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Mike Dill began playing guitar at age 10, when a man who used to be a sideman at the Grand Ole Opry showed up on his parent’s front porch, and convinced them to give him guitar lessons. Mike’s parents were not musicians, but did enjoy many different genres of music, Opera, Big Band, Blues, Dixieland, the Jazz crooners. He spent his teenage year’s woodshedding with his friends in a Sears Craftsman® metal tool shed. He hasn’t put the guitar down since.

Married young and blessed with two beautiful children, family became Mike’s focus in his mid twenties, but music was never far behind. It was rare to see him in his downtime without a guitar in hand. Whether it was entertaining at family parties, playing for his kid’s classes or the weekly jams on Saturday nights in the garage with his musical compatriot Chris Morneau, guitar was his focus. It was at this time that he sought out and became a student of Ted Greene; a superb jazz guitarist and a patient and nurturing teacher. Ted gave him his first taste of just how beautiful jazz guitar could be. Mike often said “If Buddha had played guitar, he would have been Ted Greene.”

Nearing age 40, Mike put together a rock n roll cover band and got his first taste of playing out; which suited him to a tee. But the band experience while fun, became tiresome,

After the band dissolved, fate in the form of a fingerstyle clinic at Guitar Center Palmdale changed his musical direction. Taylor clinician, Chris Proctor demonstrated the intricacies of fingerstyle guitar. It was at that moment his playing began to evolve to what it is today. Studying under Jerry Danielsen, a Cal Arts Graduate in Music, Mike continued to hone his sight reading and chord analysis skills.

While acoustic blues is Mike’s favorite genre, he also delights in giving his own stamp to Americana, folk, and jazz tunes. He uses a Taylor 810, a Martin D-18, and a National Steel Resophonic to get his musical point across. In his musical bag, there are also original tunes that he tosses into the mix. Every so often, you can catch Mike slipping into the role as accompanist while his daughter Corissa sings the blues and jazz standards.

Mike Dill is available for lessons and can provide entertainment for your events. If you are interested in lessons or having acoustic music for your next gathering, simply drop him a line.