Booka Michel is an American musician and film producer.

Early life and career

Michel was born October 15, 1954, and grew up in

Grand Rapids, Minnesota Grand Rapids is a city in Itasca County, Minnesota, United States, and it is the county seat. The population is 11,126 according to the 2020 census. The city is named for the long rapids in the Mississippi River which was the uppermost limit ...

. He moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

in 1976 with his brother Carl Michel. There he served as a session and tour percussionist for musicians including Hoyt Axton,

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

Arthur Brown Arthur Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Arthur William Brown (1881–1966), Canadian commercial artist * H. Arthur Brown (1906–1992), American orchestral conductor * Arthur Brown (musician) (born 1942), English rock singer * Arthur Brown, ak ...

Butch Hancock Butch Hancock (born July 12, 1945 in Lubbock, Texas, United States), is an American country/folk music recording artist and songwriter. Hancock is a member of The Flatlanders along with Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, but he has principally perf ...

, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

. There Michel also founded Loudhouse Records in

Film scoring and production career

Michel is the leader of his eponymous band Booka and the Flaming Geckos. The Geckos are longtime Austin musicians John X. Reed (Doug Sahm, Jimmy Dale Gilmore), Cindy Cashdollar (Bob Dylan, Van Morrison) and Glen Fukunaga (Joe Ely, The Dixie Chicks). They have released independent albums as well as produced the soundtracks to several independent movies. In 2009 the band released the soundtrack album for the film ''

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''. The album made several Top 20 American Roots charts in the US over several months, including the Freeform American Roots Chart from July to September 2009. ''

Country Weekly ''Nash Country Weekly'' was an American lifestyle weekly magazine about country artists and their music. It was in circulation between April 1994 and May 2016. The publisher, Cumulus Media, now maintains the site ''Nash Country Daily''. Overview ...

'' wrote that the blend had a "brief but enjoyable running time". Michel also produced the film, which ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' states had "An inventive weirdo premise and a strong assortment of regional thesp an" from Texas. In 2011 the band released the soundtrack album ''The Not So Meaningful Songs in the Life of Jeremy Fink'', written for Tamar Halpern's film adaptation of the children's book '' Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life'' and starring Mira Sorvino and Joe Pantoliano. Bill Bentley wrote of the album that, "The sounds of folk, bluegrass, some Civil War-inspired songs and, yes, even a taste of Acid Western captured with utter cool by Booka Michel and his Geckos feels like an accidental discovery of something quite cosmic. Happy accidents abound." Frank John Hadley of Downbeat Magazine wrote, “String music spun from the rich loam of the past, but laden with fresh nutrients, tilluminates the dignity of ordinary rural folks of years long gone.

his His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...

new album featuring acoustic string instruments upholds a romantic ideal without sounding anachronistic. No familiarity with the film necessary to enjoy fully formed songs and brief atmospheric passages." Under his own Loudhouse imprint, he has produced chart-topping albums for artists such as Mike Kindred and David Olney.

References

External links

Loudhouse Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Booka Living people American folk musicians People from Grand Rapids, Minnesota People from Austin, Texas American music industry executives Film producers from Texas American film score composers Songwriters from Minnesota Songwriters from Texas Film producers from Minnesota Year of birth missing (living people)