Michael grew up in the suburbs of Elkton, Maryland, and now lives in Bear, Delaware. Ever since he was 12 years old, he wanted to play music; he initially found inspiration from his dad, who talked about playing at concerts in college and taught him how to play his first instrument. During his formative years, he joined the High School Band and spent his time working on his craft. Eventually, he met a friend named Zach who would change his pathway in more ways than he knew, when they realized they had a shared connection with Heavy Metal. During their junior and senior years, they began writing music to play together, Michael writing the lyrics, and Zach the riffs. Eventually, they formally made a band, and by then, Michael had realized playing music was his true aim.
Throughout his journey, he has had some highs and lows, but really, his struggles are no different than the common artist. Questions of worth, self doubt, writer’s block, external pressures from home and school, and general teenage angst. There have been dips in his creative process, but knowing he was not alone kept him going. As many people do, everyone needs a hero to look up to. And for Michael, that person was no other than Matthew Heafy. Getting to see Trivium play live, and watching him scream his heart out and pump up a crowd on stage unlike anyone he had seen before helped him to realize, and to keep in mind, what kind of artist he wanted to be. His highest point though, in his own words, was“Having a release with my band (Die With Me), going on Spotify and being able to hit the play button and hear my music… top of the mountain, as it goes now.”
Much changed for him in his artistic endeavours when he came to Albright College; there, he found himself experimenting on the projects and ideas he’d only dreamed about. His opportunities were widened and his horizons expanded, and now he had like minded, but equally diverse people to work through projects with. Now, Michael has expanded his reach and joined together with Tyler, Logan, and John in Us Vs Them to play the kind of music he fully enjoys playing, and take on covers and original projects that he’s wanted to make for a long time.
One of Michael’s goals is not just to make music for his sake, but to get people to hear and enjoy it, and to empower the people that enjoy what he creates. It’s important to Michael, however, that he isn’t seen as disingenuous or extreme. His goal is to be honest, and to show people that his life is not extraordinary, that he’s a normal person just like any other. Despite just rocking hard, he wants to be able to connect to people, and make them feel what he feels about music, just like one of his greatest heroes, Matthew Heafy.