Mikey Riot ~ Vocalist... Lyricist.... Photographer... Maniac-at-Large
"Mikey Riot"... the name alone conjures various images to people across the country. Some know him primarily as a hard-edged rock 'n roll vocalist. Some know him more, as a tireless lyricist. Still others know him, as a human party machine whose antics have been described as "legendary", in certain circles. One thing is for sure.... Mikey Riot is one-of-a-kind!
Born in 1967 in Dallas, Texas, Mikey is a true 3rd-Generation musician, living in the legacy of and following in the footsteps of his Grandfather, "Emmy-Award"-winning Composer and Conductor Frank Milton Smith, and his Father, renowned opera baritone Herschel Hancock.
Coming from this lineage, Mikey gained an appreciation for music at a young age and, by 14, had already started writing song lyrics. By 18, he formed his first company, a music promotion firm "Rolling Keg Productions". Rolling Keg managed North-Central Texas bands and staged concerts throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex during the mid '80's, catching the attention of local region promotion magnate Louis Messina of Pace Productions.
In 1988, Mikey moved to Harrisburg, Illinois, and began his musical career in earnest, providing the vocals for the hard-rock band "Broadway" and later, formed the "melodic metal" group, "Frozen Rose" along with Marshall Watkins, Arick Reeder and Dave Van Hoy. Frozen Rose gigged extensively and earned a name as one of the top-drawing live acts in the region, through high-energy stage shows and crazy stage antics....they also wrote and recorded an eponymous EP release in 1990, which gained a cult-following status and, even today, can be found all across the internet through websites including "Heavy Harmonies", "Archive.org", and other rock archivist-style sites. The track "Cold Hearted Woman" from that EP cracked the Billboard "Top 400" list, briefly, and provided the band a modicum of success as they toured throughout the Midwest in the late '80's.
After moving to St. Louis, Missouri in 1997, Mikey joined local band "Cold Night Calling". The band rehearsed in a 3rd floor loft space in downtown St. Louis and, one particularly warm and rainy summer night, the band was rehearsing when Mikey looked out the window to see a crowd had formed in the street, below. He suggested to the band that they "go do a song or 2" out on the narrow ledge outside the window and, to his surprise, the guitarist accepted the challenge...so he and Mikey went out onto the ledge and performed the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy For the Devil" on a 2-foot wide windowledge, for the cheering crowd of dozens, below, the guitarist with his Les Paul and Mikey, with his ever present tambourine and wireless mic. The St. Louis City Police were called on to disperse the crowd and Mikey slipped out the rehearsal space through a side door, before they could catch him, but the newspapers DID catch up to him, recording the event for posterity.
In 2004-2007, Mikey moved to Chicago and then, New York City and took a hiatus from live performance, focusing on lyric-writing and teaching himself how to play musical instruments for future recording purposes. He frequented live music establishments to see what the other bands were doing and watched the final days of the venerable and legendary nightclub "CBGB's" tick down. Once CBGB's closed, he went into the remnants of the bar just so he could get up on the stage and feel the presence of the spirits of all the great performers who had poured out their hearts and souls on that historical stage. He sang a brief rendition of "Berserker", known as the song from the Kevin Smith movie, "Clerks", and then, wiping tears from his eyes, walked out of the establishment as, perhaps, the last man ever to sing a song on that legendary stage before it was torn down.
Settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2008, Mikey was raring to get back into the scene, reformed Rolling Keg for the purposes of music production and promotion and wasted no time in joining up with fellow musicians "Magic" Mike Padolf, Kenny "The Beast" Kovach and "Rockin' Ron" Baldaulf to form "Code Whiskey". He also outfitted his basement studio for rehearsal and recording and dubbed it, "Whiskey Hollow Studios".
A brain aneurysm and subsequent stroke took Mikey out of the picture for a spell, but in 2009, he rejoined the group and began a slew of gig dates to small, but appreciative crowds throughout the local music scene. In 2011, he suffered a near-coronary and had a stent placed in his heart, but that only opened his heart up more to the unquenchable desire to entertain his friends and fans. Code Whiskey only cancelled one show which had been scheduled for 4 days after the heart surgery, and Mikey was willing to perform at that show....but his bandmates thought better of the situation and cancelled it out, against Mikey's wishes.
Code Whiskey has endured with several bandmember changes over the years, but Mikey committed himself to the project by tattooing the band logo on his back, thus assuring that the brand will always remain an entity in the region. Code Whiskey has performed alongside some of rock's more legendary performers and has headlined several high-visibility venues in the region. Although Code Whiskey has, up until recently, focused only on cover material, Mikey kept writing songs and, in 2012, began working on material for a debut album, the tentative title of which, "Barbeque, Beer & Guns", is a respectful nod back to the guys in Frozen Rose, as "BB&G" was to have originally been the follow-up release to the eponymous 1990 release.
In 2013, Mikey plans to continue onward with Code Whiskey as well as record and release an EP of cover material from the '80's, alongside some of Pittsburgh's most respected and talented musicians. He is always looking for projects to sink his teeth into and, as long as God keeps saving him from death's door, he will continue to do the only thing he's ever known.....write and play music for people to have a great time listening to!
Make sure you catch Mikey onstage somewhere near you, and come up to him and chat awhile...he's sure to have a few stories from the road to keep you amused, over a Jagermeister or three!
Born in 1967 in Dallas, Texas, Mikey is a true 3rd-Generation musician, living in the legacy of and following in the footsteps of his Grandfather, "Emmy-Award"-winning Composer and Conductor Frank Milton Smith, and his Father, renowned opera baritone Herschel Hancock.
Coming from this lineage, Mikey gained an appreciation for music at a young age and, by 14, had already started writing song lyrics. By 18, he formed his first company, a music promotion firm "Rolling Keg Productions". Rolling Keg managed North-Central Texas bands and staged concerts throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex during the mid '80's, catching the attention of local region promotion magnate Louis Messina of Pace Productions.
In 1988, Mikey moved to Harrisburg, Illinois, and began his musical career in earnest, providing the vocals for the hard-rock band "Broadway" and later, formed the "melodic metal" group, "Frozen Rose" along with Marshall Watkins, Arick Reeder and Dave Van Hoy. Frozen Rose gigged extensively and earned a name as one of the top-drawing live acts in the region, through high-energy stage shows and crazy stage antics....they also wrote and recorded an eponymous EP release in 1990, which gained a cult-following status and, even today, can be found all across the internet through websites including "Heavy Harmonies", "Archive.org", and other rock archivist-style sites. The track "Cold Hearted Woman" from that EP cracked the Billboard "Top 400" list, briefly, and provided the band a modicum of success as they toured throughout the Midwest in the late '80's.
After moving to St. Louis, Missouri in 1997, Mikey joined local band "Cold Night Calling". The band rehearsed in a 3rd floor loft space in downtown St. Louis and, one particularly warm and rainy summer night, the band was rehearsing when Mikey looked out the window to see a crowd had formed in the street, below. He suggested to the band that they "go do a song or 2" out on the narrow ledge outside the window and, to his surprise, the guitarist accepted the challenge...so he and Mikey went out onto the ledge and performed the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy For the Devil" on a 2-foot wide windowledge, for the cheering crowd of dozens, below, the guitarist with his Les Paul and Mikey, with his ever present tambourine and wireless mic. The St. Louis City Police were called on to disperse the crowd and Mikey slipped out the rehearsal space through a side door, before they could catch him, but the newspapers DID catch up to him, recording the event for posterity.
In 2004-2007, Mikey moved to Chicago and then, New York City and took a hiatus from live performance, focusing on lyric-writing and teaching himself how to play musical instruments for future recording purposes. He frequented live music establishments to see what the other bands were doing and watched the final days of the venerable and legendary nightclub "CBGB's" tick down. Once CBGB's closed, he went into the remnants of the bar just so he could get up on the stage and feel the presence of the spirits of all the great performers who had poured out their hearts and souls on that historical stage. He sang a brief rendition of "Berserker", known as the song from the Kevin Smith movie, "Clerks", and then, wiping tears from his eyes, walked out of the establishment as, perhaps, the last man ever to sing a song on that legendary stage before it was torn down.
Settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2008, Mikey was raring to get back into the scene, reformed Rolling Keg for the purposes of music production and promotion and wasted no time in joining up with fellow musicians "Magic" Mike Padolf, Kenny "The Beast" Kovach and "Rockin' Ron" Baldaulf to form "Code Whiskey". He also outfitted his basement studio for rehearsal and recording and dubbed it, "Whiskey Hollow Studios".
A brain aneurysm and subsequent stroke took Mikey out of the picture for a spell, but in 2009, he rejoined the group and began a slew of gig dates to small, but appreciative crowds throughout the local music scene. In 2011, he suffered a near-coronary and had a stent placed in his heart, but that only opened his heart up more to the unquenchable desire to entertain his friends and fans. Code Whiskey only cancelled one show which had been scheduled for 4 days after the heart surgery, and Mikey was willing to perform at that show....but his bandmates thought better of the situation and cancelled it out, against Mikey's wishes.
Code Whiskey has endured with several bandmember changes over the years, but Mikey committed himself to the project by tattooing the band logo on his back, thus assuring that the brand will always remain an entity in the region. Code Whiskey has performed alongside some of rock's more legendary performers and has headlined several high-visibility venues in the region. Although Code Whiskey has, up until recently, focused only on cover material, Mikey kept writing songs and, in 2012, began working on material for a debut album, the tentative title of which, "Barbeque, Beer & Guns", is a respectful nod back to the guys in Frozen Rose, as "BB&G" was to have originally been the follow-up release to the eponymous 1990 release.
In 2013, Mikey plans to continue onward with Code Whiskey as well as record and release an EP of cover material from the '80's, alongside some of Pittsburgh's most respected and talented musicians. He is always looking for projects to sink his teeth into and, as long as God keeps saving him from death's door, he will continue to do the only thing he's ever known.....write and play music for people to have a great time listening to!
Make sure you catch Mikey onstage somewhere near you, and come up to him and chat awhile...he's sure to have a few stories from the road to keep you amused, over a Jagermeister or three!