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Mike Pride

Percussionist/composer Mike Pride was born and raised in the Portland, Maine area. He has been playing & composing music since he was a child.

While living in Maine, Mike studied with Les Harris, Jr., Bill Street and Matt Wilson, performed with legendary composer & jazz educator David Baker, was involved with experimental, shock-rockers Ned Muffleburger & the DSL's, and co-lead the new music ensemble IMAGINARY QUARTET with guitarist/composer Stik Fortier.

Mike moved to New York City in the year 2000 where he studied briefly with drum & bass master, Amir Ziv. Mike then began studying with the legendary percussionist/healer/teacher, Professor, Milford Graves.

Since his move to NYC, Mike has performed and recorded throughout the U.S. and North America, Europe, Asia, & Australia with many wonderful musicians including:

Karen Borca, Tyondai Braxton, Anthony Braxton, Califone, Daniel Carter, Eugene Chadbourne, Andrew d'Angelo, Jim Denley, Ernesto Diaz-Infante, Trevor Dunn, Brandon Evans, Ken Filiano, Michael Formanek, Chris Forsyth, Marc Gartman, Milford Graves, Curtis Hasselbring, Mark Helias, Fred Hess, Vijay Iyer, Haino Keiji's FUSHITSUSHA, Briggan Krauss, Frank Lowe, Mat Maneri, punk-rock legends MDC (Millions Of Dead Cops), Tony Malaby, Sabir Mateen, Jackson Moore, Butch Morris, Darla recording artists Pale Horse & Rider and Aarktica, William Parker, Matana Roberts, Perry Robinson, Jamie Saft, Sonny Simmons, Chris Speed, Steve Swell, Cuong Vu, Matthew Welch, Nate Wooley, Jack Wright & Otomo Yoshihide.

Since his move in 2000, Mike Pride has been featured on over 40 recordings, many which he is a leader, co-leader or composer.

Mike has been part of many festivals including: Block Island Music Fest 2002 (Rhode Island), CMJ Music Festival 2002, 2005 (NYC), Improvised & Otherwise 2002-2004 (Brooklyn), Now Now Jazz Festival 2003 (Sydney, Australia), Spring Scream 2003-2006 (Kentig, Taiwan), Shi Mo Tsu Ki 2003 (Brooklyn), Bud Fest 2003 (Prague), North By Northeast 2003 (Toronto), K-Town Festival 2003 (Copenhagen), Holidays In The Sun 2003, 2004 (UK), Angry Fish Music Festival 2004 (Windham, Maine), Future Of Experimental Rock Festival 2005 (NYC) & Dumbo Arts Festival 2005 (Brooklyn) among many others.

Mike is currently involved in many projects and leads/composes for many ensembles including:

FROM BACTERIA TO BOYS ("statement musics" for trio)
the MPTHREE (new-music power trio)
Snuggle/Stencil (prog-metal)
Dynamite Club (noise avant-rock)
IXTLAN (tuneful jazz trio)
Evil Eye (modern jazz quartet)
PERIOD & BE MORE NAKED (no-wave guitar & drums duos)
BIG F****ING SELL OUT (e(c)lectric hard-core for quintet or 14 person big band)

he has also composed music for the MTV Production "Room Raiders"....

Mike also currently runs FUNHOLE RECORDING STUDIOS in Brooklyn, NY, and is an active painter, cartoonist, writer & photographer.

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6
Album Review

Acceleration Due To Gravity: Jonesville

Read "Jonesville" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Bassist, composer and arranger Moppa Elliott's uniquely-titled nonet Acceleration Due To Gravity presents Jonesville a gravity- defying jazz odyssey. It pays a captivating homage to influential bassist Sam Jones by weaving a sonic tapestry which transcends the boundaries of conventional jazz. In this brief seven-track, twenty-one-minute outing, four compositions are by Elliott, with the remainder being Sam Jones' originals. The members of the octet who participated in this unusual musical excursion are trumpeter Bobby Spellman, trombonist Dave Taylor, alto saxophonist ...

6
Album Review

Moppa Elliott's Acceleration Due To Gravity: Jonesville

Read "Jonesville" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


Whatever 'script renegade bassist/composer Moppa Elliot takes on a daily basis, he should be made to share with the rest of the world. Whatever that tonic, whatever that pill, whatever that gumbo scented elixir is, let us have it now. Elliot may not want to open up his private stash to the public, but he sure knows how to let it fly in the music he and his nonet--Acceleration Due to Gravity--put forth on the rightly raucous and ...

6
Album Review

Three-Layer Cake: Stove Top

Read "Stove Top" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki


If nothing else, the trio of Mike Pride (drums, marimba, glockenspiel, bells, organ), Brandon Seabrook (guitar, banjo, tapes) and Mike Watt (bass) deserves a “truth in advertising" award, because Stove Top, their first collaboration, is precisely that: a three-layer instrumental cake. Stove Top began cooking when Pride appeared as a guest on Watt's podcast. Suspecting their musical connection, Pride recorded a series of drum tracks and sent them to Watt, who laid down matching bass tracks and then ...

3
Multiple Reviews

Mike Pride: From Cradle to Grave

Read "Mike Pride: From Cradle to Grave" reviewed by Troy Collins


Since the turn of the millennium, drummer, composer and bandleader Mike Pride has established a strong presence in the fertile Brooklyn scene. Pride's diverse interests include a wide range of styles; his myriad projects run the gamut from avant-garde jazz and indie rock to neo-classical chamber music and performance art. Encompassing key aspects of all these genres, the simultaneously issued Birthing Days and Drummer's Corpse are Pride's most personal endeavors to date--a fascinating pair of recordings that stand in diametrical ...

245
Album Review

Mike Pride's From Bacteria To Boys: Betweenwhile

Read "Betweenwhile" reviewed by John Sharpe


Even though drummer/composer Mike Pride has appeared on over 70 albums, ranging from avant rock to blues, he remains not as well-known as he might be in the jazz field. Betweenwhile is likely to change that. Pride's From Bacteria to Boys has existed in various lineups since 2005, but the current foursome first came together in 2009 and clicked immediately. Although the drummer's collaborators exhibit a similarly eclectic work ethic (with the likes of saxophonist Darius Jones, a rising star ...

108
Album Review

Mike Pride’s From Bacteria to Boys: Betweenwhile

Read "Betweenwhile" reviewed by Nic Jones


Drummer Mike Pride is nothing if not busy, as a list of past collaborators including Milford Graves, George Lewis and Mary Halvorson shows. Such collaborations inevitably testify to his range, as does Betweenwhile, the second release by his working quartet. The trouble might be, however, that this very range dilutes the group's identity. Thus the two Monkian minutes of “Rose" are in contrast with the knottily Braxtonian “It Doesn't Stop," where alto saxophonist Darius Jones has to ...

239
Album Review

Mike Pride’s From Bacteria to Boys: Betweenwhile

Read "Betweenwhile" reviewed by Mark Corroto


Certainly, any attempt to pigeonhole this drummer is a lesson in failure; priding himself in his diverse interests, whether recording a duet album of free improvisation with Jon Irabagon, on I Don”t Hear Nothin' But The Blues (Loyal Label, 2009), or playing with punk band Millions Of Dead Cops, Mike Pride he has also distinguished himself as a dynamic and responsive sideman to the likes of Andrew D'Angelo, Jason Stein, and Jack Wright. He leads--or is a contributing partner to--the ...

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1

Recording

Guitarist Joe Morris Joins Forces With Keyboardist Jamie Saft & Drummer Mike Pride On Microtonal Blues Project Raoul

Guitarist Joe Morris Joins Forces With Keyboardist Jamie Saft & Drummer Mike Pride On Microtonal Blues Project Raoul

Source: hubtone PR

The sound of Joe Morris’ electric guitar, with distortion pedal set on stun and wah-wah pedal fully engaged, colliding with Jamie Saft’s droning, microtonal organ and Mike Pride’s thunderous free drumming approach to the kit creates a mind-numbing maelstrom on The Spanish Donkey's RAOUL, the improvising trio’s debut on RareNoiseRecords. A follow-up to XYX, their 2011 album, which was released on Northern Spy Records. The album consists of three throbbing tracks — the brutal 32-minute title track ‘Raoul, the 22-minute ...

1

Recording

AUM Fidelity To Release Two CDs By Mike Pride: Birthing Days & Drummer's Corpse

AUM Fidelity To Release Two CDs By Mike Pride: Birthing Days & Drummer's Corpse

Source: Steven Joerg

The distinctly gifted New York-based drummer/composer Mike Pride is prolifically active as a leader/accompanist in a wide variety of groups and genres: metal, noise, avant-garde rock, free music, and modern jazz. On May 14, 2013, AUM Fidelity will simultaneously release two of the most potent albums he has created to date. Birthday Days, the new modern jazz work with his From Bacteria To Boys quartet, was recorded within the same month as the maximum intensity avant-garde rock/noise epic, Drummer’s Corpse, ...

113

Interview

Interview | Mike Pride

Interview | Mike Pride

Source: Ars Nova Workshop

Mike Pride’s From Bacteria To Boys has undergone several personnel changes since its formation in 2005. Perpetually evolving in order to realize the development of Pride’s sonic vision, the current quartet version features Peter Bitenc, Darius Jones and Alexis Marcelo, and their Aum Fidelity debut, Betweenwhile, earned a spot on several 2010 year-end lists. In preparation for the upcoming Philadelphia debut of the fresh quartet, Ars Nova Workshop spoke with Pride about the new album, R. Kelly, Reese Witherspoon, and ...

34

Recording

Mike Pride's from Bacteria to Boys - Betweenwhile (Aum Fidelity, 2010)

Mike Pride's from Bacteria to Boys - Betweenwhile (Aum Fidelity, 2010)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland

I had grown to enjoy drummer Mike Pride's playing in hell-for-leather duet settings with saxophonist Jon Irabagon like the wonderful I Don't Hear Nothin' But the Blues, but I wasn't prepared for the subtle nature of his approach to this album with his new group From Bacteria to Boys. The band on Betweenwhile is: Mike Pride: drums and compositions, Darius Jones: alto sax, Peter Bitenc: bass and Alexis Marcelo: piano. Pride plays drums, often quiet brushes and a number of ...

90

Recording

AUM Fidelity to Release Mike Pride's from Bacteria to Boys' Betweenwhile October 12th

AUM Fidelity to Release Mike Pride's from Bacteria to Boys' Betweenwhile October 12th

Source: Improvised Communications

AUM Fidelity is proud to announce the October 12th release of Betweenwhile (AUM065), the label debut of prolific New York drummer/composer/artist Mike Pride and his working quartet, From Bacteria To Boys. The group, which performs a distinctive amalgam of groove-based modern jazz, R&B, contemporary classical and chant works, features Darius Jones (alto saxophone), Alexis Marcelo (piano) and Peter Bitenc (bass). This release, the band's first with its current personnel, is named after part of a line from integral influence R. ...

"Local hero Mike Pride is no doubt the only musician to ever play with Anthony Braxton and tour with punk legends MDC (Millions of Dead Cops)." -- Bruce Lee Gallenter (Downtown Music Gallery)

"Drummer Mike Pride stokes the furnace with fire, while never stinting on finesse." -- Time Out NY

"The drumming, courtesy of Mike Pride, was particularly ferocious and at times bordered on a death metal intensity; it was amazing that the rest of the band [MDC] even managed to keep up with him." -- live4metal.com

"Pride hits both sides of the kit - being the backbone to an ensemble." -- All About Jazz

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Jonesville

Hot Cups
2024

buy

Body of Light

5049 Records
2024

buy

Trails

Self Produced
2021

buy

Stove Top

RareNoiseRecords
2021

buy

Betweenwhile

AUM Fidelity
2010

buy

Scrambler

Love Records
2005

buy

Choice

From: Jonesville
By Mike Pride

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