One of my most pivotal childhood memories: I was sitting Indian-style on the shag carpet of my best friend’s parent’s bedroom watching MTV for the first time. It was the Martha Quinn era and long before Steve-O had stapled his own goods to his thigh, anyone admitted to being “16 and Pregnant” and when MTV actually played music videos.
Peter Gabriel’s Shock ...
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One of my most pivotal childhood memories: I was sitting Indian-style on the shag carpet of my best friend’s parent’s bedroom watching MTV for the first time. It was the Martha Quinn era and long before Steve-O had stapled his own goods to his thigh, anyone admitted to being “16 and Pregnant” and when MTV actually played music videos.
Peter Gabriel’s Shock The Monkey came on. I’d never seen anything like it. His entire head was painted with white and black paint. He sat in a ring of fire, poured dried, white lima beans onto the ground in some weird tribal ritual and wrestled a midget while wailing high pitched lyrics that I still don’t get. It. Was. Awesome.
Gabriel was so completely sold out to the song and it’s presentation it was unnerving. It was miles beyond simple theater and as if he were (and I vowed long ago to never use the following expression lest I be elected Supreme Commander of the planet cliché, but in this instance nothing else will do) channeling something beyond himself. Gabriel was not a master. He was the master.
When I watch Mikky Ekko perform, I get that same feeling.
Mikky Ekko is an undeniable talent. His voice has the bell-tone clarity and range of Jeff Buckley, the passion of Freddie Mercury and the raw torque of a Bono. Mikky’s vocals and songs work together to form a musical tractor beam that ruthlessly sucks listeners in. Try to resist and your ship will disintegrate.
His biggest strength, however, is the same as Peter Gabriel’s: he cannot separate the song from the performance. They are the same. Created for one another. What makes a Mikky Ekko song is Mikky Ekko. And that is where it gets really good.
Like Gabriel, Mikky is dialing from a totally different area code than the rest of us…seriously. He has a sinister stage presence (Mikky is like 6’ 30” and looks like he could be the bouncer at most clubs) and owns any room he plays. He wears face paint on stage (Not Make up. Facepaint. Think Apache not Ru Paul) and is an unapologetic showman that refuses to hide behind an instrument. His vocals prowl multiple octaves and punch you in the throat in just about every song.
Simply put, if haven’t listened to Mikky’s music, you’re cheating yourself. He’s the real deal. So, download you some Ekko and get on the team.
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