THE AXEMEN INTERVIEW – Mick Michaels of Corners of Sanctuary

THE AXEMEN INTERVIEW – Mick Michaels of Corners of Sanctuary

  

1. Tell us your name and the band you play for.

Mick Michaels: My name is Mick Michaels and I play guitar for the New Wave of Traditional American Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary.

2. Who made you want to pick up the guitar?

MM: Both my grandfather and my older brother played guitar. They were my first introduction to the instrument. However, even with that, I started off playing drums. After a number of years I moved to guitar in an effort to be more like my older brother…that’s what younger siblings do, so I was no different. Guitar has been my primary instrument since I was 13.

3. Are you self taught or did you take lessons?

MM: I don’t think any of us are really ever self-taught. But formally, I never took lessons…which looking back now was unfortunate on my part. There are definite aspects of the guitar learning process I missed out on. I would watch my older brother play then try and mimic what I saw and heard. Jamming with other people was also a main staple in my personal learning process. Not as structured as it could have been that’s for sure, but it did offer a lot of hands on opportunity. I just wanted to play in a band, so I tended to gravitate more towards players who were older and had more experience figuring it offered me the best shot at getting my chops down and getting a gig, which it did. That’s where I really gained experience…like being in the trenches and doing things on the fly. But if I had to do it all over again, I would definitely include formal lessons to some degree.

4. Can you read music, Can you read tab?

 

MM: I read so little music that I think I would have a better shot at reading Greek…Hahaha! Same with tab…but do have a somewhat better, but minor grasp. For the most part, I am a hands on player…let me hear it or show it to me and I can go from there. One of the perks of being an all original songwriter is that I don’t have to learn other people’s music. : ) Makes my world a whole lot easier.

5. Do you feel like you have your own sound / tone?

MM: I do to some degree. It’s very cut and dry… not over processed…treble and bass up and cut the mids. It’s simple but it’s clean.

6. Tell us about your guitar (brand, model, year, color).

MM: I have a couple now that I am using strictly on the road…a Retro green B.C. Rich Gunslinger and a few ESP LTD Eclipse models (white, black and blue burst). They are all relatively newer models…like the last five years or so. In 2015 I retired an American made B.C. Rick Warlock that I’d been using since 1988. I put that thing through the ringer. It was my main guitar all those years. The guitars I am using now are super light weight and economical. I don’t need all the bells and whistles and am not a fan of over paying for a guitar just for a name...doesn’t make sense to me especially with them being on the road…nothing worse than damaging a super expensive guitar while at a gig. Just want a guitar that sounds good and stays in tune. For studio work I use a couple of B.C. Rich Mockingbird models. They have that fat sound I like to capture for recording.

7. What about pickups? Passive or active? Tell us about them

MM: I use both. Duncans, EMG 81s and 85s work for me…I also have a Mockingbird that I had an 80’s vintage DiMarzio Super Distortion pickup installed and another with Rockfield Mafia pickups. To be honest, I’ll use whatever is in the guitar. The pickup is just part of the sound.

8. Let’s get into amplification, Same drill… brand, model, speakers etc.

MM: I run a rack system that includes an iNuke power amp, a vintage Digitech ValveFX pre amp, an older Behringher compressor/limiter and a Line 6 wireless. For the cabinet I use either a 4x12 Line 6 with stocked speakers or a 2x12 Carvin with stocks. For recording I use 80’s vintage Randall 4x12 Road Warrior cabinets with Celestions…way too heavy to be carrying around anymore but great for the studio.

9. Do you have a pedal board? Tell us about that bad boy.

MM: I do not use a pedal board. I am a plug and play kind of player. I remember trying some pedals back in the 80’s…just never cared for the whole ensemble on the floor thing…I always just went back to using whatever the amp head gave me. I started using a rack set up in the mid 90’s. This gave me a consistency of sound night after night. No guessing whatsoever. Makes for an easy set up and tear down when on stage, in my opinion.

10. Now tell us your Dream Rig in detail…..

MM: To be honest, I am completely content 

 with what I am using now…I have been using it for a long time and really don’t see a need to change. I am not big into all the extra effects… they are cool for sure but I dig the raw, natural sound…less is more for me and it works well with Corners of Sanctuary’s style of music.

11. What guitarist can you not stand?

MM: That is a loaded question and one that could potentially haunt me for the rest of my career… :) Whether or not I am a fan of a particular style, method or sound, doesn’t really detract from a person’s ability or impact. There are players who I appreciate more now than I did when I was younger…but I think this is a normal progression. It’s like as we get older our food tastes change, well so does our music tastes…but with music it is more of an expansion as we begin to better understand what is really going on. That begins to open new doors and creates an appreciation that may have not been present at the first go round when you hear or see an artist.

12. Is tone more important or is technique?

MM: I think good technique will always shine through even with the worst tone. Good technique can tame bad tone, if in the event good tone is not achievable due to some issue or technical difficulty. However, good tone will only further enhance good technique. Start with technique and the tone will develop organically.

13. Name your top 5 guitarist.

MM: K.K. Downing,

 Glenn Tipton,

 John Sykes,

 Criss Oliva, 

 Ace Frehley.

14. Who is the most overrated guitarist?

 

MM: Another one of those loaded questions… : ) Overrated is a critic term used when someone or some group has a pet peeve in my opinion. Again, are there guitarists who I may or may not be too fond of…sure, but that is a personal thing. We are all in the same boat, looking for an audience to share our music with… Anyone who has ever been accused of being overrated has always had one helleva fan base and who can argue with that.

15. Who would you like a one hour private sit down lessons with anyone dead or alive?

MM: Criss Oliva or K.K. Downing.