Portrait of a modern troubadour: Michael on Fire
By BETH ROBINSON
Special to The Oakland Press
It is the rare home that doesnt tell a story, and Michael on Fires gracious 100-year-old bungalow in Keego Harbor tells a unique one.
Bookshelves embrace an esoteric collection of philosophers, poets, mystics and musicians. Guitars own the living room, a keyboard the dining room, a bag of harmonicas the table, with a mandolin, a saxophone, and a violin that once belonged to a hillbilly fiddle player immortalized by Michael on Fire in Chief Redbirds Violin.
Though he has played with performers that are household names, there are no shots of bands posing for posterity; the walls are adorned only with photos of his family.
The place has a careful feel, every object a treasure imbued with special meaning. It also has the simple, clean and reverent feel of an ascetic monks quiet cell.
Michael on Fire, singer, songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, producer, teacher, storyteller, is venerated by fellow musicians and fans for his profound emotion, his powerful knowingness, his passion, and his personal generosity.
Your music has changed my life by leading me to places in myself that I had either forgotten about or never suspected were there and I want to thank you for that, writes a fan on his website.
As always, your vision reminds us that even when we are alone, we are all connected. Thank you for touching my heart and soul, writes another fan.
It is the life-long flow of awareness, insight, and empathy that has moved him to pen more than 1,000 original songs.
He has recorded 13 albums and composed for film, for Detroits Childrens Hospital, and for The Weather Channel. And he has spent his career performing hundreds of nights a year.
The lengthy and extraordinary journey of a modern troubadour has seen Michael on Fire born Michael Colone living in Detroit, Southern California, Nashville and Las Vegas.
He has performed in honky tonks and major concert halls, in prisons and for American Presidents, in private homes and on major festival stages.
Michael on Fire says that from the time he first picked up a guitar at age 11, he knew that his path and purpose was making music. He has remained true to that calling, living his life as an original artist.
Bands and genres and even his name have been fluid affairs for Michael on Fire. He forming country rock band Old Buck, toured with the Friends Road Show, created the avante guarde improvisational jazz group Prismatic, and hit the road again as a singer/songwriter, where he came to be known as Michael on Fire.
But his commitment and conviction have been constant as a kid riding a bike to rehearsals with a guitar in one hand and an amplifier in the other, later driving his touring van through whiteouts in the Midwest, black ice in the Rockies, tornadoes in the South, and fires in California to get to gigs, living daily on thin ice and a razors edge, and enduring endless judgement for doing so.
It cant be explained. Its a life force. Thats the path Im on. Most people think of music as a business or a hobby, but for me, I think its the highest calling I can have, he says.
In addition to his albums, Michael on Fire has released an impressive collection of singles. Since its October release, his single, I Aint There Yet, has received worldwide radio play, gaining Michael on Fire a spot on the national Americana/country music charts.
His most recent album, Always Yes, released by West Coast record label Real Eyes Productions, is receiving an enthusiastic response.
If I could have made this record anywhere in the world and brought in anyone I wanted, this still would have been the record I would have made, he says. I wouldnt change one thing.
The album, a masterwork of original Americana rock, country, and blues, has already attracted the attention of radio stations around the world, concert venues around the country, and his fans.
He has put in the years and the miles, and done so outside of the mainstream music industry, creating without compromising his vision, living hard by his maxim that you either follow your heart or sell your soul.
I didnt set out to operate outside of the music industry. Ive just always been clear about who and what I am and what I do and Ive been resolute in upholding my musical and moral ideals.
With the muse already whispering new songs in his ear and the road drawing him toward upcoming performances around the country, Michael on Fire continues on his lifelong path as a musician.
FYI
Michael on Fires music can be heart at: www.michaelonfire.com and www.youtube.com/michaelonfiremusic.
Beth Kellman can be reached at bakellman@sbcglobal.net.
