Mike and Joe set to play The Forum
Tiffany Zack
Issue date: 9/30/05 Section: The Edge
- Page 1 of 1
The fantastic four, otherwise known as Mike and Joe, is making a return appearance Thursday, Oct. 6 at The Forum for a power-packed performance.
The band, which includes members Mike Notaro, Joe Valentino, Matt Blackwell and Aaron Streich, honed its talents while attending Indiana University. Since then, Mike and Joe has been touring across the Midwest, tackling college upon college; performing classic Top 40 rock songs that take many back to their youth.
The dynamic duo performs fierce acoustic-driven rock, remarkably going where many cover bands don't dare to go. Their shows in Macomb have included a variety of covers, from Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam and 311. The band's choice of covers has gained several local fans.
"Mike and Joe are super gnar," said Jordan Epperson, senior communication major. "They sounded exactly like every song they tried to play. My favorite was in the encore when they played, Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing In The Name.' It was interesting hearing the lead singer make his voice sound identical to 311 and then to play Rage and sound exactly like that lead singer."
The original founders, Notaro and Valentino, formed the band during late nights in their fraternity house, Theta Chi. They made their first debut at a local college bar, the Peanut Barrel playing an open mic night. Though they only performed eight songs, with the amount of friends they attracted, the bar owner asked them to come back and play just three days later.
"For the next three days we crammed to learn 25 more songs, taking song lyrics to class and sleeping with them under our pillows in desperate attempt to memorize them all," the band described on mikeandjoe.com.
Talk of the duo began circulating, and soon enough Mike and Joe were becoming a household name amongst colleges, including the University of Illinois and Purdue University. Eventually, Mike and Joe was performing at popular bars in Chicago, adding the famous Cubby Bear to their list. They became "the first acoustic duo to cross over into the large mainstream clubs usually reserved for "bands" only," according to mikeandjoe.com.
Eventually Mike and Joe expanded into a full band, adding Blackwell on bass, and Streich on drums. Since then, the band has released two original albums and two live cover albums.
Mike and Joe will be performing its second show this semester at The Forum located at 124 South Lafayette. If you're in the mood for a good night and want to see a cover band that actually doesn't suck, go check out Mike and Joe on Thursday.
The band, which includes members Mike Notaro, Joe Valentino, Matt Blackwell and Aaron Streich, honed its talents while attending Indiana University. Since then, Mike and Joe has been touring across the Midwest, tackling college upon college; performing classic Top 40 rock songs that take many back to their youth.
The dynamic duo performs fierce acoustic-driven rock, remarkably going where many cover bands don't dare to go. Their shows in Macomb have included a variety of covers, from Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam and 311. The band's choice of covers has gained several local fans.
"Mike and Joe are super gnar," said Jordan Epperson, senior communication major. "They sounded exactly like every song they tried to play. My favorite was in the encore when they played, Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing In The Name.' It was interesting hearing the lead singer make his voice sound identical to 311 and then to play Rage and sound exactly like that lead singer."
The original founders, Notaro and Valentino, formed the band during late nights in their fraternity house, Theta Chi. They made their first debut at a local college bar, the Peanut Barrel playing an open mic night. Though they only performed eight songs, with the amount of friends they attracted, the bar owner asked them to come back and play just three days later.
"For the next three days we crammed to learn 25 more songs, taking song lyrics to class and sleeping with them under our pillows in desperate attempt to memorize them all," the band described on mikeandjoe.com.
Talk of the duo began circulating, and soon enough Mike and Joe were becoming a household name amongst colleges, including the University of Illinois and Purdue University. Eventually, Mike and Joe was performing at popular bars in Chicago, adding the famous Cubby Bear to their list. They became "the first acoustic duo to cross over into the large mainstream clubs usually reserved for "bands" only," according to mikeandjoe.com.
Eventually Mike and Joe expanded into a full band, adding Blackwell on bass, and Streich on drums. Since then, the band has released two original albums and two live cover albums.
Mike and Joe will be performing its second show this semester at The Forum located at 124 South Lafayette. If you're in the mood for a good night and want to see a cover band that actually doesn't suck, go check out Mike and Joe on Thursday.
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