Album Notes

For the past whenever, Mike Kovacs has produced music, art, poetry, and film that has both defied category yet not been exclusionary. Having started playing guitar as part of a group class as a freshman in high school, he was unintentionally set on a path that would wind through many different worlds.

During his high school years he played in everything from church folk groups to metal bands while studying privately with John Benthal, Cary DeNigris, and fusion ace Glen Alexander. After hearing acoustic guitarist Michael Hedges and indigo girl Amy Ray, he decided to study classical composition at Rutgers University while also getting a degree in Economics. There he studied with serialist composer Charles Wuorinen, all the while playing coffee shops and bars in New Jersey performing everything from indigo girls to Black Sabbath.

After graduating Rutgers and spending some time in Washington state (teaching guitar in the same store where Nirvana used to shop), he returned to New Jersey and kept plodding along, teaching guitar, taking classical music composition from Noel DaCosta, and playing bass with the band If Darwin Played Drums. Then he began to release solo material, including the multi-media work sacred, releasing a cd with the same name. Soon after he went to Minneapolis, Minnesota to study composition with composer/teacher/ all-around-great-guy Jim Oestereich at Music Tech College, culminating in a standing ovation by both faculty and students for the debut of his ensemble piece the voice of silence.

Since his return, Mike has built his own recording studio (Mexico City Studios), released four cd's on his own Brimstone and Blue productions label, composed several dance pieces performed at Connecticut College, and performed everywhere from New York to Minneapolis to Seattle to San Francisco to Malta. He is set to record his latest classical piece, crescendo, which was debuted at the Ukranian Institute in New York City on January 31, 2004. This is part of a larger, multi-media work with artist Vladmir Aituganov.

With the release of his latest band work, Reaching for the Brass Ring, Mike Kovacs sets the bar for originality even higher. Almost every track features outstanding cello performances, as well as exceptional guitar work and perfect pop hooks. Uncompromising. Groove based. Passionate. Post-Modern. This is Reaching for the Brass Ring.