Mike Engle profile picture

Mike Engle

OFFICIAL MYSPACE OF MIKE ENGLE, STUDENT BY DAY, JAZZ VIBRAPHONIST BY NIGHT

About Me

I play the jazz vibraphone, as you may see in my MySpace videos (please look at them, because they are why I have a MySpace today). (Note: if it doesn't work there, try this instead: My YouTube Channel .) When I'm not playing the vibraphone, I am just a typical high school student (Class of 2007! Yay!) who participates in the jazz band and Model Congress. Most importantly, I am the captain of the school quiz bowl team. Speaking of schools, I'm going to McGill University (it's in Montreal, and many people say it's the Harvard of Canada, even though Harvard really is the McGill of America, but OK...) after I get out of high school, so if you're going there too, introduce yourself and friend me. I love good music (which, unless proven otherwise, is, in my opinion, jazz and classical), my iPod and MacBook, fine cuisine, ice cream (Ben & Jerry's "Chunky Monkey" is the best!), working out (got to balance out the food!), and the New York Jets, even though they break my heart repeatedly when the games matter most. That's about it for me: email me if you want to get to know me better. Or, if you insist, Facebook me! Now for some shameless plugs.

THE BEST jazz record label. Churning out the finest since 1939. Enjoy.

This is lala.com, a used CD network I use to discover new music. Buy new CDs for $1.75! No catch, no minimum, no membership fee. Pay them a visit.

And oh yeah, I did the survey that everybody seems to take. So if you're interested...



TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name: Mike Engle
Birthday: 01 Jan 1989
Birthplace: Kenner, LA
Current Location: Great Neck, NY
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Light brown
Height: 6'0''
Right Handed or Left Handed: Right handed
Your Heritage: Mostly Russian, dash of Hungarian
The Shoes You Wore Today: Asics
Your Weakness: Really, really, fast jazz tunes (like "Cherokee")
Your Fears: Height (except for planes, because I'm asleep), #13, Friday the 13th, the Evil Monkey
Your Perfect Pizza: Spinach and mushrooms, with plenty of the crushed red pepper. Can't be so hot out of the oven that it burns my mouth.
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year: Get accepted to a university, get paid at a jazz gig, get out of the pool of eligible singles (temporarily, at the very least).
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger: I haven't used instant messaging software in years. Not applicable.
Thoughts First Waking Up: Let me go to sleep for another 15 minutes.
Your Best Physical Feature: My relatively small waist, i.e. a lack of a beer belly
Your Bedtime: No matter how hard I try to make it earlier, it always seems to be 01h30.
Your Most Missed Memory: The bus ride to NOCCA with my bass player, Martin M., when we would talk jazz.
Pepsi or Coke: Yes!
MacDonalds or Burger King: No thank you.
Single or Group Dates: Single. I like undivided attention. Heaven forbid my date might like the other guy...
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Nestea.
Chocolate or Vanilla: It depends, doesn't it. Are we talking ice cream or fragrance...
Cappuccino or Coffee: What's a cappuccino?
Do you Smoke: No.
Do you Swear: @#$%& yes!
Do you Sing: No, but I hum all the time.
Do you Shower Daily: Of course!
Have you Been in Love: No, but I've fantasized.
Do you want to go to College: Yes.
Do you want to get Married: Yes.
Do you belive in yourself: Usually.
Do you get Motion Sickness: Maybe a headache if it's a lot of movement...
Do you think you are Attractive: Yes, when the zits decide to cooperate.
Are you a Health Freak: I'm not a "health freak," but I care about my health.
Do you get along with your Parents: Most of the time.
Do you like Thunderstorms: I generally don't care, but if they interrupt the baseball game, then I don't like them.
Do you play an Instrument: Duh! The vibraphone!
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol: No.
In the past month have you Smoked: No.
In the past month have you been on Drugs: No.
In the past month have you gone on a Date: No.
In the past month have you gone to a Mall: No.
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos: I could never eat a whole box.
In the past month have you eaten Sushi: Yes. Mmmm...SUSHI!
In the past month have you been on Stage: Yes, as a matter of fact.
In the past month have you been Dumped: No.
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping: Aside from showers and bathtubs, no.
In the past month have you Stolen Anything: Yes, girls' hearts! (Just kidding. No.)
Ever been Drunk: No.
Ever been called a Tease: No.
Ever been Beaten up: No.
Ever Shoplifted: No.
How do you want to Die: I don't want to have to choose right now.
What do you want to be when you Grow Up: Older, stronger, wiser, happier.
What country would you most like to Visit: Belgium. I speak their language and I hear the architecture and chocolates are amazing.
In a Boy/Girl..
Favourite Eye Color: Don't care.
Favourite Hair Color: I'll take any NATURAL color. Blondes, brunettes, redheads, I do not discriminate--I love you all equally.
Short or Long Hair: Some girls look better with long hair, some girls look better with short hair. I won't generalize.
Height: I guess 5'6'' to 5'9'', but that's not very important, is it?
Weight: A nice balance between javelin and cannonball.
Best Clothing Style: No ripped jeans, please! Colors that aren't all black and that look good together are always winners.
Number of Drugs I have taken: The past doesn't matter so much, as long as you're clean now.
Number of CDs I own: It's about quality, not quantity.
Number of Piercings: One or two in each ear, one for the navel if you're hot, that's about it.
Number of Tattoos: That's a judgment call. Generally, the fewer, the better.
Number of things in my Past I Regret: If you have learned from your mistakes, that's all I can hope for.
CREATE YOUR OWN! - or - GET PAID TO TAKE SURVEYS!

My Interests

In addition to anything I said about myself in other sections, politics, geography, current events, sports, useless trivia that hopefully could become useful in future quiz bowl tournaments.

I'd like to meet:

Gary Burton, Bobby Hutcherson, other vibraphonists (two reasons: I won't feel alone in the universe, and maybe I could learn something from him/her), female jazz musicians in general (because there are too few of them out there, and the vocalists seem to be 95% of them), Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Rollins, Charlie Haden, Chick Corea, Horace Silver, Jim Hall, Kenny Burrell, Lance Armstrong, Alex Trebek, Ken Jennings, Rudy Giuliani, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Lincoln Chafee, Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons, Rick Reilly, Scoop Jackson, Jeff "Love Me, Hate Me" Pearlman, John Buccigross, Gregg "Tuesday Morning Quarterback" Easterbrook, Derek Jeter, Joe Torre, Paul O'Neill, George Steinbrenner (even though I supposedly met him when I was five), Eric "Mangenius," Joe Namath (the greatest Jet ever), others I have forgotten to mention at the moment, and most importantly, YOU.

And now for a music video: "Spain," a song written by Chick Corea. Personnel: CHICK COREA, synthesizers; GARY BURTON, vibraphone; BUNNY BRUNEL, electric bass; TOM BRECKLINE, drums; GAYLE MORAN, AL JARREAU, vocals.


And another one: "Seven Steps to Heaven," originally written by Victor Feldman. Performed here at a concert (Munich, 1980, I think) that would be Stan Getz' final recordings. STAN GETZ, tenor saxophone; KENNY BARRON, piano; ALEX BLAKE, bass; TERRI LYNN CARRINGTON, drums.

Music:

JAZZ! (Classical too. Maybe a soundtrack or two from a Broadway show here and there.) BLUE NOTE RECORDS!!! My favorite CDs are Saxophone Colossus by Sonny Rollins, The Jody Grind by Horace Silver, Speak No Evil by Wayne Shorter, Hub-Tones by Freddie Hubbard, Speak Like a Child by Herbie Hancock, practically everything done by Andrew Hill and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, and the list goes on and on, so I'll just stop it here. No disrespect to any great albums I had to omit.

Movies:

Wow, I haven't seen a decent movie in eons. Hopefully I'll get to take a future date to a movie. I'm so desperate to hit a cinema, I might consider seeing a chick flick! (Disclaimer: that was sarcasm on my part. I won't stoop that low.)

Television:

Jeopardy!, Family Guy, 1 v. 100, and most things on ESPN, especially SportsCenter and Around the Horn.

Books:

No book sticks out as a favorite right now because I haven't read too many things lately. I do read National Geographic each month, though. The last great book I read would probably have to be Hamlet by Shakespeare. I finally finished reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for school. I HATE IT! DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME READING IT!!!

Heroes:

Vince Lombardi, Harry S Truman, Ken Jennings, Pat Tillman, Rosa Parks, my parents, Arthur Lipner (my vibes teacher), others... Speaking of heroes, I'd like to take the time to salute a fallen hero of mine. Alvin Batiste (1937-2007). A wonderful musician, an insightful teacher, and an influential person all at the same time. He meant a lot to me as a person and as a musician. He taught me how to jam, "because jelly don't shake like that." He always used to say that "ignorance in action is a powerful thing." And to this day, per his suggestion, if I need to memorize a little line, I will play it seven times in a row, because I'll surely have gotten it by then. Mr. Bat was a giant on the clarinet, in jazz music, in jazz education, in New Orleans, and in all of Louisiana. I miss him already.

My Blog

You on Me

(Anti-plagiarism notice: I ripped this questionnaire off of my cousin's blog. Enjoy it anyway, even though it is not original.)Directions:1) Copy these questions2) Paste them in your comment3) Type i...
Posted by Mike Engle on Mon, 29 Jan 2007 08:45:00 PST

I have a new Mac. Got cool tips?

Comment here if you (a) own an Apple computer, and (b) can tell me a cool trick.
Posted by Mike Engle on Tue, 16 Jan 2007 03:20:00 PST