BIOGRAPHY
The Man From RavCon creates melodic instrumental music… music with a strong visual appeal designed to create images in the listener's mind… music that takes the listener someplace else.
Although lead singer/guitarist for his previous project, Charlotte, NC rock band, The Ravelers, The Man From RavCon, aka Mike Brown, is forgoing lyrics these days and offering up original melodies voiced by classic instruments such as electric 6-String, 12-String, baritone, bass and acoustic guitars as well as organ, Mellotron, piano and synthesizers.
With the January, 2010 debut release, Zombie Pimp Cowboys From Outer Space!, The Man From RavCon explored the sounds of spaghetti western, blaxploitation, and B-horror cinema. With influences drawn from a wide range of influences, this multi-genre release earned praise from a wide variety of listeners.
The debut was soon followed by the August 2010 release, Everything Is Golden. The focus here was mainly guitar driven surf rock, but the soundtrack element remained in evidence as exemplified by the featured arrangement of Ennio Morricone's classic Once Upon A Time In The West theme.
July, 2011 brought the release of The Man From RavCon Rides Again!, a guitar-based Spaghetti Western effort which incorporated diverse elements ranging from Country Swing to Progressive Rock. Deep surfy single-note guitar melodies, Hammond Organ, Mellotron Strings, Flute and Choir combined to give Rides Again! a sound that has been described as "progressive twang". A video for the opening track, Wichita, was produced to accompany this release, and can be viewed on YouTube.
Within months of the release of Rides Again!, The Man From RavCon released Night Of The Beast, a special download only project which payed homage to the atmospheric sounds of 70's and 80's cult horror films. It was quite a departure from the previous two guitar-based releases, but expanded on territory originally explored with the debut release, Zombie Pimp Cowboys.
In early 2012, The Man From RavCon was chosen by Austin, TX based Deep Eddy label to contribute three tracks to il Triello: Three Western Tales. Il Triello also included tracks by Austin's Nematoads, and Great Britain's Los Fantasticos and further explored the sounds of the Spaghetti Western genre.
August 2012, signals the arrival of the latest full-length Man From RavCon project, The Traveler. The eleven instrumentals that make up The Traveler provide the listener with the soundtrack for a timeless journey of the mind. Further showcasing his atmospheric blend of Surf, Spy, Psych-Prog, and Spaghetti Western sounds, The Traveler may prove to be The Man From RavCon's most successfully diverse and original offering to date. Several videos have been produced to accompany this release, and can be viewed on YouTube.
Much has been made of The Man From RavCon's prolific output over the past few years, and he has shown no signs of losing steam or inspiration. More to come, Soon!
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