Idol Kings - Journey & John Mellencamp
Idol Kings Bio: Journey & John MellencampThe Idol Kings are a group of seasoned professionals who know how to deliver a show. Hailing from some of the northeast’s most successful cover bands, with credits which include recording with Luther Van Dross, Curtis Stiegers,Aerosmith, Bob Dylan and more, and writing credits with, among others, the Oak Ridge Boys, The Kings certainly know what they are doing in the music industry. Plus, with the Kings you get twice the drawing power as you do with a traditional tribute band. The Idol Kings put on two great one hour concerts every night and come with an opening act when three sets are needed. With shows of two of the most popular 80s super groups, Journey and John Mellencamp, a night with the Idol Kings is always a nonstop party. Depending on your venue and stage size, the Idol Kings can accommodate just about any situation from an intimate evening on a small stage to a full blown production with big sound, big lights, and multi level staging.
IDOL KINGS player BIO
Michael Crow was also known as Michael Devlin Blare, the lead vocalist for the American hard rock band Totally Lost Cause from 1989 to 1996. After the release of their 2 albums, ORIGINAL SIN and SERIOUS TROUBLE, Blare left the country and was rumored to have been murdered in a drunken brawl outside a bar in Saltillo, Mexico, or possibly killed in action during the Great Robbery of the Northern State Treasury while serving as a mercenary for the bankrupted rebels during the Albanian Civil War. His body was never found. Neither was the money. Upon his clandestine return to the U.S., he changed his name to Crow, so that his beneficiaries could keep the insurance money inherited after his supposed demise, and he spent 12 years in and out of The Giants of Science, as well as 5 years with Cranky Bitch and the Sandy Clams. Around 2010 he joined The Idol Kings as a founding member. In 2015 he reunited with two of his Totally Lost Cause bandmates to join forces with metal drummer/producer Carl Canedy of The Rods. Together, they formed the progressive metal supergroup, Canedy. After the release of their album WARRIOR, in 2020, Crow also joined The Rods as their new lead vocalist, under the assumed name of Mike Santarsiero, to blend in with the rest of the Italians in Canedy and The Rods, and also to avoid any issues using the name Michael Devlin Blare while the perpetrators of the Great Northern Treasury Heist remain at large. He currently resides in an undisclosed, heavily fortified, and densely wooded area of southern Lackawanna County on property gifted to him by the descendants of Irish noblemen from County Cork and County Mayo.
Ryan is a founding member of the Idol Kings, prior to which, he has played in multiple groups such as The Collective and Daddy'O and The Sax Maniacs. A self-proclaimed gear nerd, he spends countless hours researching new tech, tinkering with and modifying his rig in search of new and interesting sounds. He enjoys working on guitars and basses for his friends and band-mates almost as much as playing. Ryan runs all tube amplifiers (normally smaller wattage) and a custom pedal board. His board was designed and built to allow him to cover the wide range of styles required by the Idol Kings catalog. His main guitars are a STR LJ-1 and Gibson Les Paul Axcess. He also plays guitars by ESP, Jackson, G&L and others. He exclusively utilizes Elixir Nanoweb and Polyweb strings (10 through 46) due to their high durability and tonal characteristics.
Mark was a first call session bass player at Studio 4 in Philadelphia in the 90's. Credits include: Bob Dylan, Luther Vandross, Curtis Steigers, Disposable Heros, Aerosmith (Spiderman cartoon soundtrack), Fugees and others. He was utilized for many of producer Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo’s radio remixes for Sony Music artists. An accomplished songwriter, his song “Too Many Heartaches” can be found on the Oak Ridge Boys Monongahela album. Currently Mark heads up the award winning national touring tribute group The Idol Kings.
John has been playing drums and percussion for over three decades and has been performing nearly just as long. He is truly passionate about his craft and aims to give a solid performance every night with The Idol Kings. The band affords him the opportunity to both utilize his musical abilities and entertain crowds. John's previous bands include Electric City Groove, Chasin' The Dog, The Sarah Holgate Band, Chasing Ashlee, as well as many performances in musical theater. When John is not delivering a show with The Idol Kings he teaches his passion to students and finds his work very fulfilling. In addition to music John enjoys a good movie, a good read, a good laugh, open-minded people, and his cats. Look for his sticks swinging in a show when the Kings come to town.
Tom has been playing bass professionally since the age of 17. As a teenager in the early 80's, he was a founding member of the band Cracked Actor, which eventually became the local legend Arc Angel. In the early 2000's, Tom formed the 80's hair band Heaven Sent, later changing their name to Shivers. This show band opened for numerous national acts including Warrant, Ratt, Firehouse, Thin Lizzy, Danger Danger and Enuff Z Nuff just to name a few. His other bands included Jetstar, Two Guys Left, 30 Pack Joe, The Jeanne Zano Band and Bat Out Of Hell as well as a handful of fill in gigs with Flaxy Morgan. In 2018, Tom performed with Stonebridge and the reunited Arc Angel at the Jammin' for Jerry Benefit in honor of Jerry Hludzik, founding member of the Buoys and Dakota, featuring Dakota’s Bill Kelly and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Danny Seraphine of Chicago. Tom's preferred gear is an ESP Marco Mendoza signature MM4 bass played through an Ampeg SVT-GS and an 8x10 Ampeg cabinet he calls the “refrigerator”. He also plays an ESP 5 string and an ESP 8 string. In addition to live performances, Tom has also done numerous studio projects including work with the Jeanne Zano Band and the Idol Kings latest REO Speedwagon demo sessions.
Bookings call David Gallinat 734-522-2827
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