Mike Lawlor Banned

Born and raised in northern New Jersey, Michael cut his teeth on blues and folk, learning Cisco Houston and Leadbelly tunes on his Dad's '65 Martin D-18- . at age 13, he graduated to the electric guitar, and never looked back. Playing a steady amount of gigs throughout his high school years, Michael then set his sights on the West Coast. He attended and graduated from the Musicians Institute in Hollywood , California in 1990, and returned to New Jersey soon after and played in various projects ranging from heavy metal to bluegrass. Michael's playing has been described as fluid, singing legato lines with an undeniable blues basis, and jazzy undertones. His live playing fronting a band is where he most shines, whether he's doing Led Zeppelin or Jimi Hendrix covers, or his original material that stretches the boundaries of funk, jazz, and rock. His versatile playing style set him apart from his peers, most notably in a few prestigious guitar competitions. In 1993, Michael took down local Hudson Valley blues legend Marali Coryell to become a finalist in the "Guitar Player From Hell" competition - more recently , his victory in the national Guitarmageddon contest garnered him some long overdue fame. Lawlor defeated over 2,500 entrants from all over the country before a panel of industry judges in a live competition to win the coveted spot known as " Best Unsigned Guitarist in the Nation". In a contest that judged originality, technique, and stage presence, his win allowed him to open up for Stone Temple Pilots at the Avalon Ballroom in Boston, as well as a flight out to the Fender Custom Shop in California. There, he designed a one of a kind Custom Shop Master Built Stratocaster that he proudly plays at many of his current gigs. Lawlor was also featured in a Guitar One Magazine article, and was awarded a computer based recording rig as well as free pressing of his second album "Where Moon Go"-with his funk/rock/fusion trio "drop thud oops". Currently Michael plays a steady roster of gigs in New York City every month, most notably at the Red Lion, unarguably one of the best music clubs in New York City. You can catch him and friends tearing it up around the tri state area on any given weekend.