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Singer/songwriter Michael Hayes was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and was raised the youngest of nine children. Having lost his mother to cancer at the age of six, Hayes sought refuge in the records he would inherit from his older siblings. He threw himself into music early, learning to play guitar by ear. In his adolescence, he would devour Beatles albums, putting his ear up to his parent’s hi-fi, lip-syncing the songs as though he were John, Paul, George or Ringo.
Though Hayes would fulfill the traditional family expectation of graduating from college, he continued to pursue his passion. After a failed attempt in the advertising world, Hayes moved to New York and began developing his suppressed songwriting talent. In 1995, he submitted his first demo to the Liverpool Institute and Berklee College, and was accepted on scholarship to both schools. In 1996, Hayes commenced his studies at Berklee, where he also began to participate in Boston's burgeoning folk-rock scene.
Nearly fourteen years and six albums later, Hayes has built an impressive collection of original music. He has captured the attention of his peers and a loyal following of fans. Without marketing or label support, Hayes has managed to bring his music to the fore. From his first solo album in 1997, to his first band the Everything Else in 1998, and subsequently, Lemonpeeler and the Vinyl Skyway, Hayes consistently turned out great pop songs. In 2002, Lemonpeeler released “The First Time,” bringing the hit “Automatic” to college radio. The group earned a Boston Music Award nomination, and completed a three week tour of the U.S. His other project, the Vinyl Skyway, delivered the classic “From Telegraph Hill” in 2007, earning national press acclaim (the album was also included in several best-of 2007 lists).
Hayes’ strengths as a songwriter are in channeling a swinging pop intuition with an incisive and bittersweet lyrical outlook, and his work has been described in press reviews as “lush summery music in the vein of the Thrills, the Pernice Brothers, or Fleetwood Mac.”
