pedal steel/lap steel

When Mike puts his touch on a song it always elevates it. We first collaborated in 2018 for a live radio session, since then we have spent countless hours on the road, in rehearsal, and in recording sessions together. I highly recommend him to anyone looking for an expert player to uplift their music with intention. I feel that his playing always helps to establish sonically, the feeling of the stories I tell through the songs I write. He's done the time to understand how to fit in & get out of the way of a song.

Slo-Mo has been my partner and co-conspirator in John Train for the past 30 years. I would have no musical life without him. Slo-Mo has produced all 7 of John Train's albums which have been critically acclaimed and taken us as far as Italy and Holland as well onto the stage of the late lamented Bottom Line in NYC. He also produced five albums for my band, the Donuts. Make no mistake: Slo-Mo is a killer musician. But there are many of those. What makes him so great is his incredible taste and unerring ability to arrange (including when not to play). Hire him!

Mike has worked with me as a producer, band director and steel player. I trust him completely with my music, my projects and my artistic neurosis! He comes to the table with great ideas and with the flexibility to hear what else is possible. When working in a group, he brings a cool, calm presence to the dynamic which creates an easy working environment to get a lot accomplished quickly. He puts in the time and is wholly committed to every project he touches and I look forward to each opportunity to work together!

Mike is a Philly legend and a longtime favorite guitar player of mine from his work with Marah. He recently cut steel tracks for my rock n roll band The Ditches and gave our songs the exact balance of fire and twang we hoped for. He was timely and professional and turned in parts that made the songs Technicolor. Above and beyond brilliant work and we’d love to do more in the future.

It’s hard for me to say enough about the quality of Mike’s incredibly masterful and tasteful playing, whether on lap steel or pedal steel or dobro or bass lap steel (which I have mistakenly credited as “slide bass”). I’m beyond pleased and honored to have had him record on several of my songs and to continue to play on what will become my third album. Mike’s playing fabulous and his taste is impeccable. He has recommended other fabulous session players. Moreover he’s prompt and accessible! To my ear, the player who most closely resembles Mike is Greg Leisz. Mike is that brilliant! 10 stars!

I can't say enough good things about working with Mike. He's a talented craftsman with incredible patience and ears, all of which were needed for my project. Mike took my raw songs and tranformed them into credible americana/folk tunes that are now being played around the world. In addition to adding his own gorgeous/memorable steel guitar parts, he brought in top session players to finish what he knew was needed for each song. Mike takes great pride in his work, has great communication throughout, and his attention to detail is second to none. We're already working on our next project!

I had the pleasure of working with Mike on a record I was producing for an artist. We were in the overdubbing stage of the record process and looking for additional instrumentation that could make the artists songs pop when the artist brought up Mike to my attention. To say he created and recorded parts that gave new life to the record is a massive understatement. The songs had a new sense of 3 dimensional attitude with the addition of his beautiful pedal steel, lap steel, and dobro tracks. Additionally, Mike is very organized and his files are clearly labeled making loading tracks a breeze.

Mike is solid in any key, with any song, no matter what genre. He'll elevate your sound whether you have a full band or 1 person. He also responds pretty quickly and lets you know what he's able to do. Pretty much, he'll make your songs sound fairly magical.

Besides having played on some of my favorites bands ever, I've had the chance to collaborate with Mike and he's a top bloke. His tasteful playing elevated my songs by a step or two, adding that extra sauce that's usually the difference between an average and a great production. He's easy to get in touch with, quick in understanding what the job needs and delivers the best results you'd ever expected. If you need anything with steel strings and a tonebar in your project, Mike is the man for you. I look forward to get in touch with him anytime a new recording session starts. Highly recommended!

Mike is a monster of taste, creativity, professionalism, adaptability, and efficiency. He's produced and played lap steel, pedal steel, dobro, bass, lap bass, acoustic and electric guitar on countless tracks in many genres for me. Work with this man!

The dude is an absolute murderer on the steel. Just knows what to play instantly and makes it sing. He's great in studio. He's great on stage. He can jump into a song and improvise on the fly. His work on our latest record, In Lieu of Flowers, elevated the songs while managing to not step on anyone's toes, a true feat considering we had 16 people playing on the album. I've got nothing but good shit to say.

Slo-Mo is the real deal. He thinks like a producer and plays like a virtuoso. Slo-Mo immediately understood what we were going for and contributed in ways that elevated and transformed the songs; his contributions made us think in new and exciting ways about our music. His involvement helped us make a better record, no question. He's a pro of the highest caliber and we can't wait to work with him again.

Mike is a truly great partner, no matter what role he takes on in a project. As a player, he always has a producer’s ear for the perfect part(s), that will serve the song in the best way. In a production role he has clear vision, is completely unflappable, diplomatic, and focused.
He will make your song, or your project, better!

Mike is a very soulful steel player and his work is worth every penny. I can tell he listened and dove down to the bottom of my songs and then reacted the them authentically to himself. He enriched my songs deeply. Also he is fast! Very glad I found him and excited to work with him again in the future!

Mike is one of those rare musicians who can make everything he touches sound better. Whether it’s a blistering solo or tasteful, atmospheric pedal steel, he’s the man for the job. I especially love how lyrical his playing is - never stepping on the vocal, always complementing it by listening and finding his spots. We’ve worked on probably 20 songs at this point and I look forward to many more!