{image1}Mike Mangione, a cousin of famed musician Chuck Mangione, returns to his Midwest roots to throw a CD release party at the Bradford Beach Club on Saturday, July 30.
Mangione celebrates the release of his debut full-length CD, "There and Back," on which the 26-year-old Marquette alum opens up and shares his life experiences from growing up in the suburbs of Chicago to living in Los Angeles.
Take the song, "Girl from the Midwest," for example.
"I was in a New Mexico rest area, and I was headed back to the Midwest. The song represents the excitement to get back to a region I'm familiar with," Mangione says.
On the tune, easily the best on the disc, Mangione builds a creative beat with quick strokes on the electric guitar and soulful vocals.
"My main instrument is vocals," he says and this is evident throughout "There and Back."
Describing his sound as "a collection of across-the-board styles" that can range from rock to straight folk, Mangione constructs them all with his unique guitar-playing style.
But Mangione began by playing drums at seven, only later learning guitar from his brother, Tom, who together with Mike, plays all the instruments on the album.
"It's the most natural thing, playing with my brother," Mangione says of their collaboration on "There and Back."
After earning a degree in urban and environmental affairs and biology and sociology minors at Marquette, Mangione wasn't too excited about taking on his father's steady warehouse job, or any 9-to-5 job for that matter. Instead, he picked up the guitar, leashed up his dog and headed out on the road to perform.
In 2004, he alone booked over 200 shows, crossing the country five separate times.
After recently recording the 14-track "There and Back" in Los Angeles with his brother, it's now time to return to the road. With his band conveniently titled The Left Hand Band, Mangione is out and doing what he loves: singing and playing music.
As you'd expect, everywhere he goes, he gets asked about cousin Chuck.
"I'm a distant cousin," Mangione says. "It gets people talking."
Mangione performs at BBC, 2022 E. North Ave., on Saturday, July 30 at 10 p.m. with Racine's The Mahp opening. Cover is $5.
Mangione's Web site is mikemangione.com.
