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Mike was clearly gifted in the
musical realm, having taught himself to play in his youth. There are
no pretentious attitudes with Mike Rodenbaugh - he’s honest enough to
admit to having taken some music lessons along the way. He states “I
loved studying music and chord structures. It got to the point where
I would go to my lessons and sight-read the whole lessons for the
following week. I couldn’t get enough of the stuff. I was on a
continual improvement plan with playing my music, making sure I achieved a
mastery of modes and structures.” Even though he is fluent in the
language of music, he’s never stopped learning or experimenting
musically.
Finding the right path to
walk…
Mike was heavily into the 80’s rock in High School and still
is to this day. Around 1994 or so he recalls being in Rick’s Music World
where he heard this guitar player playing fast arpeggios, sweeps and
modes. “Luckily for me, he was teaching there at the time” Mike
recalls. “It was the best thing to happen to me in music for a long
time. He was, and still is, an awesome guitar player. Thank
you, Art Faccio!”
Breaking it all down…
Mike’s approach to music can be readily
called a creative obsession. “As a kid I would sit around for hours
making chord progressions of 4 on 3 chords, utilizing theory, breaking
down each chord then find out what mode or scale worked I
still do that today because the language of music is such an incredible
one. I continually develop my speed by racing with a metronome. I
try to spend as much time as humanly possible creating
music.”
What
inspires his songs…
When Mike was asked about
his creative process he explained that a song might be built off a lick he
made up while practicing, something born of just plain old improvising or
something that is pulsing in his head at that moment in time.
Mike loves all kinds of music. “I like the Jazz Fusion, Classical,
Rock and, yes, even the new country. I think it’s good to know how
to play all kinds of music. It will certainly make you a better
player.”
(Mike dabbles with Dixie on his new original track, Goin’
Dixie – check it out!)
His
sound…
Mike loves going through
a tube amp with a clean boost box. All he uses now are ’57 Fender
strats or reissues with the original PLU. He only use effects when
recording. Usually he’ll throw a touch of delay in after laying the
track down.
Presently he uses the Rhino YJM 50 watt
Malmsteen amp with a Malmsteen stomp box. A nice clean old
Blackmore tone. His other amps include a Bad Boy Rhino and a
Marshall Artist 40 watt.
His
Goals...
... in
life include simply being able to make a decent living doing what he loves
– making music. No delusions of grandeur with this musician; he’s
got his feet on the ground. Whether he ends up playing on tour
with a major artist or as a solo artist, his life has been, and will
continue to be, built around music. Mike states “It would be nice to
make millions but that’s not what I’m in it for It’s truly my love
of music. If I could make a decent living at performing, I think I’d
be one of the happiest men of earth”
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