Former Bands
8 Glasses:
After having left the Filderstadt Music School rock band in 1991,
Mike founded the high school band "8 Glasses" together
with guitar player Emre Onur and drummer Dirsko von Pfeil. Two other
members joined the band: Tobias Lange (Vocals) and Karl-Heinz Eisele
(Bass). Mike, of course, played keyboards and sang, too.
8 Glasses played rock music such as covers from ELO, Supertramp,
AC/DC and similar bands. They also played Mike's own songs. 8 Glasses
stopped playing in June 1993, after the band's members graduated
from the "Gymnasium" (high school) and everyone went his own way.
But maybe one day, they will come together again and do some sessions.
Red
Fox:
Already in May 1992, Mike began to play with dance band "Red
Fox". Mike played keyboards and sang. Red Fox performed
in the great metropolitan area of Stuttgart, above all in
their hometown Filderstadt. They played music from German
folk, country, pop to rock'n roll and rock - all mixed.
In December 1994, they released the CD "3 Denger wia
Kunstdenger" with four original songs. On New Year's
Eve 1995, Mike had his last gig with Red Fox.
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Cheri Heat:
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In September 1993, Mike joined rock band Cheri Heat as keyboarder
and background vocalist. The band's members were Mike, Stephan
Rudolph (drums), Alex Riehm (guitars) and Roland Embleton
from Newcastle/England (vocals). In May 1994 Cheri Heat released
the CD "Indian Summer" with 11 original songs with
English lyrics. Then, in January 1995, Oli Pfunder (bass)
joined the band, and they played live in Southern Germany.
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In mid 1995, new singer Thomas Nill joined Cheri Heat,
and they began to produce new songs in their studio. Mike's last
gig with Cheri Heat was on Saturday, June 1, 1996, in the Atelier,
Stuttgart-Sonnenberg. In July 96, Mike left the band, because he
went to Oregon, USA.
The Merge:
In September 1996, Mike met guitarist
Paul Hopp, who originally comes from Portland, Oregon. They
played several times together at different events of Southern
Oregon University and at some open mike events in Ashland, OR.
Not until October 1997 they formed the duo "The Merge" starting
with gigs in the famous Ashland coffee house "The Beanery".
In December 1997, they also performed on TV (Channel 9) at Rogue
Valley Television. In Spring 1998, they wrote the closing song
"Welcome to the World" for the 25th International Show at Southern
Oregon University. The Merge plays original songs and as well
as covers.
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In Fall 1998, Paul went to Spain for a year, so Mike played solo
or sometimes with guest artists such as Alex Carlson (violin). In
November 1999, Paul rejoined Mike for a couple more gigs. In summer
of 2000, Paul went to Japan. So currently, Mike plays solo again.
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