Artist description Michael Are Hails from the harbor town of Baltimore, MD. A blue-collar town with a white collar charm. Some of who's residents included the slightly off beat and colorful John Waters, Barry Levinson, Edgar Alan Poe, Ric Ocasec, David Byrne & Frank Zappa (just to name a few of Michael's favorites) Growing up, his early musical influences were very rhythmic based (Funk, Soul, Dance, Disco, R&B). His collection included James Brown, Rick James, Chic, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, etc. Although he never considered himself very funky, he loved the concept.Then there was the overwhelming British Pop influence that he was drawn to like a magnet even still to this day. The Melody, the harmony, the bounce, and jangley rhythms, made him feel right at home. And no one group captured that flavor more than "The Beatles". He was 12 years old reliving the Beatles career from start to finish and learning to appreciate every subtle nuance and feeling they expressed through out their career over ten years after the fact. He gradually acquired their albums one by one and played them a million times over. As the late 70's were in full force, "Punk" and "New Wave" were grabbing his attention. It seemed to have the power and rhythm of dance with the melody and creativity of pop and a passion and excitement unknown to any form of music since, other than good old Rock and Roll. The Clash, The Talking Heads, The Cars, The B-52's & XTC, were now the dominant force of his inspiration. There was also the new excitement of Avante Gaurde performers such as Laurie Anderson & his true favorite of all Yoko Ono. Their originality and creativity will always be very appealing to him. Throughout all of this time his own style of writing remained true to itself, and although what he enjoyed listening to had taken many shifts, what he continued to write did not. It could not be categorized as any of his influences per se, but more so the characteristics of what those influences demonstrated to him - through his eyes. Melody is always an important part of a song as is feeling and sincerity. Although there is not much appealing to Michael in mainstream music today, he is still doing what he has always done, write sincere songs. More impressed by what has happened in music than by what is happening in music, his theory has always been "the older it is the better it is". "Think about it, groups or artists were more creative, they weren't trying to sound like someone else as much as they were just trying to find the sounds that music had to offer and make it their own. WOW! What a concept, plus times were changing and things were new, fresh and exciting. From old R&B to Big Band to Rock & Roll and its variations through the decades, Mowtown, Punk, New Wave etc. Things were always changing and striving for originality. In the cookie cutter world of generic, boring music today, Michael Are has always remained true and sincere to his music, whether you like what he does or not, it's what he does because it's who he is, not because of who is trying to be.

Music Style Alternative, British, Melancholy, Pop/Rock

Musical Influences Beatles, Robyn Hitchcock, Yoko Ono, Talking Heads, Syd Barrett, The Cars, Chic, XTC, Laurie Anderson

Similar Artists Robyn Hitchcock, Billy Bragg, Beatles, Syd Barrett

Artist History T H E C A S U A L O U T C A S T S In the late 80's after various groups spanning as early as Junior High school, He formed the original "Casual Outcasts" this was an experimental time for him and his music. Still keeping a very conservative image his shows began to draw a more Avante Gaurde or alternative crowd -- hence the name. It was a two piece band doing "New Wave - ish" originals (inspired by Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, Talking Heads, B-52's) with David Mandell on keyboards, drum machines etc. and Michael adding the more traditional guitar, bass & vocals. The band began to gain local notoriety in Baltimore and surrounding areas but only would enjoy a moderate local success. After Michael and David went their separate ways, He formed a revised "Casual Outcasts" ("I always loved the concept of the name") this time a 4 piece more traditional Rock and Roll band. The band was playing the local club scene and began to play covers to gain access into the bigger venues. In 1992 they released their first 7" "Happy Boy" on his newly found label "Hour Records" (named appropriately as a play on words). Also that year a local self-titled cassette, which included the infamous “Happy Boy” and “Revolving”, was also released. During this time yet another member change occurred, replacing all of the older "Outcasts" with an entirely new band they began to get back to the Michael Are basics, no more covers and a debut CD on the horizon. When their CD "Six Singles" was released in 1993 there were two more band member changes into the "The Casual Outcasts" we know today including multi-instrumentalist Greg Mansperger (Bass) and New Zealand born "surf" Drummer Craig Stang (drums) Now with the Atomic Mosquitos. In 1993 he officially incorporated his label "Hour Records" and began to help bring the local Baltimore music scene to a national level. With the release of "Six Singles" (a disc that will always haunt him) they began to receive national attention and college airplay in all markets -- It was somewhat Rock & Roll and somewhat alternative with a few acoustic songs thrown in for the lighter crowd. This disc was also the introduction for "In Love With A Friend" the "Yesterday" for Michael -- "People really related to this song and loved it's simplicity". "It gained a lot of attention and people started to know who we were". "I still hear from people almost 10 years later about how they enjoy that song". "I would get calls from these hard-core, underground, college radio stations that were playing "In Love with a Friend" an acoustic ballad." Two more releases followed that year for Hour Records; "Summer" a compilation of upcoming "Hour" artists and Sporatic Sunjam" the eclectic college rock band. In total it was a great year for The Casual Outcasts and Hour Records. All 3 releases received an overwhelming response and charted on the college music charts (CMJ). Since this time Michael moved to California to be with his family and turned to a lighter side of music. Still with all of his diverse musical influences imbedded in his songwriting foundation there is now an acoustic Michael that he never thought would be possible. His music today may be compared to Robyn Hitchcock or Billy Bragg. "I never felt very comfortable performing solo with just a guitar” I’ve always felt more like a songwriter than a performer anyway, but after I started to do a few shows I realized that it's the perfect environment for a songwriter, people can really get involved with the music and the lyrics on an intimate level without being overwhelmed by loud music or a distracting stage." He is continuing to work on a new release "SoLoW" a collection of acoustic and demonstration songs. "Enough Time" is the first single, a demo that he did at his home. Michael has recently moved back to the East Coast and has started to perform again. with shows scheduled on both the East and West coast

Group Members Michael Are - Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Piano

Instruments Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Piano

Albums HRCD-1003 Six Singles, HRCD-1004 Summer a compilation, HRCD-1005 So Low - A collection of acoustic and demonstration songs

Location Baltimore, Md - USA

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