mcriscione

Two-time winner of "Best Original Guitarist" at the Buffalo Music Awards, Mike Criscione's path as a musician has taken him through a number of angular phases. Beginning in the western New York music scene as a rock guitarist for the critically acclaimed progressive band Riley, Criscione established himself as an accomplished guitarist and vocalist. Riley found success in the Buffalo area. Their technique-intensive live shows, regional radio airplay, and high profile performances (a 1999 ...

Two-time winner of "Best Original Guitarist" at the Buffalo Music Awards, Mike Criscione's path as a musician has taken him through a number of angular phases. Beginning in the western New York music scene as a rock guitarist for the critically acclaimed progressive band Riley, Criscione established himself as an accomplished guitarist and vocalist. Riley found success in the Buffalo area. Their technique-intensive live shows, regional radio airplay, and high profile performances (a 1999 season opening slot at Buffalo's "Thursday at the Square" concert series) propelled them to be voted Best Original Rock band at the 1999 Buffalo Music Awards. After disbanding with Riley, Criscione established himself as a singer/songwriter on the region's coffeehouse circuit, drawing positive reviews from clubs and fans alike. Initially performing with only voice and acoustic guitar, Criscione quickly found that setup too limiting. Over time, his performances have evolved to additionally incorporate electric guitars, mandolin, keyboards, bass pedals, percussion and live recorded loops. "It's kind of like juggling," he says of his current style. "You get in the rhythm of doing a number of things at once and it just turns into one big motion." For Criscione, this motion entails balancing singing, playing one of the many instruments in his arsenal, stomping on bass pedals and controlling live digital loops…all at the same time. The use of looping enables Criscione to add multiple layers to his songs without resorting to using pre-recorded parts. This also allows him to switch instruments mid-song, adding greatly to the visual aspect of his live shows. Criscione's debut release, BALANCE, features him performing on over ten different instruments. Self-recorded, mixed, and mastered, this work covers an impressive array of styles interwoven with an acoustic/rock foundation. During the process of this recording, many of the songs evolved from arrangements that Criscione could pull off solo to ones that required a full band. Following it’s completion, Criscione enlisted the help of a handful of seasoned area musicians to fill out his backing band: The Roustabouts (Scott Helfrich – guitar, keys, backing vocals; NSS – bass, backing vocals; Tim O’Connell – drums, percussion). The Roustabouts have added a new, interactive, and exciting dimension to Criscione’s newest version of his live show. Whether performing solo with his multi-instrument looping setup, his backing band The Roustabouts, or simply voice and guitar, Mike Criscione’s music is a multi-sensory experience. The Buffalo News describes Criscione as having, “a diverse palette of musical inspiration” and “a definite knack for storytelling.” Fans tout his ability to bring something new to every song, a refreshing difference from the sameness that plaques many singer/songwriters. Criscione simply sums it all up as, “music for people with ears, hearts, and minds, who aren’t afraid to use them.”