{"id":4402,"date":"2013-05-06T13:39:25","date_gmt":"2013-05-06T18:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/?page_id=4402"},"modified":"2024-03-15T15:55:43","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T20:55:43","slug":"bio","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/bio\/","title":{"rendered":"Bio"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This page contains a short bio that can be copied\/pasted for posters or print, as well as a full-length version available as plain text.<\/p>\n<hr style=\"width: 75%;\" noshade=\"noshade\" size=\"3\" \/>\n<p><strong>Short biography <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bay Area native Michael Gaither writes songs that alternate between the nostalgia of small-town life and the challenges of modern technology. Always with plenty of humor thrown in. He turned to songwriting after a background in journalism and a narrow brush with standup comedy. (He sold jokes to Jay Leno in a previous life.) Michael&#8217;s latest CD &#8211; his fifth of original tunes &#8211; is &#8220;Welcome Back: A Collection.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>His shows with are a mix of award-winning originals, stories with a backbeat and Americana with a local angle, along with a cover or two by some of the artists who&#8217;ve influenced he and his bandmates<\/p>\n<p>Offstage, Michael is a DJ with the legendary KPIG Radio.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mi5CaBxai9w?start=1191\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><strong><br \/>\nComplete biography<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whether you call it Americana, folk, or singer-songwriter, award-winning songwriter Michael Gaither is a storyteller. A Central Coast native, he takes the \u201cwrite what you know\u201d idea to heart, crafting songs that alternate between the nostalgia of small-town life and the challenges of modern technology. Always with plenty of humorous takes on everyday life.<\/p>\n<p>Michael turned to songwriting after a background in journalism and a\u00a0slight\u00a0brush with standup comedy. (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/i_even_wrote_for_jay_leno_one_time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">He sold jokes to Jay Leno<\/a>\u00a0in a previous life.)\u00a0A Santa Cruz County native, his songs also have a healthy preoccupation with locales from the past (\u201cStarlite Drive-In Saturday Night\u201d) and present (\u201cHighway 17\u2033). He\u2019s released five CDs of original songs, along with several singles. All of them have received local and international airplay.<\/p>\n<p>Michael performs solo or as \u201cMichael Gaither and His New Best Friends,\u201d backing up his stories on guitar, banjo, and harmonica, and mixing in covers of artists who\u2019ve influenced him (Tom Petty, Warren Zevon, John Prine, Bob Dylan) along with songs that are just a heck of lot of fun to play with a band (including The Cars, Little Feat, Neil Young, and The Band).<\/p>\n<p>Offstage, Michael is a DJ with the legendary Americana station\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.kpig.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KPIG radio<\/a>\u00a0and hosts two weekly trivia nights (heavy on pop culture and music, naturally). He also produced\/hosted the\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/what-is-the-songs-and-stories-podcast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cSongs and Stories\u201d podcast\u00a0<\/a>from 2006 through 2020, which featured stories behind his songs and interviews with other independent songwriters.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Beach Neighbors Spotlight: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo?fbid=893368472795995&amp;set=pcb.893368946129281\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Meet Michael Gaither and His Bandmates&#8221;<\/a> &#8211; 2\/29\/24<\/li>\n<li>Lookout Santa Cruz: <a href=\"https:\/\/lookout.co\/santacruz\/coast-life\/story\/2023-04-13\/michael-gaither-singer-songwriter-new-album-welcome-back-el-vaquero-winery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Michael Gaither Returns with a New Album and an El Vaquero Winery Celebration&#8221;<\/a> &#8211; 4\/13\/23<\/li>\n<li>Pajaro Valley Magazine: <a href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/nmcdigital\/docs\/pajaro_valley_magazine_february_25_2022\/s\/16142250\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Michael Gaither&#8217;s New Song Speaks to a Generation Feeling Like An &#8216;Elder'&#8221;<\/a> &#8211; 2\/25\/22<\/li>\n<li>Wallace Baine of Lookout Santa Cruz interviews Michael and examines his latest single in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lookout.co\/santacruz\/city-life\/story\/2021-12-05\/wallace-baine-music-holidays-michael-gaither-were-the-elders-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cReady or Not, \u2018We\u2019re the Elders Now\u2019 brings a sense of inevitable reality\u201d<\/a>\u2013 12\/5\/21<\/li>\n<li>Santa Cruz Good Times:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/goodtimes.sc\/santa-cruz-arts-entertainment\/michael-gaither-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Gaither\u2019s Pandemic Gig Helped Local Music Fans Through Lockdown<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 6\/23\/21<\/li>\n<li>Lookout Santa Cruz: <a href=\"https:\/\/lookout.co\/santacruz\/city-life\/story\/2020-12-16\/local-singers-pandemic-anthem-signs-off-on-2020-with-see-you-on-the-other-side\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Local Singer&#8217;s Pandemic Anthem&#8221;<\/a> \u2013 12\/16\/20<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/kccaferadio.com\/michael-gaither-enjoys-good-karma-with-his-latest-album\">KC Cafe Radio Interview: \u201cMichael Gaither enjoys good karma with his latest album\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0 2\/7\/2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.adobeandteardrops.com\/2017\/11\/michael-gaither-hey-karma.html\">Adobe and Teardrops Review<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 11\/2017<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bucketlistmusicreviews.com\/michael-gaither-hey-karma\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Gaither \u2013 \u201cHey Karma\u201d<\/a>\u00a0(Bucketlist Music Reviews) \u2013 6\/15\/2017<\/li>\n<li>Register Pajaronian:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/register-pajaronian.com\/article\/layoffs-zombies-and-sarcasm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zombies, Layoffs and Sarcasm<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 5\/9\/2017<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Other Media<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Livestream: The Santa Cruz Guitar Company visits Michael on their\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/3rz692xPd7M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Coffee Break video podcast<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Livestream: Michael and his New Best Friends remember KPIG Radio\u2019s Laurie Roberts in this\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/pUO7cHpzYS8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">livestream memorial concert<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Interview:\u00a0KSQD Radio talks with Michael on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/highway-17-is-a-killer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cExploring Santa Cruz\u201d episode<\/a>\u00a0about Highway 17.<\/li>\n<li>Interview:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/see-you-on-the-other-side-wins-great-american-song-contest\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cSee You On the Other Side\u201d<\/a>\u00a0is featured on\u00a0KSQD Radio .<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For booking and interview requests, please call <strong>831-288-2226<\/strong> or send an email<br \/>\nto <a href=\"mailto:booking@michaelgaither.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">booking@michaelgaither.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.michaelgaither.com%2Fhome%2Fbio%2F&amp;layout=standard&amp;&amp;width=800&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowTransparency=\"true\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width:800px;height:30px;margin-top:5px;\"><\/iframe>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This page contains a short bio that can be copied\/pasted for posters or print, as well as a full-length version [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8764,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4402","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4402"}],"version-history":[{"count":66,"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9266,"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4402\/revisions\/9266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.michaelgaither.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}