywood (Jazzbox)
1958 Fender Duo-sonic
1961 Teisco Del Rey ML-1
1961 Teisco Del Rey ML-2
1998 Danelectro '56 U-2 Reissue (Deluxe)
Basses
1959 Supro "Pocket" solidbody bass w/ Piezo
1968 Tokai Jazz Bass copy
1960's Aria Diamonds P-Bass copy w/ P-90s
1967 Univox Hi-Flyer Bass (highly modified)
Amplifiers
1965 Ampeg Reverberocket II
1968 Fender Bandmaster with Showman 2x15 Cabinet
1974 Kustom 175 Head w/ two 4x10 column Cabinets
1966 Alamo Fury 1x18 Bass amp
Kay 503 1x8" Class A Tube Combo
Kay 703 1x8" Class A Tube Combo
Kay 710 Reverb Unit
Premier Model 90 Reverb Unit
Fender 112 Deluxe Plus
Fender Princeton 65
Keyboard Instruments
Roland VK-8 Combo Organ
Korg Triton le
1977 Fender Rhodes 73
1964 Farfisa Compact Combo Organ
1972 Yamaha YC-30 Combo Organ
1965 Ace Tone Top Three Phenix Combo Organ
Hohner Cembalet
Misc.
Shure 55sh, 520D Green Bullet, SM57, SM57a, SM58
2002 Gibson Mandolin
Hohner Melodica
Hohner "Blues" Harmonicas
1997 Yamaha YA-53 Alto Saxophone
1999 Beuscher B-5 Tenor Saxopbone
1951 Conn 'Naked Lady' Tenor Saxophone
Current affiliations:
Dave Wakeling and The English Beat
Hub City Stompers
The Kinetics
Bigger Thomas
Reverend Hambone and his Church Keys
Past affiliations:
The Rudie Crew
Los Gordos Locos (R.I.P. 2004-2005)
Michael Ambrose and his Hamiltones (2003)
Tri-State Conspiracy (2001 - 2003)
The Cosmic Brotherhood of Ra (2001-2002)
The Color Green (2000-2002)
For the last several years I was the head sound engineer/stage manager at a local rock club called The Hamilton St Cafe and Stage . In addition, I have freelanced for many clubs and promoters through the years. I currently opperate El Toro Analogue Solutions, a small recording studio designed to mirror a low/mid-level studio from the 1960s. Not a single piece of our equipment (save for cables and tape) was made after 1969. We specialize in producing gritty, dirty recordings that mimic the surf/garage era, especially the Stax and Del-Phi style sounds.
I am always available for live or studio sessions, for any sort of band. Feel free to drop me a line at [email protected] .
