A FREE In-store Concert by mid-Michigan Singer/Songwriter MEDICINE CROW

Thursday , May 18, 2006
06:30 pm
Location: Elderly Instruments
in-store performance (free)

Medicine Crow, also known as both Mitakuye Oyasin and Michael Iott, says "Call me Mike." Hailing from Eaton Rapids, Michigan, Mike has been performing the mid-Michigan coffeehouse circuit--
both with bandmates and, more recently, solo--since the 1980s.

Mike's original songs cover a wide range of genres, from folk ballads to blues and light jazz, with a special passion for "things spiritual and political," he explains--which is, of course, what folksingers and singer/songwriters have been doing well and successfully through the ages. His original songs feature "strong topical content."

In the mid-1990s, Mike joined The Last Hippy Band, bringing to the popular group solid original songs, a strong vocal lead, poignant harmony vocals, and driving rhythm guitar. In September of 2005 he and fellow musician Ghetto Gas John performed at Lansing's Old Town Blues Festival, and in October of last year they were featured at the First Annual Lansing-based Writers' Block Party.

Medicine Crow and Ghetto Gas John have also appeared regularly at Magdalena's Tea House on Michigan Avenue in addition to other popular acoustic venues.

Medicine Crow, Mike Iott's first CD, was released in 2001, and his solo album, A Much Better Reality, was released on March 18 of this year on the Illegible Records label. Both CDs are available at Elderly.

Mike espouses a variety of genres in his music, and the ballads, blues, and jazz touches are all there. The bluesy "Too Many Generals" offers nice harmonies and thought-provoking lyrics: "Time to set the rhetoric aside and rosin up the bow...." We've also enjoyed an entrancing Native American sound in several
pieces, as in "Sacred Space," with its unpretentious guitar and "healing" lyrics: "A gentle breeze is blowing, it's the breath of god. A gentle breeze of healing, making all around us sacred space, sacred space."

Medicine Crow will be performing on May 6 at the Scene MetroSpace Gallery in East Lansing. In the summer he's off to the CommUnity Peace Festival in Missouri, the Bethel, New York, Rainbow Woodstock Reunion 2006, and Mendon, Ohio's Freedom Fest. Bring the family and see him free at Elderly on a fine May evening.

Check out recordings we carry featuring Medicine Crow