mikel paul was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. His mom, always playing music on their Hi-Fi, bought him a piano when he was 6. Taking classical lessons til he was eight, he liked Chopin, but he also liked Jerry Lee Lewis. His teacher didn't, so he quit. A disgruntled 8 year old, but not for long. Soon, he picked up an electric bass because of James Brown and the Beatles. His mom got him into the San Francisco Boys Chorus because he wanted to sing. Antonio Carlos Jobim was always on at home, so a nylon guitar was next.
Everywhere, Mikel heard music. Felt it. He had to play.
Mikel's stepdad would scold him at meals for his constant humming and tapping of his hands on his legs. "Not at the dinner table son".
A couple local music store owners let him hang out constantly, playing in their backrooms, answering his questions. They gave mikel permission to play what he heard, a key ingredient in Mikels future of teaching and supporting the desires of anyone who "heard music" in themselves.
From college through his mid thirties he did nothing but play and write with others, mostly older than he. He would absorb anything and everything. Through the music of the bands Bittersweet, Skin, The Frisconickel, Santa Esmeralda, Streetheart and Poorboy, he learned to express his passion for the music he heard and felt, loving so much "playing live" and how a song could affect not only himself but others. And how songs had a life of their own, their changing with each playing.
He recorded records, wrote and co-wrote songs with many others, developing along the way his own "inside" style, always intimate and personal.
He was asked to play bass in Santa Esmeralda, an extremely successful late 70's early 80's disco rock band fronted by Jimmy Goings, touring and co-writing songs with Jimmy and the group. It led even more to his passion to do his own music.
Through the 80's, his "inside" style of writing really started showing up in his music. In 1992-93, he wrote 24 songs that came in a language he had always felt but never heard done his way. His own. He heard "his" soul. All his influences were there, but now finally, it was his music. His words. His humor. His hurt. His joy.
As life does, in '94 he switched gears again. He had been teaching and running a music store since '89, but now, marriage and family took the lead. A lovely time.
With his wife's nudging and to be closer to his aging mom, in 2005, he opened a music shoppe in Northern California, Lake of the Pines Music. His desire to give back took over. Lessons, performance, composition and recording were all in the mix.
By 2011 he found himself hungry inside for his music.
Over this past 6 years, Mikel has returned to his soul and with the help of his loving family and friends, his music is again pouring out.
The songs here are his music, the stuff Mikel feels. His voice, raspy and 2 a.m. FM honest. His words, his stories. Unedited. And, he loves sharing it with anyone and everyone.
Believing we get nothing unless we give it and having handed out permission slips to many, he has again received his own.
Everywhere, Mikel heard music. Felt it. He had to play.
Mikel's stepdad would scold him at meals for his constant humming and tapping of his hands on his legs. "Not at the dinner table son".
A couple local music store owners let him hang out constantly, playing in their backrooms, answering his questions. They gave mikel permission to play what he heard, a key ingredient in Mikels future of teaching and supporting the desires of anyone who "heard music" in themselves.
From college through his mid thirties he did nothing but play and write with others, mostly older than he. He would absorb anything and everything. Through the music of the bands Bittersweet, Skin, The Frisconickel, Santa Esmeralda, Streetheart and Poorboy, he learned to express his passion for the music he heard and felt, loving so much "playing live" and how a song could affect not only himself but others. And how songs had a life of their own, their changing with each playing.
He recorded records, wrote and co-wrote songs with many others, developing along the way his own "inside" style, always intimate and personal.
He was asked to play bass in Santa Esmeralda, an extremely successful late 70's early 80's disco rock band fronted by Jimmy Goings, touring and co-writing songs with Jimmy and the group. It led even more to his passion to do his own music.
Through the 80's, his "inside" style of writing really started showing up in his music. In 1992-93, he wrote 24 songs that came in a language he had always felt but never heard done his way. His own. He heard "his" soul. All his influences were there, but now finally, it was his music. His words. His humor. His hurt. His joy.
As life does, in '94 he switched gears again. He had been teaching and running a music store since '89, but now, marriage and family took the lead. A lovely time.
With his wife's nudging and to be closer to his aging mom, in 2005, he opened a music shoppe in Northern California, Lake of the Pines Music. His desire to give back took over. Lessons, performance, composition and recording were all in the mix.
By 2011 he found himself hungry inside for his music.
Over this past 6 years, Mikel has returned to his soul and with the help of his loving family and friends, his music is again pouring out.
The songs here are his music, the stuff Mikel feels. His voice, raspy and 2 a.m. FM honest. His words, his stories. Unedited. And, he loves sharing it with anyone and everyone.
Believing we get nothing unless we give it and having handed out permission slips to many, he has again received his own.