Chuy Michel

At the age of 3, young Huntington Park, California native Jesus Michel received the best present a child could want. His grandmother gave him what would amount to be the key to his life—a guitar. Seven years later, his uncle sat him down and taught him to play traditional Mexican folk music. Another relative introduced him to the world of rock and roll. “It all began when I was 12,” Jesus said. “I heard the song Gloria by the English artist Van Morrison. I was hooked!”And that’s the road he chose to travel. At 13, Jesus developed his first true love—actually creating music. Starting out with a simple four-track recorder, he began developing riffs and licks. Deep inside him there was music that begged to come out and he finally wrote his first song, an instrumental. Practicing six hours a day, he’d pluck out tunes from the Rolling Stones, The Doors, Pink Floyd Led Zeppelin and Credence Clearwater Rival. From there, his musical career blossomed.His first real guitar was a white Fender Stratocaster. “After that, there was no stopping me,” he said. He joined the high school jazz band and at 17 began playing in a local rock group called “The Monsters.” Among the band members were Javier Oviedo who went on to form the Los Angeles based rock and ska group “Chencha Berrinches,” and Jesus’ younger brother Ivann on drums. The Monsters toured throughout the L.A. region and in Mexico.Jesus continued his musical journey graduating from the Musicians Institute with a degree in recording science. While continuing with his own musical career, he helped others by recording local bands in his home studio. But performing is in his blood. He joined the indie rock group “Excape” playing throughout Southern California and formed a Morrissey/Smith tribute band named “Louder than Bombs.” He has also written songs for ESPN and the Discovery Channel. As if that weren’t enough, he’s also playing and co staring with the group “Identity Theft” which is currently in production filming a reality show for the Discovery Channel. Not done yet! He’s also the lead guitarist for Latin pop sensation Linda Lopez.When he’s not touring, Jesus can be found producing and recording other groups with Vampiro (Lead Guitarist for Jaguares) And as of December 2007, he is a official Fender Artist. Playing with Pastilla @ The Knitting Factory