MIGGS
MIGGS is an American pop/rock band formed in 2001 in San Francisco, CA by Don Miggs (vocals/guitar). Michael Lombardo (bass/vocals) joined in 2005, Walker Adams (drums/vocals) joined in 2011 and John Luzzi (guitar/vocals) joined in 2012. Over the course of a decade, the band has released five albums and toured extensively with high profile bands such as Maroon 5, Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver's Scott Weiland, LIVE's Ed Kowalczyk, Plain White T's, Green River Ordinance, Parachute, Candlebox, and KT Tunstall .
History
Don Miggs teamed up with drummer Jason Gianni and bass guitarist Mark Baker in San Francisco, California in 2001. After playing with many guitarists, the band independently released the album "Anyway" in 2003 which was recorded for less than $2,000 over the course of 50 hours. Michael Muller, who works and performs on the Late Show with David Letterman, played all lead guitar parts on the album.
The band sold over 10,000 copies of "Anyway" and spent the next three years playing throughout California. At this time, MIGGS started to develop a fan base playing at local Borders and Barnes & Noble bookstores two to four times a week.
Gavin MacKillop (Goo Goo Dolls, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Sugarcult) teamed up with miggs to produce "Insomnia" in 2005. The band embarked on their first national tour, opening for Cake (band), Aerosmith, Kid Rock and Lifehouse.
After a brief hiatus, Don Miggs released the solo acoustic EP "Late Nights And Early Mornings".
2006 saw a reformed MIGGS with Don Miggs' childhood friend and original bassist Michael Lombardo joining the band. In 2008, the band released "Unraveled," a collection of unreleased and alternate versions of songs from miggs' previous three albums. They achieved chart success with the singles "Perfect" produced and mixed by JC Convertino (Miles Davis, Talking Heads,Velvet Underground) "I Believe," which reached No. 66 and No. 82 on Billboard's Hot AC chart. "I Believe" landed No. 7 on the Hot AC Media Base Chart and the band played on the national morning show Good Morning America.
2010 saw the release of MIGGS first album of new music in 5 years with "Wide Awake". "Wide Awake" was produced by Ken Lewis (Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, Usher) and included the single "Girls & Boys," which hit the Billboard's Adult Album Alternative Chart at No. 42 and No. 89 on the Billboard's Hot AC chart. The music video for "Girls and Boys" was directed by Justin Purser (Tynisha Kelly, Midi Mafia, Horrorpops). The next single off "Wide Awake" was "Let The Games Begin", which was also directed by Justin Purser and starred actress Lindsay Lohan. In the video, Lohan plays herself, partaking in celebrity activities by day and posing as an anonymous graffiti artist who paints the city walls of Los Angeles at night. The video landed the band major media attention from MTV Networks, Access Hollywood and many others.
In the fall of 2011, MIGGS worked with 15-time Grammy award winner producer Phil Ramone (Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Paul McCartney, and Stevie Wonder) to record their fifth album "15th & Hope". The album was released on September 11, 2012 on Elm City Music/EMI and entered the Billboard 200 at 163 and Heatseekers chart at #7.
In June 2015 MIGGS released a rock single "Ordinary" that has quickly garnered attention of radio stations across the country with plays on Sirius XM station Octane and iHeart Radio's SIXX Pick, as well as hitting #40 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart.
Band members
- Don Miggs - Vocals/Guitar 2001–present
- John Luzzi - Guitar/Vocals 2012–present
- Michael Lombardo - Bass/Vocals 2006–present
- Walker Adams - Drums/Vocals 2011–present
Previous members
- Michael Muller - guitar (2001–2002)
- Micah Beverly - guitar (2002–2004)
- John Carta - guitar (2004–2005)
- Sep Velizadeh - guitar (2006)
- Jason Gianni - drums (2001–2006)
- Brian Totten - drums (2007–2009)
- Ryan Scarborough - drums (2009–2010)
- Mark Baker - bass (2001–2005)
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Anyway
|
| 2005 | Insomnia
|
| 2008 | Unraveled
|
| 2010 | Wide Awake
|
| 2012 | 15th & Hope
|
Extended plays
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2007 | Late Nights & Early Mornings - EP
|
References
- http://www.miggsmusic.com.
- http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2011/08/18/miggs-let-the-games-begin/
- http://miggsband.wordpress.com/
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/23/lindsay-lohan-plays-a-graffiti-artist-miggs-let-the-games-begin_n_934044.html
- http://www.mtvu.com/music/hot-seat/miggs/