Michael Chance -Lead Vocals, Guitars

A sound man working for The Michael Chance Band for the first time said, “I know a lot of guys who have devoted years to whiskey and cigarettes, trying to get a voice like that.” Michael didn’t – he grew up with that memorable, gravelly rasp, and as he developed vocally, it came to define him. Though he is just as at home singing jazz standards and show tunes, it is his band's unique blend of styles - what Michael half-jokingly calls "soulternative" music - that allow him to drop all pretenses, forget expectations, and just sing.

It’s not just natural talent, mind you – Michael trained and sang with the Girard Academic Music Program’s famed Concert Choir under the direction of Dr. Jack Carr, the school’s founder, then spent several years earning his chops the old fashioned way – in the shadowed corner of a bar, straining to be heard over conversations and the clink of pint glasses. He’s learned what it is to struggle, and to perform, and more importantly, how to share that knowledge. Playing with The Michael Chance Band continues to be an adventure, and even if it ends in disaster, one Michael has been waiting his entire life to embark upon.

Michael has been many things in the scant years since he emerged, squalling, into the world – a teacher, an Americorps member, a marketing executive, a hobo, a student, a shameless heathen, a poet, and a lover of life.

One thing he has always wanted to be? A Knight. (No, really!)

Two things that he will always be? A student, and a musician.

Equipment:

Acoustic: Carvin Cobalt C980TMW, Ovation Super Shallow.

Electric: Gibson Les Paul Special, Fender Partscaster.

Amps: Crate & Acoustic Amps.

Pedals: Aphex Acoustic XCiter DI Box, Bad Monkey OD, Boss CS-3 Compression, Boss CS-1 Chorus

Recommended Albums:

Gov't Mule, "The Deep End, Volume 1"

Takenobu, "Introduction"

Train, "Save Me San Francisco"

Corey Chisel and the Wandering Sons, "Death Won't Send a Letter"

The Weepies, "Say I Am You"