Fly Me to the Moon: John Michael Sings Sinatra on Valentine’s Day
By Julie Horner
Santa Cruz crooner John Michael brings his “Come Fly with Me” Frank Sinatra tribute to The Crow’s Nest on Tuesday, February 14 from 7:00 to 10:00 pm featuring Mark Roths on sax, Aidan Santa Cruz on keys, Etienne Franc on bass, and Sam Morelli on drums. The show will be rich with Sinatra’s unforgettable songs, delivered with signature swagger, and accompanied by the sophisticated sounds of a jazz swing orchestra.
A highly skilled mimic, John’s gift is the ability to create atmosphere, transporting audiences to another time and place. This will be an evening of musical theater so convincing you will swoon.
Born Michael John Nicolas Keogh in Dún Laoghaire, Ireland, he started singing at the tender age of 4. As a young man performing in stage productions at what was then Marriott’s Great America in Santa Clara, he discovered he had a knack for impersonation, able to imitate the voices and mannerisms of any number of famous rock stars and celebrities. “Cast members would call in sick and I would take their slot,” he said. The company sent him to Great America in Gurnee, Illinois one summer where he played Elvis.
John took a break from the stage in the late 90s, and quit drinking in the early 2000s. Ready to return to the limelight in 2007 eager to hone his craft, he made his debut as Frank Sinatra at Hidden Valley Music Seminars, an institute of the performing arts in Carmel Valley, filling the 300-seat auditorium nearly to capacity. With keyboardist Will McDougal of White Album Ensemble fame John formed “Come Fly with Me.” This stellar Sinatra era big band has performed to packed houses in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and the Greater Bay Area ever since.
Prolific, versatile, and like Sinatra, impossible to confine to one musical genre, John dug for his roots by putting together a Celtic hard rock band called “Bog Iron.” Offshoots “The Bog” and “Paddy’s Murphy” offer kinder, gentler versions with plenty of green pint appeal. John has shared the stage with Celtic festival favorites Young Dubliners, Bad Haggis, 1916, and Banshee in the Kitchen. Bog Iron featuring John Michael (vocals/guitar), Patrick Golden (guitar), Peter Sheehan (bass), and Keith Graves (drums) plays on St Paddy’s Day, March 17th, at Capitola Bar & Grill from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. capitolabarandgrill.com
The John Michael Band came together in 2010. Pulling from a pool of high-profile local musicians like guitarists Dylan Rose, David “D.B.” Walker, Markus J. Yamamoto, and Becca Kachman; bassists Avey Gonzales and Dave De Silva; and drummers Spencer Ellison, and Craig Underwood; the group specializes in rock, R&B, blues, reggae, and funk covering songs by all the greats across decades of classics from Van Halen to Martha & the Vandellas. Over the years John has opened for Chris Isaak, Huey Lewis, Third Eye Blind, The Fix, The Tubes, Berlin, Greg Khin, The Pointer Sisters, The Temptations, and Alan Holdsworth. johnmichaelband.com
John Michael plays regularly in the Santa Cruz area and enjoys a following of enthusiastic fans who love the music of their generation and live for an engaging stage performance. For a classy Valentine’s evening of mid-century pop, John’s full immersion Sinatra tribute will fly you to the moon.
The Crow’s Nest, 2218 E Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz. crowsnest-santacruz.com
Julie Horner writes about the people and cultures of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Reach out to Julie at leap2three@gmail.com.
Photo contributed by John Michael Band
Image contributed by John Michael Band
Caption: John Michael Band plays the Crow’s Nest on February 14
