Welcome!
Michael’s love of music and interest in the promotion of aspiring artists led him to create an extensive categorized database of modern music. His principal focus within the modern music industry includes utilization of social media as well as modern talent scouting. Michael put his extensive musical knowledge to good use during his internship at Epic Records in the A&R Operations department.
At Epic, Michael's main tasks involved researching independent and unsigned talent, and gathering all the information he could about the artists. This information included their style, location, social media links, social media followers, and select songs. Michael not only discovered up and coming artists on platforms such as Spotify's Viral 50 chart, but was also encouraged to include information about independent artists of his choosing to supplement his findings.
Michael's extensive knowledge of independent artists is largely due to his involvement with MVL Radio and their Local Music Festival. This gave him vital exposure to the Westchester County DIY scene and sparked his interest in independent and underground talent. The festival included a wide variety of genres such as punk, alternative, hip-hop and even metal. Through the festival and through his involvement with his own band, Michael created contacts with local musicians, maintains relationships with them and will always be one for word of mouth promotion.
One of Michael's greatest joys is spreading word of bands and artists he cares about. He has done so on his radio show at Manhattanville as well as on social media. In utilizing these platforms, he has developed a great understanding of the functions of social media in the modern music industry. After all, social media is at the core of today's marketing efforts, whether it be to create buzz or to maintain relevance
Michael also utilizes his YouTube channel, RanterInShades, as a platform to give music recommendations. Videos such as his countdown list videos and his video criticizing the “rock is dead” argument serve as the main videos to serve this purpose. He takes any chance he gets to spread music around if he sees an artist as having potential to reach a wider audience.
Michael has discovered numerous bands and artists through his endeavors. Through his research with Epic Records, Michael took notice of the bands Strangers You Know, an indie rock duo from California, as well as Viola Beach, an English indie rock group (who unfortunately were trending due to the band dying in a car accident), among others.
One particularly important event that takes place at Manhattanville is the Local Music Festival, organized and hosted by MVL Radio. The reason such importance is placed on this event is not only the fact that it celebrates local music, but also that it opens these bands up to potential new fans. Michael was exposed to numerous bands throughout his time at Manhattanville including Nice Shot, Kid (melodic hardcore from Stony Brook, NY), Valence (instrumental progressive metal from Westchester, NY), Daisychain (pop punk from Peekskill, NY), International EA (hip-hop from New Rochelle, NY), and And The Traveler (progressive rock from Yonkers, NY- broken up as of 2018).
Through Michael's adventures with Gardens of Acadia, this led him to take notice (and even become friendly with) various bands sharing the bill. Such bands include Bad Case of Big Mouth (easycore from Harrison, NJ- broken up as of 2017), Shore Acres Drive (indie rock from Ithaca, NY), From States Away (pop punk from Connecticut), and Atlantis Bound (pop/hard rock from Bronx, NY which their at the time drummer was also a member of).
One of Michael's favorite pastimes is going to concerts. Ever since seeing Iron Maiden live in 2008 as his first concert, Michael has built a lengthy repertoire of bands he has seen live, always making a point to catch a live performance of any band he cares about. Through these experiences, he not only gets to cross a name off of his "concert bucket list", but also gets exposed to smaller bands opening at the show to look further into. Sometimes, he'll even manage to take a selfie with the performers after (or in some cases before) their set. This document contains a rundown of every concert Michael has attended.
Michael also takes immense pride in developing and maintaining a collection of music and following and supporting these artists to the best of his abilities. This document lists all the artists he enjoys.
Involvement in Music Business
Michael's VIP photo with Alter Bridge (2019)
Discoveries
Creating an independent scouting list at Epic Records (2016)
Musician, Commentator
and Enthusiast
Michael Gordon
Selfie Michael took with Mario Camarena of Chon (2017)