Mick Overman and the Maniacs
Bluesy Folk & Roll with Jazz A
Mick Overman is a west coast legend. He's a poet and master musician. His music is best described as ''Bluesy Folk & Roll with Jazz Attitude'' and his guitar playing and singing as ''Berklee College of Caveman''. He has long been regarded as one of the west coast's hardest working (as many as 379 performances in one year) and prolific artists. He's an ''Iron Man Of The Road''.
Mick was born the son of a rocket scientist in Ohio and followed the aerospace boom to California at age two. His earliest musical influences were listening to Tchaikovsky's ''1812 Overture'' and Chet Atkins as well as the Kingston Trio and Cannonball Adderly. His first published work was an early 60's Haiku entitled ''Fireflies'' in the Fullerton Daily News Tribune.
Overman abandoned guitar lessons in fourth grade for little league baseball after learning ''These Boots Are Made For Walkin''' and began studying drums at age 13. Overman resumed study of the guitar around age 14 and became interested in songwriting. He became the youngest city commissioner in his hometown at age 17 when he was appointed by the Fullerton City Council to serve as youth delegate to the Human Relations Commission.
After completing high school in 3 years to get a head start on dropping out of college Mick studied music privately with his friend Marty Headman who had graduated from Boston's Berklee College of Music on the Dean's list with a degree in composing and arranging. Overman and Headman together with John Seth Sherman formed the bands ''Crosscurrent'' in Ashland Oregon and ''Caledonia'' in Missoula Montana and returned to California in 1981 to form the first version of ''Mick Overman & the Maniacs''.
Overman moved to Santa Cruz County in the Spring of 1986 with Jeanie Golino who was pregnant with their daughter Corina who was born in September of 1986. They settled in La Selva Beach (south Santa Cruz County) CA in early 1987.
Mick lived in a yellow house with a white fence ''between the ghetto and the farm'' near Freedom CA (this was the location of ''The Cave'') from 1990 until 2004. He formed Max Records and released ''Empty City'' in 1994 and ''Lucky.'' in 1996 and the all acoustic ''Mileage'' in 1998.
After performing and touring nonstop for 12 years Overman chose to detach from the business end of the music business at the dawn of the 21st Century for his artistic and spiritual and physical health. One of the many positive results of this sabbatical was the writing and recording of his 4th cd ''Authentic'' which was released in early 2002 and received considerable national radio airplay. He also studied and trained at the Berkeley Psychic Institute in Berkeley CA during this period.
Mick moved to Portland OR in early 2004. Overman wrote the songs he contributed to his 5th cd ''Mick Overman & The Maniacs - Good Thing Happen'' in 2004 and 2005. Much of this work was done in ''The New Cave'' which is located in the basement of his Portland OR home.
''Good Thing Happen'' was produced and recorded and mixed with the help of his band ''Mick Overman & The Maniacs'' and Cookie Marenco at her OTR Studios in Belmont CA in late 2005 and early 2006 and was released nationally in February of 2007.
Mick's new all acoustic and 6th release "Mister Double Happiness" (also produced by Cookie Marenco at OTR) is here. Radio and press copies are available upon request.
- Website:
- http://www.mickoverman.com/