A Brand New “About Me” section, for those who care to read my bio…
I play electric and acoustic lead and rhythm guitar, ukulele, lap steel, dobro, flute and penny whistle, and sing lead and harmony vocals. I also write and publish songs, poetry, fiction, and non-fiction.
After retiring from teaching writing and creative writing at Indiana University Southeast, I was able to step up my music and writing.
My band is Mike Jackman and Friends Quartet. Look for us around town. I adore this eclectic, innovative, highly skilled quartet!!
The Friends are:
Richard Chandler, vocals/acoustic guitar
Mike Jackman, vocals/lead and rhythm acoustic and electric guitars/dobro/flute/penny whistle
Barry Smothers, vocals/mandolin
Mike Williams, vocals/electric bass/acoustic guitar
and other friends join us from time to time
Previous Bands:
Co-Founder of Crazy Chester Band, Louisville, KY
Molly’s Mutts
Professors of Rock and Soul
Bourbon Sidecars
I don’t currently have students, but I’m open to informally consulting and giving lessons in guitar, dobro, songwriting, fiction, and poetry and critiquing creative work, including songs.
Hobbies: swimming, hiking, cooking, backpacking, electronics, homesteading, rock hunting, reading, road trips, supporting local music and writing.
My poetry chapbook is titled Letters from Spickert Knob
In New York, I studied voice with Dennis Britten and Jackie Gladstone, and guitar with Howie Morgan, who also was one of Steely Dan guitarist Walter Becker’s teachers.
I learned flute as an adult, which wasn’t easy – it’s a finicky instrument! – and studied briefly with Margaret Jamner, former flautist with the Louisville Orchestra.
(Fun Fact: I played clarinet in band in Stephen A. Halsey Junior High School and Forest Hills High School. Now and then I consider buying one and relearning it.)
I have a bunch of college degrees, yeah. Studied music theory/composition and classical guitar at Queens College, NYC (now the Aaron Copeland School of Music). BA in English and French from Belmont College (now Belmont University), MA in literature and creative writing from University of Louisville, MFA in poetry from Spalding University, and Ph.D. work (though no degree – enough was enough!) in composition from the University of Louisville.
I’m from Queens, NY, though I was born in Brooklyn. I’ve lived in Nashville, Louisville, and now call New Albany, Indiana home.
I graduated from Forest Hills High School, Queens, NY. Great musicians who went to my high school include Paul Simon, The Ramones, Burt Bacharach, Leslie West of Mountain, and John Spampinato of NRBQ (whose brother founded the band). John was actually a year behind me, and we were a little bit musically acquainted back then. You can see that with all that illustrious legacy I somehow managed to avoid becoming illustrious myself! LOL.
I think the local Louisville-area music community is amazing. All ages, genres, plenty of venues, open mics and workshops. Great, supportive, creative, and friendly people, lots of jams.
I’m a proud member of the Louisville Federation of Musicians Local 11-637 and the Monarch Music and Arts Community.
My wife Sarah is a homesteader, amateur geologist and botanist and excellent cook of vegan cuisine. My son Theo, now 15, is an accomplished double bassist and plays in the Floyd County Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He also is quite a good ukulele player (I taught him that one).
In addition to teaching college, I’ve worked as a freelance journalist, as an editor and writer on the desktop computer beat for TechRepublic.com, a Web editor for The Courier-Journal newspaper, and as a syndicated columnist for the now-defunct Snitch newspaper.
My articles were published in The Courier-Journal, Louisville Magazine, Kentucky Living, UofL research magazine, CIO magazine and others. My poetry, fiction, and non-fiction is often published online and in print.
If you have any questions, are interested in lessons, bookings, etc. message me.