Michael Angelo Batio (/ˈbeɪtioʊ/; born June 12, 1956[1]), also known as Michael Angelo, Mike Batio or MAB, is an American heavy metal guitarist and columnist. He was the lead guitarist for the glam metal band Nitro in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He is currently serving as the touring guitarist for the band Manowar.
Batio was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, to an Italian father and a German mother.[2] He started playing the piano and composing music at the age of five, and first played guitar at the age of ten. By twelve he was playing in bands in youth clubs, churches, and shows, playing for 10–12 hours on the weekends.[3] He started listening to and watching professionals and sitting down and trying to work out riffs and tunes.[3]
He attended Northeastern Illinois University and achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Theory and Composition. After he had graduated, Batio looked to become a session guitarist in his hometown. When he asked for a job at a nearby studio, he was given a piece of music and simply asked to play it. He managed to play it adding his own improvisations and fills, making him the studio's primary call-out guitarist.[4]
Holland, the Michael Angelo Band and Nitro (1984–1993)
Batio began his recording career in 1984 when he joined new Chicago-based heavy metal band Holland, an eponymous project set up by ex-Steppenwolfsinger Tommy Holland. With major labelAtlantic Records, the band released their debut studio album in 1985 entitled Little Monsters, which saw moderate success in the United States. The band split up soon after, and a compilation of material from the Little Monsters sessions, Wake Up the Neighborhood, was released in 1999 through Batio's label M.A.C.E. Music.
In 1987, after the breakup of Holland, Batio joined glam metal artist Jim Gillette on his solo album "Proud to Be Loud", before founding the band Nitro with bassist T.J. Racer and drummer Bobby Rock. In 1989 Nitro released their first studio album, O.F.R., from which they released two singles, "Freight Train" and "Long Way From Home". The music video for "Freight Train", which received much airplay on MTV, was notable for featuring Batio playing his now famous 'Quad Guitar', a notion which FHM magazine voted one of the "50 most outrageous moments in rock history".[5]
Solo career (1993–present)
In April 1993, Batio founded his own record label, M.A.C.E. Music, which became one of the first labels online in 1996.[6] He used this label when he began recording his first album, No Boundaries, which he released in 1995. Batio's second studio release was Planet Gemini in 1997, which showed a very progressive, experimental side to his playing. In 1999, Batio released his second instructional video, Jam With Angelo, which came with his third studio album as a companion CD: Tradition. This was quickly followed by a fourth full-length album in 2000, Lucid Intervals and Moments of Clarity, which was credited to "Mike Batio and Rob Ross", the latter being the drummer.
In 2001, Batio released a CD with his band "C4," covering songs from his Holland years and including the original "Call to Arms." It was his 1st all vocal CD since recording with Nitro. Batio and C4 were featured on "Rock My Ass",[7] a TV show self-described as "Chicago's live music venue from your couch". This was not Batio's first appearance on the show, having also appeared in 1999 with a band called No Remorse.[8]
Two of Batio's signature guitars: The MAB 2 Aviator, and the MAB 1 Armorflame.
Batio has an extensive collection of around 170 guitars,[13] which he has accumulated since the 1980s. Among his instruments are a Dave Bunker "Touch guitar" (double neck with both bass and guitar, similar to the Chapman Stick), a mint-condition 1968 Fender Mustang, a 1986 Fender Stratocaster 1962 re-issue and several other vintage and custom-built guitars. Among his custom-made guitars is a 29-fret guitar made of military-grade aluminum, which makes the guitar very light. For live performances Batio is an exclusive user of Dean Guitars, both electric and acoustic.[14] In 2007 he designed and developed a signature guitar with Dean, known as the MAB1 Armor Flame.[15]
Earlier in his career when he was first endorsed by Dean guitars he also embraced Dean's tradition of popularizing Dimarzio pickups and had used Dimarzios in his guitars. These include the Dimarzio PAF, Super Distortion (sometimes using the Super Distortion both in the neck and bridge position, as he did in his Gibson Charvel Circuit Board double guitar. This was the main setup during the recording of No Boundaries). Batio has also used pickups of other brands including Seymour Duncan, namely the Pearly Gates and JB models and also Bill Lawrence pickups. Currently other than using EMGs in his signature guitar he also has a collection of the other brand pickups in his Dean limited edition collectors' models, such as Dimarzio Custom Super Distortions (based on the Super 2 and Super Distortion) in his USA Dean Time capsule Blue Burst ML and the Seymour Duncan pair he used (refer to above) in his USA Dean Collectors edition Hardtail.[16]
Double Guitar
Batio with his double guitar
Batio plays a Double Guitar, a V-shaped, twin-neck guitar which can be played both right- and left-handed. The first version of this instrument was actually two separate guitars simply played together, as opposed to being one entity. A Flying V was fastened to a snare drum in a left-handed position, while another one was strapped around his shoulder. The next version of the guitar, as designed by Batio and guitar technician Kenny Breit, featured a flight case latch attached to the back of each guitar, which could reportedly be assembled in five seconds. By far his most famous and definitely his most photographed double guitar is his USA Dean Mach 7 Jet Double Guitar along with its custom Anvil flight case.[17] One of his inspirations for the radical design was jazz saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who was known for playing two or three instruments simultaneously. Batio saw Kirk in concert during his teens, and said the jazz musician "blew his mind."[18]
When the Double Guitar was first used in concert, Batio noticed that the guitars created a lot of feedback when played together. He decided that he needed to invent a way to dampen the strings when both guitars were played at the same time, hence the invention of the "MAB String Dampener", which is now available to buy from M.A.C.E. Music.[19]
The Double Guitar was named as the 8th "coolest guitar in rock" by online music magazine Gigwise.[20]
Quad Guitar
As well as the Double Guitar, Michael Angelo also invented and designed the Quad Guitar.[21] The guitar was originally built in conjunction with Gibson, and built by Wayne Charvel in California. The top two guitars have seven strings, while the bottom two have the regular six. The first Quad, as used in the video for Nitro's "Freight Train", was stolen in El Paso, Texas, after the second show of Nitro's O.F.R. tour. When Batio was performing in November 2004, a young fan named Simon Jones and his father turned up with a guitar case which held inside the two top guitars of the Quad, as found by Mick Seymour. Dean designed and had Mike Lipe build a new Quad Guitar in 2008.
The Quad Guitar was recently named as the 2nd "coolest guitar in rock" by online music magazine Gigwise.[22]
^Lacey Conner (Interviewer), Michael Angelo Batio (Interviewee) (2007). Dean Artist: Michael Angelo Batio (Interview). Tampa, Florida: Dean Guitars. Archived from the original on January 9, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2008. FHM Magazine voted this one of the fifty most outrageous moments in rock history ... so Dean built this, and this is the new Quad.
^"About Us". M.A.C.E. Music. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
