I've been called Malachi for over half of my life. With long hair in high school and college I looked like the character from the movie Children of the Corn. When I was 25 I grew a beard and soon after that earned the nickname 'Jesus' from my students. When I started studying the bible I learned that Malachi meant 'Messenger' and I thought that was appropriate for me as a teacher and poet.

There are several creative projects and portfolios that I've worked on over the past 15 years and this record represents the 5th artistic work and spiritual phase of my life.

The great thing about the internet and mp3s is that they make the whole music making process so much more accessible to everyone. People can choose what they want to listen to rather than having the music sold to them. Bands can also network with each other like never before. It has been a revolution of independence for artists and people who really love music.

I started writing these songs in November of 2002. At first it was hard to find people willing to play political music. After a while, I found the right producer and band - some wildly talented musicians from Philadelphia - and we had a lot of fun making this record.

We recorded Smash Politricks in September and released it on October 9, 2004. I gave out 700 CDs as a promotion, 500 of them at MoveOn & A.C.T.'s "Vote for Change" tour in Washington D.C. I was glad to get the music out to make my political statement before the election. Through emails & political websites people came from all over the internet to check out the record.

"Stop the C.R.A.P." peaked at number #9 on the SoundClick.com Rock General charts on Election Day.

After the election, and its devastating results, the record actually became more popular. "Dark Day for the Nation" spent over a week at #2 on the Alternative Charts and was top 10 for five weeks. The lyrics to the song rang true more than ever before, and the song served as a protest for thousands of people.

"Shattering Chains" hit #1 on the Rock and Punk Charts on Dec. 30 & 31 as 2004 came to a close, and for over a week during Bush's inauguration. In fact, on January 20 2005, the song was #1 while "Revolution's Revelation" also hit #1 on Alternative Metal Charts.

All of the songs from Smash Politricks continue to get regular play on SoundClick.

I've been a social studies teacher and poet for 13 years; this is reflected in my lyrics.

Musical Influences: Hard Rock, Raw Punk, Old School Metal & Conscious Hip Hop, Roots Reggae and experimental, innovative artists - in the vein of Rage Against the Machine, Jane's Addiction, Public Enemy, Fugazi, Rollins, Michael Franti, The Clash, Beastie Boys, Chili Peppers, Run-DMC, AC/DC, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Roots, Led Zepplin, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Canibus, Bob Marley & Peter Tosh.