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Michael Earhart, one of the best guitar players in North Texas, is currently playing acoustic fingerstyle guitar; however, over the last 34 years he's played just about every style there is, in almost every venue imaginable. A veteran of radio and television performance, he spent the fall of 2001 at Pineapple Recording Studios in Arlington, Texas, laying down tracks for his first radio-ready release, the solo work "Surface Tension."

Michael is a 2002 Regional Champion in Guitar Center's Guitarmageddon contest. He competed with seven other guitarists at the National Finals at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 11, 2002. Opening the concert for The Smithereens on the Hall Of Fame main stage, he and his fellow musicians wowed the standing room only audience.

"Surface Tension", an instrumental collection, has been in heavy rotation on European and South American radio. The first track on the album, "(The Only Good) Fire Ant" reached ..1 on the Acoustic Chart during the week of May 29, 2002 at MP3.com. That same tune was nominated for Best Instrumental by Just Plain Folks, and captured Second Place. The awards ceremony was held on November 6, 2004 in Hollywood, California.

Michael's solo live performances are energetic and fun. He re-creates his favorite original and cover tunes with electronic loops, Ebow and other tools. He will also follow his muse to create new songs instantly. Using the guitar as a drum and microphone, Michael can also make loops of percussion and voice.

Michael was one of the founding members of the Dallas rock group Another Fine Mess. While he was in the Mess he shared the stage with John Nitzinger, and The Blues Brothers, and he co-wrote a song with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. He has appeared in concert and live television with national Country/Gospel artist Clark Byron. Another Fine Mess captured first place at the American Music Festival Battle of The Bands two years in a row. He is currently working on a follow up to Surface Tension.

Michael Earhart was born March 18, 1958, in Stuttgart, Arkansas. "That was the year the first electric typewriter was made," he claims with some pride. His dad was 19 and in the Air Force, his mom a 20-year old housewife. Michael's father stayed in the Air Force for 22 years. Because of the nature of the military beast his family would be uprooted and moved many times.

Michael's earliest memory of anything is when, at 4 years old, he would relentlessly pester his Uncle Richard's band mates to let him sing into the microphone at rehearsals while they cranked out Elvis tunes.

"As a kid I was really enamored of the concept of the 45 r.p.m. record, and on my 6th Christmas received a small record player and a box of about fifty 45 r.p.m. records. There were some real classics in that collection, too: Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis and several others. I would sit and play those records, A side and B side, just fascinated with the idea that putting a needle into that groove could make sounds. I believe that was really the starting point in my life to want to make music. I began to pay attention to the radio, and my mother's piano playing, and the Ed Sullivan Show. I developed a knack of hearing a song once, and singing it back, word for word, a talent I have since lost somewhere along the way."

Michael grew up in a household that always had music playing, either on the record player or on his mom's piano. "I started pounding the piano at age 7, and started actually playing recognizable songs at 8. Mom made me start taking lessons when I was nine because she thought I had potential. I did have a good ear for melody, and could pick out just about any tune once I could sing it. Of course, I hated piano lessons, and would skip them whenever I felt brave enough to do so. My mom was disappointed in my lack of wanting to learn that way, and I tried to tell her I would do just fine playing the piano without the lessons; she let me quit a year later. That was the year my Uncle Richard came to live with us and he brought his Silvertone guitar with him. He would sit in our backyard and play honky tonk music, and gospel songs and we would all join in and sing, but I was watching his fingers. Playing guitar looked and sounded really cool! When he wasn't looking I picked his guitar up one day and proceeded to pick out the melody line of "Kansas City", no chords, just melody. My fingers hurt so bad when I was finished but that was nothing compared to the joy of playing that guitar! I approached my uncle and told him what I had done, and asked him if he would show me more. He immediately showed me that what I was trying to play was in the key of 'E', and playing the melody was fine, but I should learn how to play the chords that went to it. So he showed me my first I IV V chord progression, and I knew this was the instrument for me. My parents were very supportive and though I never had a fancy or expensive guitar, I always had a guitar. I'm grateful to this day to my parents for encouraging me, and to my uncle for being there to lead me along. If it wasn't for playing the guitar I might have grown up to be something useless, like a Texas baseball player or an electronics technician or something.

"My first really good guitar was an Epiphone acoustic that I bought with my own money when I was a freshman in high school. My dad wanted to buy a guitar for me, but I felt this was something I should do on my own. That guitar lasted about a year, and ended up with a severe crack down the middle of it's back.

"In 1975, I met another teenager at a youth church service in Lubbock, Texas where I was living at the time. Terry Hill was visiting from Monahans, Texas, and he brought his guitar with him. Though we had never met, we both knew the same songs from the Maranatha! record albums, so we played about 10 tunes together, taking turns singing lead and harmony. We were impressed with each other, to say the least. He went back home a few days later, but we stayed in touch through high school, and as soon as I could I moved to Monahans to put a Christian band together with him. We called ourselves 'Precious Seed', and worked as a duo. We wrote all of our own songs, and played a lot of places in West Texas and beyond. We both played Alvarez acoustic guitars, and Terry bought a Gibson The Paul electric guitar, which made me immediately jealous. Later we added a bass player, Karen Hill (no relation to Terry at the time), and her singing skills added a much needed depth to our music. We continued seeking out a drummer, but we remained a trio until we disbanded. I really hated seeing that band split up. Terry and Karen married not long after that. We still keep in touch.

"All through my twenties and thirties I played in a variety of bands and in a variety of styles, including rock, pop, country and acoustic music. In 1992, I put an improvisational rock band together with drummer Juan Bessera and we called ourselves 'Critical News'. That band was really out in left field! We would make up most of our songs at gigs, right there in front of everyone! 'No fear', that was our motto. 'No audience for long', is what it should have been!"

In 1993 Michael got a phone call from guitarist/songwriter Jeff Fowler, who was putting together a band. The first audition included Jeff and bassist Phil. "It was a disaster", says Michael. "I played horrible. It seemed like nothing sounded good to me and I was sure that Jeff and Phil would feel likewise. I was really surprised to hear back from Jeff the next day. He wanted to put together another audition that would include drummer Will Kapner. That time we clicked, and Jeff offered me a permanent place in the band, which I accepted. Been there ever since."

After a couple of years, Will and Phil moved on, and were replaced with drummer Stocker Travis and bassist Christoper Amos. Another Fine Mess briefly changed the band's name to 'Raven's Way', but after Christopher left 6 months later, Bruce Benke was brought in to play bass, and Another Fine Mess was back in business. The line-up of Jeff, Michael, Stocker and Bruce continued for 4 years, winning several awards and sharing stages with The Blues Brothers, John Nitzinger and former Jimi Hendrix Band Of Gypsys drummer Buddy Miles. They also spent a surreal evening with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, who was hanging out at Michael's music store, Earhart Electronics (now Earhart Music, owned by Alan Davis). They ended up jamming with him and they wrote a song with him. In 2001 the band finally called it quits. Shortly after the breakup, Michael began recording music for his first radio ready release, 'Surface Tension'.

At the time of the band's breakup, Michael's favorite gear was a Parker Fly Deluxe, fitted with a Roland GK-2A Synthesizer pickup. His amplifier was a 1965 Fender Showman with the custom cabinet ordered for it by the original owner. The GK-2 Synthesizer pickup on the Fly controls a Roland GR-30 Guitar Synthesizer. That signal, along with the piezo pickup on the Fly is amplified through a Roland VGA-7 guitar amplifier. He also uses a Heet Sounds E-Bow.