MIKE FASS 

The Beat Behind the Best 

"...the energy of Keith Moon with the power of John Bonham"--UMA (United Music 
Associates) 

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Mike Fass was a percussionist for the Evil Eyes in the early 1970s when, upon the departure of their drummer and with no success in finding as good a replacement, he was persuaded to switch to drums. It was a great decision. That decade saw rock and pop groups performing at volume levels never before reached. To accomodate this, Mike developed an explosive power style to cut through, making him one of the seventies' best hard hitters. Initially, some finesse was sacrificed for the sake of force but soon he became a classic stylist in addition to being a notably brute force in rock and pop. 

It is no accident, then, that so many of his biggest drum heroes were power hitters themselves. 

Mel Taylor of the Ventures 
Matt Betton of Sonny & Cher 
Ron Tutt of Elvis 
Nigel Olssen of the Elton John Band 
Bobby Figueroa of the Beach Boys 
Dennis Bryon of the Bee Gees 

Mike was a major force behind the creation and popularity of one of pop music's dance genres, freestyle. As studio drummer and percussionist on Neon Fire's seminal foray, "On Another Highway" in 1983, he and the group, although actually a rock band, became the "Fathers of Freestyle" by being the first 
recording act to blend the melodic, harmonic and structural sensibility of straight pop music with the experimental patterns of electro funk. Industry executives had no niche market for the song at the time although it did get airplay on urban stations. By 1988, dance clubs around the country were playing it and it became hot in the south with its biggest impact arguably on Florida. Young Spanish and Latin dance pop groups took to the sound and, by 1994, it finally had a name: freestyle, after the dance that often accompanied it. Surprisingly, all the drums and percussion on "Highway" were real, even though the style has always been computer programmed by all others, giving his 
performance on it a further distinction. One newspaper even wrote them up erroneously as "computer pop". 

Among the artists with whom Mike Fass has performed and/or shared the bill are: 

The Creeps 
The Kids 
The Golden Eagles 
The Vampires 
The Evil Eyes 
Blue Iridescence 
The Happydale Inmates 
Richard Belzer 
Joe Piscopo 
Larry David 
Mark Schiff 
Mark Wuhl 
Andy Kaufman 
Paul Reiser 
Pat Benatar 
Hyway 
Neon Fire 
Roadrunner 
Glenn Roberson 
The Henry Williams Comedy Troupe 
Swordfish 
Full Force 
The Phantoms 
The Harbour Lights Players 
Charles Womack & No Exit 
The Skinny Vinny Band 
Cold Sweat 
Smack 
Spice 
Alvin Cameron 
Gary Hensely 
Panzerfaust 
M*Thang 
Paul Anthony 
Raindance 
Joe's Friend 
The Brats 
Shikhee 
The Harptones 
Doomed Airship 
Mutley's Rockit! 
Modesty Blaise 
Edible Soul 
Helper 
Billy Crystal 
Bruce Valanche 
The Sin Taxes 
J.C. Bosco 
Electro-Z (now known as Dasher) 
The Bleu Ocean Explosion 
Freddy Freeman
Just Offshore
and more! 

QUALIFICATIONS: 

Accurate time 
Good instincts 
Sings harmony 
Friendly and reliable 
Vastly experienced 
Solid reputation for successful emergency fill-ins 
Has celebrated back-up drummer to cover any possible over-booking 

AVAILABILITY: 

Concert tours, engagements, club dates, recording sessions, corporate events, festivals and last-minute replacement.