Bio
Michael J. creates music, not only as a drummer, but also as a composer, producer and vocalist. His soulful groove-style of playing has been featured with Nucleus, Three Dee and Hoosier Daddys.
He has also shared the stage with Starpoint, Evelyn "Champagne" King, Midnight Star, CP-1 and The Beat Daddys, promotion staff for Windham Hill Records and performed with The Vintage Band and, Papa's Bag - A James Brown Experience.
MJ is currently performing in the San Francisco, CA Bay Area with The Touch of Class Band, Stratify and releasing new music with guitarist Greg Price as MJGQ, available on iTunes, Spotify and Amazon Music.
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1970s - Raised in the same region as Stax Records and the Memphis sound, MJ joins forces with Butch Anderson (guitar), Rodney Holmes (keyboards), and Brad Crowder (Bass) to form Street Corner Symphony Band. This rock/soul unit cut its teeth on the Western Kentucky-West Tennessee music scene.
1980s - After moving to Indiana, MJ, Butch Shammell, and twin brothers Donald and David McClure form Nucleus, which would later morph into Three Dee. Funk is the sound of this group, which opened for Starpoint in 1986. MJ would also share the stage as MC with Evelyn "Champagne" King and Midnight Star. In 1988, MJ meets Larry Grisham and
Tommy Stillwell of
The Beat Daddys and performs as guest vocalist with the blues veterans.
1990s - The Beat Daddys friendship leads to an opportunity to audition for Dance/R&B group CP-1. MJ joins CP-1 and the group tours the US and military bases in Japan and Korea. At the end of the tour, MJ would leave and relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area. In San Jose, MJ, Ned Kraft, Ben Hunter and Rick Hutchinson create the Blues Rock group, Hoosier Daddys. The group records and releases their CD, Into Something. MJ also performed with San Jose vets Joe and Jack Aldana in Del Sol and played keyboards with Kidd Funk, Luciano Malacara and Yvette Salas in R&B Funk band Kompany Boom. In 1995, MJ is hired by jazz label, Windham Hill Records, working radio promo for Jim Brickman, George Winston and The Subdudes. MJ also produced a rap project, Illmatic with nephew Sean McClure and released the CD, Ill Mac Black on MP3.com.
2000s - After the Hoosier Daddys breakup, MJ goes solo and records a EDM project, Way of the Drum CD, also released on MP3.com. The website jaigroove.com debuts in 2001. While performing with Eddie Love All-Stars and Marvin Banks Band, MJ meets Greg GQ Price. They join forces and start Prospect Studio in San Jose, producing and recording projects for Roberto Tinoco Duran, Brother Jake, Eric Lee Band, Dolly Goel, Idle Hands, Vintage/RARE and Lumbre. In 2006, Daniel Grijalva recruits MJ to join the funk group, Vintage/RARE. This starts a successful five year run with the group. Since 2012, MJ has focused on writing, recording and producing with Greg Price, as MJGQ. MJ joined The Touch Of Class Band in 2014 and STRATIFY in 2017, currently producing live events and projects with both groups.
The musical journey continues. Stay tuned.
