At the Root of Things: Dorian Michael  The Goddess of Groove—By Mad Royal

Sometimes you see something or meet someone who defines a concept for you. A defining moment for Newton was when the apple fell on his head (according to folk legend). That moment defined the concept of gravity for him. For many people, the person “Mother” defines the concept of unconditional love. For me, hearing Dorian Michael for the first time defined my understanding of what was meant by the term “root blues music”.
In a community that is rich with traditional blues, Dorian stands in his own class. To hear him is to find that important bridge to the music that started true American music, and from which all truly great modern music springs. His quiet and unassuming manner hides a sharp mind and a quick wit. He doesn’t suffer fools gladly. He has a deep respect for fellow musicians who work hard at their craft, and who don’t take shortcuts. His voice is warm and raspy at the same time. He has wonderful skill on the acoustic slide guitar (he plays a big metal resonator guitar from the National Guitar Company, which is now based in SLO), His finger-picking style is truly beautiful and hard to beat. If you’ve heard the commercial for Steve Key’s Songwriters at Play on the Krush Radio, you’ve heard Dorian singing “That’s the Stuff You Gotta Watch”.
I always assumed that Dorian grew up dirt poor on a family farm in the Midwest somewhere, but it turns out he lived his entire childhood in Culver City. When he was 7 years old, his dad gave him a $15 acoustic guitar and lessons at the local music store “from some guy who probably didn’t even play the guitar, probably the trumpet.” His dad’s hopes of his learning a “quiet, portable instrument to play folk music” back-fired when Dorian progressed to electric guitars and amplifiers. The lessons, which taught classical music and some technique, were unsatisfactory, although Dorian didn’t really find that out until he entered the music program at Cal State Northridge. From age 15, he became the lead guitar player by default in several garage bands, including the “What Four”, which played at school dances and the like. He attended college with kids who went to high schools with music programs, something which did not exist in Culver City schools, despite being a middle class community.  “I had to play catch-up FAST,” he says. Most of what Dorian knows about guitar is self-taught, from listening to his parent’s music, which consisted of folk, country and blues. The Kingston Trio was popular then, and some of his influences were Sonny Kerry and Brownie McGee, Joan Baez, Josh White, Pete Seger, Bob Dylan, Dave Brubeck, and Bach. Dorian says he has always been most moved by the blues.
When Dorian was 15, he started going to the Ashgrove Club in West Hollywood. In those days, Jackson Browne and Taj Mahal were opening acts. Muddy Waters performed there. Dorian says he’s sure that fellow audience members were Ry Cooder and Dave Allen, who were known to frequent the club during the same period.
Dorian moved to the Central Coast twenty years ago, and has been married to Michelle for the same amount of time. Aside from some temp day jobs when he moved here, he has always worked as a professional musician, including teaching private guitar lessons in the style he wishes he’d been exposed to as a youngster. He spends about four months a year touring the United States and Canada as a solo act. Currently he is a member of three electric bands: The Mystery Trees, The Cinders Blues Band, and the Irene Cathaway Band. He also performs acoustically as a solo artist, as well as a duo with Kenny Blackwell. He often accompanies Nicole Stromsoe and Julie Beaver., and is doing some studio work with Rick Sutton for Dave Stamey’s next CD, along with Ken Hustad, Bill Severance, and Julie Beaver.
When asked what he hopes audience members take away from one of his shows, Dorian says, “I hope they are emotionally moved somewhere along the way, whether it is something pretty, or something gritty and real, or anything in between.”  He likes to provide a variety of different musical styles, and he strives to always learn to become deeper and more rooted musically. He is preserving something that shouldn’t be lost, something that is intrinsic to all good music. He’s good at it. Go see him. Bring the kids and show them what roots music really is.