There are those lucky people among us who know their true calling early in life, and Michael Geddes is certainly one of them. Michael's career had an early start, thanks to devoted parents. He was influenced by a mother who drove him for an hour to music lessons in Hartford, Ct. at age five, and a father who traveled the northeastern U.S. building magnificent pipe organs. Michael was playing guitar, singing and writing by age eleven, and realized at that early age his destiny was to be a musician.
From performing on the trombone as a sophomore with the Yale Summer School Orchestra, to the Connecticut All-State Orchestra in his Junior & Senior years, Michael went on to win the Arion Award for Achievement. At age sixteen, he spent his summer studying classical guitar in Mexico with internationally acclaimed performer and teacher Manuel Lopez Ramos. At age nineteen, Michael composed and performed the musical score for the film "Another Day for Teresa". This was a successful fund-raising film produced for the Sickle-Cell Anemia Foundation. His production exposed his talents to New York record company producer Harry Palmer,
and landed him at RCA to cut his first demo record in a major recording studio. For three years he majored in trombone, and minored in classical guitar at the Hartt School of Music in
Hartford, Ct.
The urge to pursue song writing and recording hit Michael at age twenty-one, when he left college. Hitchhiking the USA from Vermont to California, he continued performing, traveling and writing until 1972, when Uncle Sam gave him the call. Ending up in Boston, he formed an alliance with renowned classical guitarist and teacher Andrew Caponigro for two years. During this time, Michael's particular style of guitar playing developed, and he could often be found performing in Boston's pubs and hangouts. When he left Boston, Michael returned to Mexico, where he traveled and studied. Traveling to the American artist colony San Miguel Allende in the mountains north of Mexico City, he performed frequently, continuing to hone his guitar skills.
From there, Michael traveled to Tampa, Florida, where he won talent competitions, and continued performing full-time. He also attended the Carbonyl Conservatory of Music, where he studied voice with Alfredo Carbonyl, while performing at such famous places as the Tierra Verde Resort in St. Petersburg. Michael grew accustomed to performing as opening act for some of musics best: Judy Collins, Dave Mason, and Pure Prairie League, and received an invitation to the 1982 Super Bowl festivities as opening act for Lou Rawls. Yet . . . the road beckoned again.
In 1984, with his wife and two-year-old son, Michael sold his Tampa home and spent the next two years continuously touring, writing, and performing throughout the USA. His wrote his first album "Open Highway" during their travels, and recorded it in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. The majesty and beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley created an overwhelming influence for Michael and his family to put down roots, so they settled near Harrisonburg, VA.
In 1986, Michael began teaching guitar students, both privately and at Eastern Mennonite University. During summer breaks, he performed at Station Six Restaurant in Kitty Hawk, NC.
It was there that he developed a tremendous reputation as a performer and songwriter.
Michael bought his own production and recording studio in 1988, and set about producing radio and television jingles, in addition to writing and performing. Michael's second album, "Hearts in Love", was written and produced in 1991. Michael has become very involved with music in the local community, and has created writing and computer music workshops for elementary and middle schools throughout the valley. He can still be heard performing at local events and resorts in and around Harrisonburg, such as Skyland, Big Meadows, and Massanutten Ski Resort, where he has performed for several years. Michael's third album, recorded and released in 1996, reflects his ever-increasing performance and song writing skills.
Commissioned by television station WVPT in 1997, Michael composed, performed, and recorded the music score for "A Slow Train to Yesterday". This documentary on the history of the railroad in the Shenandoah Valley has become the most successful fund-raiser of the PBS station to date. During this year, Michael updated his recording studio and record company (Shenandoah Records) to utilize some of the latest advances in digital technology. This helped Michael
on-stage to produce a fresh, new sound, "The Music of Michael Geddes".
Michael expanded his performing regions in 1998 to include the famous restaurants, resorts, and casinos in the Delmarva peninsula up to Atlantic City, NJ. His performances have been well-received at such popular places in Maryland as Harrisons Chesapeake House near St. Michaels, cruises on the paddlewheel boat Dorothy Megan, and at the Suicide Bridge Restaurant near Cambridge. His smooth baritone bass voice has often been compared with James Taylor (one of his favorites), and his jazz-influenced classical guitar performance is topnotch. Michael draws on the influences of such great artists as Peter, Paul & Mary, Jose Feliciano, John Denver, The Beatles, Bruce Hornsby, Cat Stevens, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Michael's song writing ability is also first-rate, and spans a vast array of musical moods.
From light, happy songs such as the up-tempo "Sleeping Dog", beautiful inspired melodies like
"Shenandoah Sunrise", and darker, intense songs like "Miriam", Michael Geddes' performances will leave the listener with a desire to come back again and again.
Recently, Michael finished his fourth album, and his first CD, "Journey". Released in the summer of 1999, it will be followed by a performance schedule beginning shortly thereafter in the eastern US.
