Michael Richard Wittig (born August 21, 1976) is an American Christian musician who is best known as " Kalel", the current

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

player for the Dove Awards winning and

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominated Christian hard rock band Pillar. After ten years of playing with Pillar, Wittig left the band in September 2008. He then later returned to the band in 2012. He was also a member of pop rock band

Stars Go Dim Stars Go Dim (SGD) is an American pop rock band from Tulsa, Oklahoma that formed in late 2007. The band originally consisted of Chris Cleveland (vocals, piano, and guitar), Joey Avalos (guitar), Michael Wittig (bass guitar), and Lester Estelle ...

, with Joey Avalos, Lester Estelle Jr. (former drummer for Pillar) and Chris Cleveland till 2012.

Biography

Musical career

In 1992 he formed a Christian band in his garage. The band was originally called ''Q: The Source'' (named after the Q document), but they eventually renamed it as ''Godspeed'' for the release of their self-titled EP. Wittig's fellow Godspeed members were Mahlon Tobias and Robert Brouhard. He graduated from

Riverside Polytechnic High School Riverside Polytechnic High School is a four-year public high school in Riverside, California, United States, and part of the Riverside Unified School District. The current facility, located on Victoria Avenue, was opened in September 1965; the t ...

in 1994, and soon left to go to college in

Hays, Kansas Hays is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Kansas, United States. The largest city in northwestern Kansas, it is the economic and cultural center of the region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 21,116. It is ...

at Fort Hays State University. While living there he played bass for a Christian Metal band, ''Tetelestai'', which at some point broke up. Wittig sold his vehicle to some locals and made mention of wanting to start a band. This information was passed along to Robert Debes who became Wittig's roommate. During this time, Wittig became involved in another band, named ''Mishap''. Wittig was introduced to Rob Beckley, a vocalist and Travis Jenkins, a guitar player. They formed Pillar. After playing with Pillar for ten years, Michael Wittig left the band in September 2008 for multiple reasons. While in Pillar, in 2007 Wittig with his friends Lester Estelle, Jr. and Joey Avalos formed pop rock band

in which he played till 2012 but left due to personal reasons. Wittig reunited with Pillar in 2012 and began to lay tracks for a new album. In August 2015 their latest album One Love Revolution was released.

Personal life

Michael Wittig has two sons and, as of summer 2010, twin daughters and lives with his wife in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

References

External links

*
''Pillar'' websiteStars Go Dim
on Myspace
Stars Go Dim website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wittig, Michael Living people American rock bass guitarists American performers of Christian music Guitarists from Oklahoma People from Hays, Kansas Musicians from Riverside, California 1976 births American heavy metal bass guitarists American male bass guitarists Pillar (band) members Guitarists from California 21st-century American bass guitarists