- Nicknames
- Mico Wave
- Mico
- Wave
- Michael "Wave" Lane has proven to be an active "marathon-like" Artist/Writer/Producer/Composer in the music industry.
Since his first Deals with Irving Music Publishing and Columbia Records in 1987, Michael has both produced, played on and written songs for musical icons such as Herbie Hancock, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Trouble Funk, The Deele, Malcolm McLaren and more; as well as producing the nationally famous hip-hop dance record by Cali Swag District, "Teach Me How to Dougie." As an Artist, Michael Wave was also very instrumental in pioneering the urban version of the "Talk Box."
Born Michael Lane in Champaign, Illinois, Michael got his first musical instrument at age eight. The Lane family has a rich musical history and tradition, so it was only natural that Michael's father, legendary drummer Eddie Lane, asked his sons at Christmastime what instruments they wanted to play. Michael said "guitar," but ended up switching with one of his brothers and starting playing the keyboards.
When Michael and his brothers were young they practiced at home, but began to branch out once Michael turned 13. He recalls, "I can remember taking my keyboard in a wagon to Robeson Elementary School and we played in the assemblies. We could only sing and play one song, 'Tighten Up' by Archie Bell & the Drells. Everybody thought we were so cute, but my father told us that our cuteness would wear off one day and we better learn how to play."
With that piece of advice, the Lane brothers got serious about their music and the Lane Brothers Ensemble was born, performing for local junior high school dances, in local parks, on a local television show, and even a couple of out-of-town dances in Peoria and Danville, Illinois. Later in 1977, the band took a year off from performing, as people got tired of seeing them - admits Michael. They practiced every day that year, only appearing three times to perform. Being too young to call the shots in that band, and feeling that it was time for something new, Michael quit the band and put together one of his own. The band was called Ear Shot, but it only lasted one year; so at age 16, Michael started playing with his Father's band. The band was called Phase Two, and toured throughout Indiana, Iowa, and Illinois.
Tired of hearing the criticism from his Father while playing in his band, Michael went to work for a community action agency in Peoria as the Project Head Start Teaching Assistant in the area of music, and also worked in the agency's video department. While working there in 1984, he met his former agent, the late Bill Waller. Michael never stopped practicing and going to the studio, and Bill went to watch one of his rehearsals. He then told Michael that he liked what he did musically, and thought that he could help him. Since Michael had been through that so many times with people who said they could help him, he took Bill's words with a grain of salt.
Bill ultimately connected Michael with one of his other clients that he represented at the time, Bootsy Collins, who heard and saw Michael perform at the agency in Peoria. A few months later, Michael signed with Bootzilla Productions as a songwriter for Bootsy and any artists whom he worked with at that time. In late-'84, Michael moved to Bootsy's hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio to work more closely with him. With Bootsy as his mentor then, Michael's confidence in his musical abilities grew immensely and others started to believe in him and his talent as a writer and musician. Some of the early more notable projects that Michael worked with Bootsy on as a musician and writer were Trouble Funk's biggest album, Trouble Over Here; George Clinton's album, By Way of the Drum; and Herbie Hancock's album called Beatwise.
After working extremely closely with Bootsy in and out of the studio for almost 3 years, everything took a major turn for Michael in the summer of '87 when, after hearing a tape of his song "Misunderstood," Columbia Records signed him to an exclusive world-wide recording contract.
Most recently he has composed the entire score for the 2016 Film "Restored Me," along with writing and producing music for the same Film and Soundtrack. Michael will be releasing many of his highly-anticipated albums as an Artist, and will also be composing music for more films throughout 2018.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christopher E. Norman
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