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“The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want.” Psalms 23:1

 

I credit first the Spirit of God, my wife, parents, family, friends, and great artists who believed in the gift God has blessed me with. As I proceed on this musical journey, I invite you to become inspired to seek God for the gifts deposited in you. I was born in Motown (Detroit, Mich.) during an unforgettable era in music as many musical geniuses (Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, etc.) were producing music that we still revere as staples. My love for music started when I was a little tike. I recall the stories of my mom and how I would dance to the music as a babe. Coming from a family of musicians, I developed a deep passion for music, and this lifelong passion is steadily growing within my spirit. Mom sang in many church choirs; Dad was a jazz musician. 

 

The first instrument I touched was a tenor sax at three years old. Dad would tell me stories of how I would always sneak into his studio to play with his sax. My dad brought me a clarinet for Christmas when I was seven years old, and by the age of ten, I began to play drums. I was in search of which instrument most resonated with me. After my family relocated to Atlanta, I became a professional broom player. When I picked up the broom, I would transform as my parents played music and rehearsed in the studio. I would play my broom as if I were a band member. My dad blessed me with my first electric guitar at 13 years old. I would learn the songs and play them with ease. This would stun my parents and others in the audience.

 

My childhood buddies and I developed a band. One day, one of the band members brought his uncle’s bass guitar to rehearsal. Upon touching the bass, I experienced a feeling like none other; I went home and asked my parents to buy me a bass guitar. At eighteen years old, God anointed my hands to play and draw crowds for the neighborhood. From this, I began to play at various churches throughout Metropolitan Detroit. I joined the United States Marine Corps and was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. During my time in the Marine Corps, I met a guitar player from Baltimore who invested in teaching me the uniqueness of the bass notes, strings, and other unique functions of the bass guitar. The first songs I successfully played were Mr. Magic by the great Grover Washington Jr., Always and Forever by Heatwave, Flashlight by Parliament, etc.

 

After being discharged from the Marine Corps and returning home to Atlanta, I played with a Reggae band for six months. I moved back to “Motown” and began taking music classes with George Calhoun, who would teach me the tenets of gospel music. I joined the Pure Heart Travelers band and several other bands that served churches with our musical talents. From these experiences, I learned that my most vital musical skills are woven within the tapestry of the Gospel, R&B, Jazz, and Funk genres of music. My local musical mentors (bassist) William Pope, Jimmy Ali, William Thorpe, and the famous gospel artist Fred Hammond (gospel artist). On a national level, the work of Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Daric Bennett, Anthony Wellington, and Victor Wooten has been inspirational to my music production.

 

Blessings from my house to yours,

 

 

Michael Brown, Sr.