BIOGRAPHY
KSL.com, who listed Mikey as 1 of 5 artists ready to make it big, says "Mikey Wax is one of the most promising rock/pop singer-songwriters out right now. He has some very genuine and organic music that is a fresh take on a tired pop music genre."
It all started back on Long Island, where Wax embraced the music of Billy Joel, James Taylor, Dave Matthews Band and other substantive artists from an early age. Taking his time to develop his craft and piano chops, Mikey self-released his debut album "Change Again" just 3 years ago. Quoted by bullz-eye magazine as "uplifting pop/rock and darker, slower-tempo fare", the album received instant recognition ranking on the iTunes top 100 pop chart in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Since then, Wax has completed several cross-country tours supporting artists such as Howie Day, Serena Ryder and Landon Pigg. He has also opened for acts such as Andy Grammer, James Durbin, Ryan Cabrera, Tyler Hilton, and Tony Lucca among others. The album features the single "In Case I Go Again", which has been placed on popular television shows, including CBS's Ghost Whisperer & MTV's The Real World. In July 2010, the music video for "In Case I Go Again" was featured on the YouTube homepage receiving a half-million views. Most recently, the instrumental from this song was featured on NBC during the 2012 Summer Olympics. In the press, the single has been referred to as "a cool blend of John Mayer meets Coldplay, but clearly still original and catchy!"
In April of 2010, Wax released "The Traveler" EP for free download on his website mikeywax.com. Integrating social networking to download the EP, "The Traveler" received over 10,000 downloads and contributed to Mikey now hosting over 100,000 fans combined via Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube. In the summer of 2010, Wax completed a headlining house concert tour of 40 homes across the country. This intimate tour left Mikey with hundreds of new fans who connected to his music in a unique and memorable way. "I knew I was onto something after finishing my very first house show in Boston", says Wax. "There's such a special connection made when you play for fans in their own living room. It's up-close and personal." The success of the 2010 summer tour created even more demand, and resulted in Mikey performing his second annual summer house tour at over 65 homes. While on stage, fans are intrigued by Wax's ability to play both the guitar and piano simultaneously on original songs like "Last Great Song" and "Back and Forth".
Prior to the 2011 summer house tour, Mikey went back to the studio to record his second full-length album with producer Warren Huart (The Fray, Kris Allen, James Blunt). The record, titled "Constant Motion", is a dynamic mix that resonates as both a throwback and a fresh, modern sound. The album self-released on September 20th, 2011, and through word-of-mouth, ranked at #6 on the iTunes singer/songwriter chart, and #47 Billboard Heatseekers. The album was supported by a 15-date tour opening for American Idol finalist Elliott Yamin, and features the single "Counting On You", which began receiving radio airplay on major adult top-40 stations across the country in December, 2011. "Counting On You" continued to build momentum, and on April 9th, 2012, Mikey debuted as only the unsigned artist on the Mediabase adult top-40 (Hot AC) chart. Soon after, Wax was selected by New Music Seminar as an "artist on the verge", highlighted by iHeart radio as an "artist to watch", and was asked to support six dates with Razor & Tie's Jon McLaughlin. Together, they sold out NYC's famous Gramercy Theatre, and packed out venues across the east coast. On July 25th, 2012, "Counting On You" was featured on the FOX hit reality television series So You Think You Can Dance. That same night, his song "You Tell Me When" was featured on MTV's The Real World. Two weeks later, it was announced that "Counting On You" would be featured as the elimination song on all the remaining episodes of So You Think You Can Dance Season 9. In November, 2012, "Counting On You" was placed in the movie trailer for the major motion picture Playing For Keeps, starring Gerard Butler and Jessica Biel. The trailer gained the attention of popular entertainment website YoungHollywood.com, who featured an interview with Wax shortly after.
Later in November, Wax released a holiday EP, titled "And A Happy New Year", consisting of 3 originals and 3 covers. The EP debuted at #26 on the iTunes US Holiday chart. The EP title-track received radio airplay on SiriusXMs Holly station throughout the holiday season. Shockya.com praised the EP saying, "The six track EP simply makes holiday music the cool thing to listen to."
While the beginning of 2013 was expected to be a little quieter for Wax, as he is back in “the cave” (AKA recording studio) making his 3rd full-length album, it has started off just the opposite. In the same week, Mikey & “Counting On You” we’re selected out of 20,000 artists as a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition (ISC – Adult Contemporary Category), and as a finalist out of 13,000 artists in Guitar Center’s unsigned singer/songwriter contest.
With a distinctive voice, exciting soul-infused pop/rock sound, and passionate live performances, Mikey Wax appears to be on the verge of breakthrough success.
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