Mikestro Allegato
CONTACT

SEEKING

Band to Join, Accordion, Acoustic Guitar, Background Singer, Bagpipes, Banjo, Bass Guitar, Cello, Clarinet, DJ, Dobro, Drums, Electronic Music, Fiddle, Flute, Harmonica, Harp, Keyboard, Lead Guitar, Mandolin, Other, Other Percussion, Piano, Rhythm Guitar, Saxophone, Steel guitar, Trombone, Trumpet, Ukulele, Upright bass, Violin, Vocalist, Vocalist - Alto, Vocalist - Baritone, Vocalist - Bass, Vocalist - Soprano, Vocalist - Tenor.

ABOUT

I am a self taught piano player who plays by ear. I can read notes, but can't site read. I can read tabs/chords pretty decent but I prefer to hear a song and play it from there. I compose my own pieces, but mainly for fun. I was the piano player at my college chapel during my 4 year stay and I have played for churches in the past. I have gospel/calypso roots but love to learn any type of music. I may not be as fluent as other pianists but I catch on quick and have been told I play with a lot of "soul." I love piano and when I really get into a piece, I put my heart in it.

Screen name:
Mikestro Allegato
Member since:
Oct 22 2017
Active over 1 month ago
Level of commitment:
Moderately Committed
Years playing music:
15
Gigs played:
10 to 50
Tend to practice:
More than 3 times per week
Available to gig:
4-5 nights a week
Most available:
Nights

Influences

Early influences stem for my gospel roots; James Hall, John P. Lee, and Kurt Carr were some of my favorites growing up. I slept to classical music every night as a kid so I have an ear for theory (thanks a lot to Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff). Always loved hip hop beats and would listen to the radio during my childhood days to catch the piano/chords in a beat (I think Gangstas Paradise was the first hip hop song I learned and I just went from there). Being of Caribbean decent reggae, calypso and soca have been a huge influence as well. I got into more alternative stuff in college, Radiohead in particular (Videotape is still one of my favorite songs to listen to and play along with). I'm currently working on my jazz chops, but I have always found jazz music to be a great challenge for me to train my ear (Duke Ellington and Count Basie are two of my favorites. To summarize, I have had and continue to have a lot of influences as I continue to define may sound. I can keep going with names, but I'm not trying to write a book here :-P

Instrument experience:

Piano:
Moderate

EQUIPMENT

Although I have a keyboard that I practice on, I hate to admit that my musical equipment is not at all up to par. The majority of gigs I've played over the years already had the keyboard at the venue.