Mike Needler

My life changed in 9th grade, when I first heard "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix. I immediately ran to my parents and told them I needed to see him live! They just had to laugh and told me I missed him by about 30 years. But something stirred within me - the urge to play guitar. 

My musical journey started with 6 years of piano, all throughout elementary school, then 4 years of saxophone, including a year in the hyper-competitive marching band at my high school (we got 2nd in the state of Indiana). I enjoyed both instruments, but once I discovered the guitar, I never looked back. 

My guitar foundations came from being in an original band, "Awkward Silence," through which me and my friends all learned how to play together. By the time I graduated high school, I felt I was decent.

As I went to college at Xavier University in Cincinnati, I joined the jazz band. It was under the tutelage of the legendary John DeFoor and Steve Barone that I really began to flourish. John had lived the jazz scene in the 60s, and Steve had studied directly under Joe Pass, as well as touring with the Beach Boys for over a decade. 

After college, I joined another original group, "Elements of Cosmos," and played regionally. We had a solid following, but I felt like my fellow bandmates weren't as serious about music as I was. I spent more time practicing in a day than the whole rest of the band did in the entire week between rehearsals combined. 

In the summer of 2014, I auditioned and succeeded in gaining my first professional musical employment: pit orchestra guitarist at a renowned music theater, The Wagon Wheel. I performed in two shows: "Catch Me If You Can" and "Rent." It was a wonderful experience and environment. Two summers later, I came back to the theater and performed in "Sister Act" and "Grease." 

While working at the Wagon Wheel, I auditioned with an online agency that books for cruise ships, and a few months later, I was flying to Florida to rehearse with Carnival Cruise Lines. 

I have now completed 10 contracts with Carnival, the last of which was on their newest inaugural ship, the Carnival Panorama. Our band was carefully selected as the "best of the best," and was the highest-rated inaugural music team in the company's storied history. After my second contract, I received the honor of "Top Performer" within the Carnival family, specifically in the areas of musicianship and performance, based on my reviews. Since then, I have been consistenly among the "Top Performer" rating on every successive contract. 

In between my third and fourth cruise contract, I joined a hip-hop group's band (Successful Musik Group) and toured around the country with them for 2 months. It was 45 shows in 60 days, from California to Georgia and everywhere in-between. I toured with them again the following spring, as a solo act as well as performing with the headliners. 

While on my 7th cruise contract, based out of Long Beach, CA, I co-wrote and recorded an album with Dalton Harris, a Jamaican reggae star who was the singer in our cruise ship band. After our contract together, he went to London to compete in "X-Factor," a singing show similar to "The Voice," run by Simon Cowell. Dalton won the show with the highest ratings of any contestant ever, and Simon Cowell said that he was the best he'd ever seen. Our album, "Unintentional Astronaut," has done pretty well, with well over 100,000 streams. 

My teaching style depends on what excites the student most. I've always been a 1-on-1 teacher, and I've found that it's important to pinpoint what the student enjoys most and to encourage that. On a related note, it depends on what a student's goals are. Some have simply wanted to be able to play some chords around a campfire with friends, others have wanted to be able to improvise leads and jam harmoniously with others. I generally try to come up with exercises that are in alignment with both the goals and the excitement of the student.