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Robert "Booka" Michel | |
|---|---|
 Photo courtesy of Joe Henson | |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Musician and film producer |
| Known for | Founding Loudhouse Music |
| Website | Loudhouse Music |
Booka Michel is an American musician and film producer.
Michel was born October 15, 1954, and grew up in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. [1] He moved to Austin, Texas in 1976 with his brother Carl Michel. [2] There he served as a session and tour percussionist for musicians including Hoyt Axton, Odetta, Pete Seeger, Arthur Brown, Butch Hancock, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Townes Van Zandt. [3] There Michel also founded Loudhouse Records in Austin, Texas. [1]
Michel is the leader of his eponymous band Booka and the Flaming Geckos. The Geckos are longtime Austin musicians John X. Reed (Doug Sahm, Jimmy Dale Gilmore), Cindy Cashdollar (Bob Dylan, Van Morrison) and Glen Fukunaga (Joe Ely, The Dixie Chicks). They have released independent albums as well as produced the soundtracks to several independent movies. In 2009 the band released the soundtrack album for the film Baghdad Texas . The album made several Top 20 American Roots charts in the US over several months, including the Freeform American Roots Chart from July to September 2009. [4] [5] [6] Country Weekly wrote that the blend had a "brief but enjoyable running time". [7]
Michel also produced the film, which Variety states had "An inventive weirdo premise and a strong assortment of regional thesp[ian]s" from Texas. [8] In 2011 the band released the soundtrack album The Not So Meaningful Songs in the Life of Jeremy Fink, written for Tamar Halpern's film adaptation of the children's book Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life and starring Mira Sorvino and Joe Pantoliano. Bill Bentley wrote of the album that, "The sounds of folk, bluegrass, some Civil War-inspired songs and, yes, even a taste of Acid Western captured with utter cool by Booka Michel and his Geckos feels like an accidental discovery of something quite cosmic. Happy accidents abound." [9]
Frank John Hadley of Downbeat Magazine wrote, “String music spun from the rich loam of the past, but laden with fresh nutrients, [it] illuminates the dignity of ordinary rural folks of years long gone. [This] new album featuring acoustic string instruments upholds a romantic ideal without sounding anachronistic. No familiarity with the film necessary to enjoy fully formed songs and brief atmospheric passages."
Under his own Loudhouse imprint, he has produced chart-topping albums for artists such as Mike Kindred and David Olney.
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd, Derek Brown, Matt Duckworth Kirksey and Nicholas Ley. Coyne and Drozd have remained the band's only consistent members since 1991, with Coyne being the only remaining founding member following the departure of bassist and keyboardist Michael Ivins in 2021.
Jimmie Dale Gilmore is an American country singer, songwriter, actor, recording artist and producer, currently living in Austin, Texas.
Daniel Dale Johnston was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded alone in his home, and his music was frequently cited for its "pure" and "childlike" qualities.
Patricia Jean Griffin is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs have been covered by numerous musicians, including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, Kelly Clarkson, Rory Block, Dave Hause, Sugarland, Bette Midler and The Chicks.
Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted more than 21 singles on the Billboard country charts. Their highest-charting single, "The Letter That Johnny Walker Read", peaked at No. 10 in 1975.
The Flatlanders are an American country band from Lubbock, Texas, United States, founded in 1972 by Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock. The group garnered little success during their brief original incarnation from 1972 to 1973, but when the individual members found success in their solo careers, interest in The Flatlanders was rekindled with the band reuniting several times since. An earlier incarnation of this band was known as The Double Mountain Fork Of The Brazos River Boys.
Pedro Alejandro Escovedo is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk rock, roots rock and alternative country, and is most closely associated with the music scene in Austin, Texas but also San Francisco and New York. He comes from a family of musicians.
Owen Temple is an American folk and country music songwriter and musician based in Austin, Texas.
The discography of the Flaming Lips, an American rock band formed in 1983, consists of 16 studio albums, 18 extended plays, 15 singles, 10 compilation albums, four video albums and an array of various other appearances.
Singer Presents Elvis Singing Flaming Star and Others is a compilation album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Records on October 1, 1968. It spent five months available only at select retail stores featuring products by the Singer Sewing Machine Company as a promotional tie-in with Presley's upcoming Christmas television special on the NBC network, which Singer had sponsored. It was reissued for normal retail channels as Elvis Sings Flaming Star in April 1969, becoming the first Elvis Presley budget album on the RCA Camden label, catalogue CAS 2304. The 1969 release peaked at number 96 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It was certified Gold on July 15, 1999, and Platinum on January 6, 2004, by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Jon Randall Stewart is an American producer, songwriter, and musician.
Bradley Beesley is an American Independent film and video director, producer and cinematographer. Born in Oklahoma and based in Austin, Texas, he "has made a cinematic career documenting oddball Americana, strange sub-cultures and homegrown rock stars."
Alpha Rev is an American alternative rock band from Austin, Texas, fronted by Casey McPherson. McPherson remains the group's only consistent member, although historically the core members have also included Zak Loy on lead guitar, Brian Batch on violin and backing vocals, and Dave Wiley on cello.
Sarah Ellen Jarosz is an American singer-songwriter from Wimberley, Texas. Her first album, Song Up in Her Head, was released in 2009 and the tune "Mansinneedof" was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Country Instrumental Performance. Her second album, Follow Me Down, released in 2011, received a Song of the Year nomination from the Americana Music Association's 2012 Honors and Awards. Her third album, Build Me Up from Bones, was released on September 24, 2013 through Sugar Hill Records. Build Me Up from Bones was nominated for Best Folk Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, and its title track was nominated for Best American Roots Song. In 2016 Jarosz released her fourth album, Undercurrent. The album won two Grammy awards.
Scott H. Biram aka The Dirty Old One Man Band is an American blues, punk blues, punk, country, heavy metal musician, record producer, and ordained minister. He is primarily known as one of the prominent musicians of the one-man band musical genre. He has appeared on national television shows such as NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and performed in prestigious and legendary venues such as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, CBGB in New York City, Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California, The Fillmore in San Francisco, California, Roxy Theater in West Hollywood, California, The Roundhouse in London, United Kingdom, and Paradiso in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His music has been featured in many American television shows and films. He has also appeared as himself in several films and documentaries. The Dirty Old One Man Band has continuously toured in the U.S., Canada, and Europe since 1998.
35 Denton was an annual 3-day music festival that took place in the burgeoning arts corridor of downtown Denton, Texas. The festival was programmed each March the week prior to the music portion of SXSW in Austin, Texas.
Baghdad Texas is a comedy film directed by David H. Hickey and stars Al No'Mani, Robert Prentiss, Melinda Renna, Barry Tubb, Ryan Boggus and Shaneye Ferrell. The writers include Shaneye Ferrell, David H. Hickey and Al No'Mani. The movie was produced by Booka Michel. The film has had a number of festival screenings and had its official theatrical release at the Quad Cinema in New York City on August 27, 2010. it is the first notable American film to feature an Iraqi actor.
Tron: Legacy — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2010 film of the same name, released by Walt Disney Records on December 3, 2010. It is the only film score by French music duo Daft Punk.
The Border Blasters are a Texas-based roots group composed of primary band members Todd Jagger and Jimmy Ray Harrell. The band calls their sound "Cowboy Swing & Hillbilly Blues" with Jagger on mandolin, guitar & vocals; and Harrell on guitar, piano, accordion & vocals. They are often joined by other musicians. The Border Blasters are noted for their easy-going on-stage camaraderie coupled with tight harmonies and raw, rootsy musicianship.
Loudhouse was a hard rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan during 1989. The band consisted of vocalist Kenny Mugwump, drummer Vinnie Dombroski, bassist Tim Cross, and guitarist Mike Cross. Second guitarist Joey Mazzola was added to the band near the end of their tenure. They released one full-length album in 1991 and disbanded in 1992. The members sans Mugwump stuck together and formed the band Sponge alongside drummer Jimmy Paluzzi.