Progressive Music Bass Player
Mike Streicher Bio:
I was born in McHenry Illinois, and grew up being constantly exposed to music in one form or another. My mother played piano, and would often give lessons to local students. My father played banjo and would occasionally accompany my mother when guests were over. Music was constantly played through out the house ranging from Classical, Big Band Jazz, Blues, to Dixieland. I learned to appreciate a wide variety of music, and began playing trumpet when I was in fourth grade. I studied with several teachers through school, and I was predominantly the first chair for my instrument. As I progressed through school so did my music expanding into improvisational jazz, and the early rock of the fifties & sixties, and of course modern rock. In high school I still enjoyed first chair for my instrument and I was the only freshman to be accepted into the school Jazz band. This allowed me to expand my musical horizons even further. I was listening to many great rock, and hard rock bands at the time. My ear began to be drawn to other facets of music. I could hear the melodies still, but felt compelled to explore more of the rhythm that I felt. As I had free time, or a study hall I would sneak into the practice rooms of the music class, and borrow the school electric bass. I began to be influenced by the strong early eighties metal bands like Van Halen, Queensryche, Metallica, and many others. But it was the writing & playing of Steve Harris from Iron Maiden that really made me want to play Bass more, and better. I began to play with friends of mine that were also influenced by the same music. I was in several different bands through the rest of my high school years. I also continued to play during college with other new musicians. All of the various bands I played with exposed me to more and different playing styles, and challenges. After several years of playing in cover bands I was given an opportunity to join a mostly original band. I started playing with the local Chicago band Wretched. I learned some of their earlier compositions, but was allowed to add my own feel and flair to them. I was also presented with my first serious recording challenge. I was exposed to all processes of recording as we composed, recorded, mixed, and produced everything by ourselves. With Wretched I recorded two full albums, and performed many live shows through out the Chicago land area. It was however the lack of future performances, and personality conflicts that ultimately caused us to follow separate paths. I continued to play with more, and more different musicians in various projects: Dye Alive, Virus, and Insideout to name a few. After the demise of yet another project I decided to take a break and spend some time to woodshed. Since I had played with so many different musicians in the area I had a lot of good contacts. I joined together with a few other Bass players in the area, and encountered an opportunity to study with Jazz Bass legend Bill Dickens. Bill is an incredible player, and a great teacher. Even though my playing style had been focused around Progressive Rock, Hard Rock, and Metal his techniques allowed me to gain strength, dexterity, and a new approach to the instrument. Music always has been, and always will be, a part of my life. I have stated numerous times that I will continue to play music until I die. Thank you for reading my bio, hope to see you at a NEMESIS THEORY show soon .....Mike Streicher.....
