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HALF HIPPIE, HALF COWBOY, MOSTLY BLUE... MIKE WARD IS THE REAL DEAL , HIS WRITING SYLYE HAS BEEN COMPARED TO THE LIKES OF DYLAN,TOWNES VAN ZANDT,LEONARD COHEN AND STEVE EARL.MIKE GREW UP IN CENTAL MONTANA AMONG THE WHEAT FIELDS AND CATTLE ,IT WAS THERE HE FELL IN LOVE WITH COUNTRY MUSIC."MY GRANDFATHER TOOK TO ME TO A CHARLIE PRIDE CONCERT,IN BOZEMAN FOR MY FIFTH BIRTHDAY,I'VE BEEN HOOKED SINCE THEN" .WHILE MOST KIDS WERE PLAYIN' KICK THE CAN OR COWBOY'S AND INDIAN'S,MIKE WAS SPINNING OLD COUNTRY LP'S IN THE BASEMENT. "MY MOM WOULD GO GROCERY SHOPPIN' ONCE A WEEK, SHE'D ALWAYS LET ME PICK OUT A RECORD, I REMEMBER ONE SUNDAY THEY HAD A BARGAIN BUY..TWO FOR ONE..I GOT KRIS KRISTOFFERSON'S GREATEST HITS,AND JOHNNY CASH'S "LIVE AT FOLESOME PRISON',MAN I WORE THEM RECORDS OUT."MIKE'S FAMILY MOVED TO HELENA WHEN MIKE WAS IN THE FOURTH GRADE.IT WAS THEN HIS MUSIC WAS SET ASIDE, HE WAS ALSO A GREAT ATHELETE.HE BEGAN TO FOCUS ON BASKETBALL AND FOOTBALL,AND EXCELLED IN BOTH FIELDS,LATER BECOMING AN ALL STATE AND ALL AMERICAN FOOTBALL PLAYER."IN EIGHTH GRADE I MET ROD MORRISON, WE PUT A BAND TOGETHER,MOSTLY OLD ROLLIN' STONES,STEVE MILLER,THE WHO,BUDDY HOLLY AND CHUCK BERRY.WE PLAYED HOUSE PARTY'S, AND THE LOCAL ROLLER SKATIN' RINK.THEN DURING MY JUNIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL ,MY MOM SAW AN ADD IN THE NEWSPAPER,THE LOCAL MOOSE CLUB WAS LOOKIN' FOR A BAND FOR SATUDAY NIGHT DANCES,I KNEW ALOT OF OLD COUNTRY SONGS FROM CHILDHOOD,WE REHEARSED AND GOT THE GIG.I STILL WENT TO COLLEGE TO PLAY BALL,BUT THE LURE OF THE HONKY TONK KEPT CALLING ".ONE SEMESTER OF FOOTBALL WAS ENOUGH ,MIKE MOVED BACK TO HELENA.TEAMING UP WITH ROD AGAIN THEY STARTED A BAND CALLED YOUNG COUNTRY."WE WERE ONLY TOGETHER FOR A FEW MONTHS,WHEN WE GOT A HOUSE GIG PLAYING SIX NIGHTS A WEEK AT WONG'S SILVER SPUR THE SAME STAGE CHARLIE PRIDE EMBRACED SOME TWENTY YEARS BEFORE."A FEW YEARS LATER MIKE MOVED TO MISSOULA JOINING "SUGARFOOT" ,REPLACING TIM RYAN(WHO WOULD LATER BECOME A HIT SONGWRITER AND SINGER IN NASHVILLE).MIKE WORKED AT DUELIN' DALTONS FOR TWO YEARS STRAIGHT, BEFORE MAKIN' HIS JOURNEY TO NASHVILLE.AFTER JUST A FEW MONTHS IN NASHVILLE, ASCAP'S PAT ROLFE TOOK MIKE TO MEL TILLIS,IT WAS THERE HIS WRITING CAREER BEGAN."I LEARNED ALOT FAST, I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS UP AGAINST" AFTER NUMEROUS PUBLISHING DEALS AND EVEN A CHART SINGLE AS AN AN ARTIST(NEON WISHIN' WELL),IT WAS PAT ROLFE ONCE AGAIN WHO WOULD CHANGE THE COURSE OF MIKE WARD FOREVER,SHE INTRODUCED MIKE TO CARL JACKSON!,TEN YEARS LATER THEY'RE STILL WORKIN TOGETHER. "I'VE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM CARL," HE IS AN UNBELIEVABLE TALENT,GOD BLESSED HIM IN WAYS I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND". MIKE AND CARL GOT TOGETHER IN THE LATE 90'S WITH GRAM PARSONS OLD BUDDY ,JOHN NUESE AND PRODUCED THE "GRAM PARSONS NOTE BOOK-THE LAST WHIPPORWILL" RECIEVING CRITICAL ACCLAIM AND GRAMMY NOMINATIONS,INCLUDIND SUCH GUESTS AS,RICKY SKAGGS,MARTY STUART,LARRY CORDLE,JIM LAUDERDALE,JERRY DOUGLASS.JAMES BURTON AND THE ELVIS BAND,EDDIE "SOUL ANGEL" CUNNINGHAM,AL PERKINS,LEESLIE SATCHER AND OTHERS.SHORTLY THERE AFTER MIKE MET A NICE YOUNG MAN ,DIERKS BENTLEY.THEY BEGAN WRITING TOGETHER AND HANIGIN' OUT ,THEY DECIDED TO MAKE AN ALBUM(THE REST IS HISTORY"MIKE CONTINUES TO WRITE FOR HIS OLD PAL , CARL AND RESIDES IN NASHVILLE.WITH GOLD AND PLATINUME ALBUMS ,IBMA AND GRAMMY NOMINATIONS, MIKE IS WELL ON HIS WAY.HIS SONGS HAVE BEEN RECORDED BY THE LIKES OF:FAITH HILL DIERKS BENTLEY,THE GREAT DIVIDE, CORLDLE,JACKSON, AND SALLEY,THE CRICKETS,MARK INSLEY,EDDIE CUNNINGHAM.RANDY WALLER AND THE COUNTRY GENTLEMAN,BRADLEY WALKER WITH VINCE GILL, ALECIA NUGENT ,MARK NEWTON, MR.HYDE, MONTANA ROSE, KOSTAS ,DALE WATSON, EDDIE DUNBAR, CHELSEA KLINE, CHRIS GRAY, STEPHANIE BEUAMONT ,LONA HEINZE WITH REBECCA LYNN HOWARD AND MANY OTHERS."THE FIRST TIME I HEARD MIKE WARD SING, I WAS THUNDERSTRUCK BY HIS GRASP OF CLASSIC COUNTRY SONG COMPOSTION.INSIDE THAT YOUNGSTER IS A TALENT AS AGED AS BACKWOODS BOURBON AND AS RICH AS POLISHED PLATINUM.I'VE SINCE LEARNED THAT MIKE NOT ONLY SINGS MARVELOUSLY,WRITES SUBLIMELY AND PERFORMES BRILLIANTLY,HE'S ONE SUPER SOULFUL GUY.IN A WORLD OF COWBOY PHONIES AND SHOPPING-MALL HONKY-TONKERS,MIKE WARD IS THE REAL DEAL.HE BLENDS THE SOUND OF NASHVILLE'S FUTURE WITH A PROFOUND RESPECT FOR IT'S HERITAGE-MIKE IS COUNTRY WITH HEART,GUTS,SINCERITY AND ITEGRITY AMERICA NEEDS HIS MUSIC" ...ROBERT K . OERMANN ..COUNTRY MUSIC HISTORION AND CRITC....WHERE THERE'S A CLEAR MOUNTAIN STREAM AN OPEN WIND AND A MARTIN GUITAR .....YOU MIGHT FIND MIKE ALAN WARD!
