Mike Iott, the youngest and least disciplined of five very musically talented siblings, began playing guitar when he was 14 years old. His mother, in despair at his unwillingness to "knuckle down" and take his piano lessons seriously, relented and bought him a cheap, Japanese made classical guitar for Christmas in 1967. He took lessons for about six weeks and then launched out on his own creative adventures of learning songs by the Beatles, The Byrds, Peter Paul & Mary and eventually finding his way to the treasury of Bob Dylan songs.
His gravitating toward Bob Dylan was met with horror by his musically sophisticated siblings. The melodic structure and relatively light hearted lyrics of the Beatles (pre-Revolver) were always appreciated and the vocal arrangements of Peter, Paul & Mary were well loved, but the harshness of Bob Dylan's voice and the raw forcefulness his lyrics were met with much "wailing an gnashing of teeth." His older sister did, however, like the feel of his nylon string guitar and persuaded him to trade it to her for her handmade 1959 Gibson LG0 flattop that she always found difficult to play. She thought she was really pulling a fast one on her naive younger brother. Mike still owns and plays that Gibson to this day, it was perhaps the best trade he&..39;s ever made. That old classical guitar was reduced to kindling sometime during the early 1980's.
Mike played and wrote songs throughout several years of traveling the country in the early 1970's, hitchhiking and laying over to replenish his finances and learning lots of new material and techniques in the course of his travels. In the mid-seventies music took a back seat to School and earning a living. During that time he built a repertoire topical songs from the likes of Woody Guthrie, Dylan, Stephen Stills and bands such as The Band; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and The Byrds.
In the early nineteen-eighties he teamed up with harmonica virtuoso, Bill Price to produce an acoustic blues album called "Friends." The album of all original material received excellent reviews but very little airplay. When the Iott & Price band disbanded, Mike performed solo and with bassist Don Diamond (The Sentinels) in and around the Lansing, Michigan area for the remainder of the eighties. Still focusing on topical original and cover material.
In the 1990's after yet another hiatus from performing, Mike joined The Last Hippie Band, a Lansing area cover and jam band that that primarily featured prodigious talents of Thom Burke. Mike and Thom found that their vocal talents and instrumental skills complemented each other quite well and for most of the late nineties, The Last Hippie Band was known for giving their audiences a mind-blowing and eclectic mix of the familiar and the not-so-familiar of the psychedelic era of rock music. They featured cover material by The Grateful Dead, The Band, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Bob Marley and The Wailers plus many other obscure songs from that era, as well a handful of powerful original songs.
When the adoption of his son in 2000 made traveling with The Last Hippie Band impractical, Mike reverted to playing solo in the local (Lansing MI) area and adopted the stage name of Medicine Crow. In late 2001 Medicine Crow released a self titled CD of 16 original songs and an adaptation of the Katherine Lee Bates classic "America The Beautiful" in recognition of the events of September 11, 2001. That release sold fairly well and received an enthusiastic response from his audiences.
In October of 2005 Medicine Crow signed with Illegible Records, an independent record label in Lansing, Michigan and in March of 2006 released his second CD of original material titled "A Much Better Reality". Since it's release Mike has been performing solo and occasionally with his friend and fellow Illegible Records artist Ghetto Gas John, (http://www.myspace.com/ghettogasjohn) in support of that release. His next release, to be titled "Nahnah's Garden", will be a re-recording of most of the songs from his first CD (with a few new ones) to take advantage of better recording technology and techniques. "Nahnah's Garden" is due for release in early 2007.
Medicine Crow and Ghetto Gas John have played various topical festivals throughout Michigan as well as Ohio and Missouri. In September of 2005 Medicine Crow and Ghetto Gas John made their first appearance at the Old Town Blues Festival in Lansing, MI. In October 2005 and again in September 2006, Medicine Crow and Ghetto Gas John were headlined at the annual "Writers Block Party" featuring Lansing based writers, artists and musicians. When not out of town playing other engagements, Medicine Crow has hosted an Open Mic at Van Java Café in Holt, MI, and Espresso Royale in East Lansing as well as making regular appearances at Magdalena..s Tea House, 2006 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, MI 48912 (517) 487-1822, and Gone Wired Cafe 2021 E Michigan, Ave, Lansing, MI 48912 (517) 853-0550. He has also appeared at Way Station Books & Stuff, 223 South Washington, Lansing, MI (517) 853-1336 and Schuler Books, Music & Chapbook Café, 2820 Towne Centre Boulevard, Lansing, MI 48912 (517) 316-7495.
Mike cannot "not" play music. His songs cover a wide range of genres, from folk ballads to blues to light jazz, with passion for things spiritual and political.
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