Remember Mike Control? They were the underground rap group, whose CD, Mike Control, I felt was going to be the starting point for something big in the world of rap. Apparently, I was not the only one. Recently, Mike Control won Music Dish's Band Wars. And this is just the start of something big and I guarantee you that Mike Control was predestined for success.
Today, a lot more people will begin to hear more about Mike Control thanks to the big win at Music-Dish.com, an honor they claim wouldn't be theirs without the fans. As part of the victory, Mike Control will receive eight weeks of regional promotion to 100 college radio stations, 100 retail stores, and 50 press outlets. In addition, they will receive one year of level one distribution through Electric Kingdom Distribution, 50% of cdstreet.com commerce system sales fees for balance of 2001, added promo support and opportunities, Design for Communication - CD Graphic Design - Two-side insert, tray card and disc - including scans, four ads in each of the MusicDish & Mi2N newsletters, 2,500 total banner impressions in MusicDish & Mi2N Value, The Buzz Factor - Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook, plus 7 special reports. Win or lose, we at BANDWIDTH supported their every move and now our readers get the opportunity to learn what made Mike Control what it is today, thanks to the help of Jon Bro, who took time out for this interview. Mike Control is the subject of Fifteen Minutes with BANDWIDTH.
Mike Control hails from Brooklyn, New York City, and consists of two rap geniuses, John and Maurice who met at James Madison High School back in 1988. During that time, rap groups like Run DMC and The Beastie Boys had blazed a trail for others to follow. John wanted to walk that trail and under the name John Bro, started a solo rap career that did not go where he wanted it to go. The year 1994 saw the start of a plan B as John got his old buddy, Maurice and another neighborhood friend Jeremy to form a rap group called Firm Grip. Popularity in the neighborhood did not translate to any success as egos got in the way and only one single was made. The band split apart and while John and Maurice remained friends, rap was the furthest thing from their minds.
While, not a rapper, Maurice became Grey Ghost and distributed DJ mix tapes to friends. It was in this capacity that he found Mike "The Oscillator" and they began experimenting with sounds and loops and eventually came up the beats for Mics I Grab. Sensing the need for vocals to add to the track, Grey Ghost brought back Jon Bro, who only agreed to take part in the effort if Grey Ghost rapped with him, and Mike Control was born. Together the group came out with the their first independent single in the summer of 1999 and soon Mike Control was hitting clubs, selling CDs and making a big name for themselves.
BANDWIDTH: How did Mike Control come to be?
Jon Bro: Mike Control came to be when The Grey Ghost started messing with beats in his spare time at his work place. The beats were crazy, he told me about them and it was on. Also being that we had been a hip-hop group years before on a less serious level, it was something we wanted to take more serious this time around.
BANDWIDTH: Where did the inspiration for the name Mike Control?
Jon Bro: Our style that we use when we rhyme over beats, passing the mic back and forth on verses, was the main inspiration for the name. You have to maintain the tightness at all times, and it is something we focus on with control. The spelling of Mike is just wordplay for microphone.
BANDWIDTH: Why rap?
Jon Bro: Hip-hop is the music we grew up on and is our first love. Also the want to make the music better then it is at its current state.
BANDWIDTH: Is it harder to get into the rap game than say rock or pop?
Jon Bro: I think it's hard to get into music period. You have to stay focused at all times and set goals. It's a struggle all together, that takes patience, but if you have the heart and dedication, your time will come. If you believe in yourself, possibilities are endless. I do think is harder to get shows as a hip-hop artist. Networking is a must and gig swapping, too.
BANDWIDTH: What is the difference between underground and mainstream?
Jon Bro: To me I think underground music is where you get more people who really love music and are trying to make a difference. Mainstream is like you hear the current tread, and artists sound alike. Like when a new artist comes out they usually sound like someone else who is out. More underground artists I've listened to seem a lot different than the mainstream.
BANDWIDTH: Who were your influences in terms of your music?
Jon Bro: The Beastie Boys, Rage Against The Machine, a lot of old school rap, late 80's early 90's, and also the late 80's hard-core music.
BANDWIDTH: What are you listening to now?
Jon Bro: Britney Spears, N'snyc, Backstreet Boys...lol; nah! Right now I'm listening to Smut peddlers, Jedi Mind Tricks, Tool, Cannibal Ox, a lot of underground hip hop mix CD's, oh yeah, and Mike Control.
BANDWIDTH: What artists would you compare your sound to?
Jon Bro: A lot of people tell us we sound like the Beastie's, but I don't think so. Most of the reviews we received on our EP have the critics stressing our originality. I really don't think we sound like anyone else out there.
BANDWIDTH: What struggles have you gone through to make it in the business?
Jon Bro: Things like promotion have been kind of hard, especially on a low budget, and living check to check on our day jobs can be really hard. Sometimes it is hard to book shows. It sucks doing all those kinds of things yourself, but it's the only way.
BANDWIDTH: Where do you go from here? What's next for Mike Control?
Jon Bro: More shows, and a new vinyl are to come. Our next show isn't booked till August 19th, but I will try to book more shows before then. We will also be putting out another vinyl in late Sept.-early Oct. titled "The Naturals." Just this week, we got accepted to play at this years CMJ festival in Manhattan. But that's not till the middle of September.
BANDWIDTH: What would you say to anyone trying to make it in the business?
Jon Bro: Good Luck, go independent first. Hopefully someone will notice with a bigger budget.
BANDWIDTH: Are you compared to Eminem? Does that bother you? What do you think of the hype around Eminem?
Jon Bro: Who's Eminem? Of course people mumbled it before, but if you listen to our music the only thing you would be able to compare is our skin color. I really don't think Eminem deserves all the hype he gets, but I guess that's what mainstream music needed. Someone to point a finger at, and give attention to. He's very proud of it, and did well from it. More power to him.
BANDWIDTH: What inspires your music? When you write, what do you write about? What do you like to write about most? What subject would you like to cover, but haven't yet? What feelings go through you when you write?
Jon Bro: Love for music and the want to create new sounds inspires me. Also the rush that the music gives me. Most of the lyrics are Battle Lyrics, but we also touch on subjects such as bringing hip-hop to where it was on the track Purification, also the Natural Disasters of the World on our new vinyl The Naturals and Evil in the World Around Us, and in my first verse of Rhyme for Rhyme. In the future I would like to do a song about gambling. The Grey Ghost did an indie film that will be in a film festival in late August. We were going to do a track in the future about the movie. That's some of the many ideas for songs and concepts we're going to touch on. When writing songs I go through many different feelings; love, hate, anger, frustration, comedy are a few of them.
BANDWIDTH: What outside of music do you enjoy doing? Does that actually end up helping your music?
Jon Bro: I like to play sports, drink, watch movies, porn, have sex, listen to music, and go to shows. The sports thing actually does help, cause I promote my shows at them as well as the group and the site.
BANDWIDTH: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Jon Bro: Everyone reading this interview should buy our CD. It is real hip-hop. You will definitely enjoy it. You can get it off our site MikeControl.com as well as most online music spots such as Amazon, CDNow, HMV etc.
BANDWIDTH: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us and good luck in the future.
Jon Bro: Thank you. Sorry Grey wasn't available for interview. This is Jonny "Mike Control" Peace.
Send your comments and or questions about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.