NASHVILLE |DATE: DECEMBER 16, 2010
FROM: MARCEE RONDAN/MITCH SCHNEIDER/ANGELA VILLANUEVA
MICKI FREE
FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN TO BE INCLUDED IN THE NAMM
ORAL HISTORY LIBRARY;
MICKI FREE BAND TO PERFORM
AT 2011 NAMM SHOW IN ANAHEIM, CA
Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, guitarist and mixed blood (Cherokee & Comanche) Native American MICKI FREE will mark a big first in his career this January when he will be honored as the first Native American to be included in NAMM’s Oral History Library, “which seeks to document and preserve the history of the music industry.”
In addition, MICKI FREE and his band–bassist David Santos (Billy Joel, John Fogerty) and drummer Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, Slash), with a special guest appearance by Mike Finnigan on Hammond organ (Jimi Hendrix Electric)–will perform Friday, January 14 in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel as part of the annual NAMM Show set for January 13-16, 2011 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Please click here for a full list of performances:
http://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2011/concerts-performances.
The Oral Library is part of NAMM’s extensive Resource Center which provides its Members, the media, academic researchers and the general public with access to historical data about this great industry. Drawing on more than a century of NAMM research, records and archives, the Resource Center has access to everything from statistical records on retail music products sales to videotaped interviews with more than 1,000 of the people who have shaped this industry's history. The broader scope of the collections is the history of the music products industry. Within that broader scope, materials are categorized into five main subject categories: NAMM History, Manufacturer History, Retail History, Music History (especially as it pertains to instrument and product innovations) and Legacy Collections.
Earlier this year, FREE released MICKI FREE AMERICAN HORSE, his 11-track collection of guitar-driven rock, blues and roots. The album–the first in a series of NATIVE MUSIC ROCKS RECORDS releases distributed via Fontana/Universal–has received praise from fans and music critics including these accolades:
“Get the funk out–Native American style. You can hear why Micki Free is so in demand as a guitarist. He really can cover the bases, from funk rock to psychedelia and melodic hard rock, and all infused with his own particular brand of Native American spice. It could easily have become a showcase for Free’s guitar playing. But this is one man who understands that if you’ve got the songs, then virtuosity is best shown off within the tunes. Not by overshadowing them…In all, Micki Free has delivered an album that’s instant, yet one that also grows on you. No mean feat anyone.”
–Malcolm Dome, CLASSIC ROCK (U.K.), September 2010
“His visceral take on a generous sampling of Hendrix tunes-‘Hey Baby/New Rising Sun,’ an extended ‘Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)’ and a powerful ‘Voodoo Chile Blues’–provide obvious reference points for a blistering style that gives American Horse its power. Elsewhere, the riveting ‘New York, New York’ and emotive ‘Heather’s Arms’ showcase his melodic prowess. For all the passion Free and his trio (including veteran Cindy Blackman on drums and David Santos on bass) exude, its two versions of ‘Wounded Knee,’ an homage to his Native American heritage, that most convincingly asserts his blend of brilliance and abandon.”
–Lee Zimmerman, M MUSIC & MUSICIANS MAGAZINE, July/August 2010
http://www.myspace.com/mickifreeexperience
http://www.nativemusicrocks.com/
For more information on NATIVE MUSIC ROCKS and MICKI FREE, contact:
Marcee Rondan 818-380-0400 x248 marcee@msopr.com
Angela Villanueva 818-380-0400 x232 avillanueva@msopr.com
###
http://
