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Nice Guy Mike - Michael Blakey

Nice Guy Mike, also known as Michael Blakey is a solo guitar artist.

About Michael Blakey

“Oh Janice, let him try! What’s the worst that could happen? His arm will straighten out?”

On March 20th, 1989 Michael Blakey, artist name, Nice Guy Mike, was born in St. Louis, Missouri During his teenage years, while attending music class, he discovered the first sign of having a creative voice. “Can someone do an obnoxious giggle?” asked Miss Pittman, Mike couldn’t resist heeding the call and shortly after, received a round of applause from the rest of the class.

“What’s your favourite subject? Lunch”

Mike was one of those kids who would sit at timeout desks often and did not take his studies very seriously. If you asked what his favorite subject was, the answer would be “Lunch”, that changed over the years (not to dinner). If you know him, he was more of a social student than an academical one, he made friends with anyone, anywhere, anytime. During his youth, his mom Janice, had the most influence on him. She was always there for him no matter what trouble he got up too. As he would say “Bless that woman.”

“Chewy”

In high school, he developed the nickname of Chewy. One of his friends claimed he looked like a brother’s friend named Shoey. The name Shoey was tossed around Oakville Highschool for a few days before transpiring into Chewy; “Thanks, Ian, and rest in peace, my friend.”

Laketime, boating, water sports, family, friends fishing and beer.

During the summertime, Mike would spend his time at the lake with family and friends. We all know boating and water sports are big in Missouri, but neither of those is complete without some quality beer drinking. Mike did a lot of that, but not too much. On top of that, as kids, Mike and his cousins also spent time fishing for bluegill and catfish at Moberly, sometimes they even caught snapping turtles.

Tall tales, surgery, overcoming adversity and childhood dreams that have long passed.

It’s a lie if Mike tells you that the scars and the small range of motion in his right arm were caused by snapping turtles or sharks. It makes for a great story but is not the truth. He often tells the shark tale to people he just meets, and they are quickly convinced (sometimes). One girl he dated still thinks he was bitten by a shark and calls him “Shark Bait.

When Mike was born they had to do surgery on his right arm due to the presence of Myofibroma (benign tumor), which resulted with him only having a small range of motion in his right elbow along with minor finger restrictions. This didn’t stop him from learning how to play an instrument. The small range of motion put his arm in the perfect spot to be a guitar player. He says he was meant to be this way and would not want to have his right arm any other way. He also learned how to water ski and wakeboard despite his mom’s protest. His aunt would say “Oh Janice, let him try! What’s the worst that could happen? His arm will straighten out.

One of his childhood dreams was to become a professional baseball player. Mike still pitches a few balls every now and then just to get that childhood feeling again, but that dream has long since sailed.

Journey into music

His father, John Blakey, was a keyboard player in the 60’s and 70’s, so he force-fed Mike classic rock, funk, blues, and soul as a foundation for his music tastes at a very young age. He started with piano lessons as most kids do, but that didn’t last long because of finger restrictions in his right hand.

To continue Mike on a musical Journey, his father bought him a black and white Danelectro guitar with a gold sparkle finish and built-in distortion. Mom wasn’t all too happy about this purchase. At first, Mike didn’t even want to play the guitar, but the more he played it, the more he started to like it. Once he learned the solo to 99 Red Balloons by Goldfinger, it was game over.

If it wasn’t for his dad he would have probably not been playing the guitar as he does today. Many guitar instructors came and went, but the one who really pushed him was Brandon of the St. Louis ska band, “Psycho Dad.” Brandon taught Mike how to play ska on guitar and that is a heavy influence in his songwriting today

When Mike was young he used to be afraid of the dark. Nowadays he no longer trembles before the stage lights turn on.

Mike didn’t wake up one day and think “I want to be an artist”. As he says, the path to becoming an artist is a journey, and always will be. He started writing when he first felt love at the age of 15 with a song called “Friends or nothing at all” What a dumb idea that song was, they are still friends!

Mizzou University, playing in a band

While attending college at the University of Missouri Columbia (Mizzou), Mike wanted to be in a band; the lifestyle and comradery among friends are what attracted him the most. During his time at Mizzou, Mike met a fella named Bryan Kunkel while he was walking around the dorms with his guitar trying to pick up girls, but found Bryan instead. He had long hair, so it was close enough. The pair developed an immediate connection through music and other passions, which eventually led them into a time, where they played with a band called Mind at Large in Austin, Texas.

What is Mike up to nowadays?

Nowadays Mike wants to make a positive impact on the world through his music. Bringing people together for a big happy dance and to only see smiles for miles. Even though he would have liked to live in the 60’s, Mike knows we are living in a very powerful time: “I get so excited when I think about the fact that my music is able to be heard by the world with the click of a button”. Music and Poetry are an escape for when the world starts to feel too hectic and busy. “Without music, I am not sure what I would have as my savior when I am alone, I need music to get myself out of any funk.”

Mike say’s if he could choose one superpower it would be to speak all languages of the world. With this power, he could learn everyone’s story the way they know how to tell it. Until then, music is his preferred language for speaking to the world.

Mike loves to travel the world, soak up different cultures, and find out how people are living on this blue marble. Everyone has something to teach you, the only thing you must do is listen. He is also a big foodie and will eat just about anything. In the famous words of Bryan Kunkel “I’d eat the rear end of a skunk if it was cooked right.”

His travel experiences and love connections are a big inspiration in his songwriting. The two feelings combined create a unique song dynamic, which focus on living in the moment, while also chasing the past, loving in the present, and dreaming of the impossible.

Mike keeps a blog documenting his travels and song lyrics on Niceguymikemusic.com. If you want to know where he has been or what inspirations he is feeling lately, check it out!

Sunshine’s, Feel Right’s, and Goodbye’s

Currently, Mike is working on his first album, titled “Sunshine’s, Feel Right’s, and Goodbye’s”. The album is a journey through Mike’s past few years filled with love, travel, and feelings of being far from home.

Some of the proceeds of this album will be donated to communities and organizations active in the Fair-Trade Federation. These organizations focus their efforts on helping artists, women, and farmers in underdeveloped countries as well as the homeless in the USA, and the porters/mountain guides on Mount Kilimanjaro.

The album is set to release around Q1 2019.

To keep up to date on the latest, sign up to Mike’s newsletter, follow Mike on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter Subscribe to Mike’s YouTube channel and keep an eye out on his blog.