Michael John Ford is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and a former member of Toronto band

Moxy Früvous Moxy Früvous was a Canadian politically satirical folk-pop band from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. The band was founded in 1989, and was active until 2001. Common themes in Früvous songs include Canada and the "human experience". History The b ...

Solo career

In 2004, Ford released ''Stars Shone on Toronto'', his first solo album. ''Canada Needs You'', his second solo album, was released in 2005, and was nominated for a Juno Award in Canada. It is an album that focuses on

Canadian history The history of Canada covers the period from the arrival of the Paleo-Indians to North America thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Canada were inhabited for millennia by ...

, ranging from the earliest European contacts with First Nations to the settlement of the Prairie provinces. Ford's third album, ''Satellite Hot Stove'', an eight-song follow-up to ''Stars Shone on Toronto'', was released in 2007. ''Canada Needs You Volume Two'', the follow-up to the 2005 album, was released in June 2008. The sequel focused on events in Canadian history from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to the protests at

Clayoquot Sound , image = Clayoquot Sound - Near Tofino - Vancouver Island BC - Canada - 08.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = Vancouver clayoquot sound de.png , alt_bathyme ...

. Ford regularly tours schools across

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

performing his curriculum-focused compositions about Canada in lively and interactive concerts. He has also made stops across Ontario to work with students in the creation of their own songs about the environment, community and identity. He has appeared on many recordings including albums by

The Klezmatics The Klezmatics are an American klezmer music group based in New York City, who have achieved fame singing in several languages, most notably mixing older Yiddish tunes with other types of more contemporary music of differing origins. They have ...

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reach ...

David Francey David Francey (born 1954) is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter. He is the recipient of three Juno Awards and three Canadian Folk Music Awards. Early life Francey was born in Ayrshire, Scotland. He immigrated to Canada with his family at age 12. ...

, and

The Arrogant Worms The Arrogant Worms are a Canadian musical comedy trio founded in 1991 that parodies many musical genres. They are well known for their humorous on-stage banter in addition to their music. The members since 1995 are Trevor Strong (vocals), Mike McC ...

. Since around 2006, Mike Ford has been performing at a summer camp called Camp Kodiak.

The Cocksure Lads

Ford and fellow Moxy Früvous member

Murray Foster Murray Douglas Foster (born June 29, 1967) is a Canadian musician, vocalist, songwriter, director, playwright, screenwriter, and environmentalist. He is best known for his work as electric and upright bassist in the Canadian bands Moxy Früvous and ...

also perform as

The Cocksure Lads The Cocksure Lads is a Canadian British Invasion-style band led by Murray Foster and Mike Ford. The Cocksure Lads perform as a live band; there is also a movie about a fictional version of the band. History The Cocksure Lads were dreamed up by M ...

, a faux-1960s

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

-style band. They've released two Cocksure Lads albums: ''The Greatest Hits of the Cocksure Lads: 1963–1968'' in 2010, and ''MAD LAD PLAN'' in 2014. A movie about the fictional history of the band was released in 2015, and from 2016-2019 Ford & Foster work-shoped a related full-length musical ("Chelsea Sunrise") with Theatre Sheridan. Ford has since created 3 history-based plays for Guelph Museums that have toured Europe, and has been Artist in Residence for Toronto Public Libraries (2017) and Toronto History Museums (2018). When not doing all the above, Mike teaches Middle School French Immersion in Toronto. From Mike's Bio: Mike Ford is a franco-Ontarian singer-songwriter, playwright, and educator. Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal-awarded and Juno-nominated for his bilingual Canadian history Troubadour concerts and repertoire, Mike co-created the musical Chelsea Sunrise (Theatre Sheridan), recorded an album of original Great Lakes songs with David Francey, toured with The Arrogant Worms, sold over a quarter million albums with Moxy Früvous, and once crashed through a stained-glass window at a Buffalo record store. McCrae in the Mirror is Mike’s third original work of theatre to be presented internationally by Guelph Museums, after Sons of ’17 (originally created for The Governor General’s History Awards) and John Galt & The Instant City (commissioned, as was ‘McCrae…’ by Guelph Museums). Mike is now in his 20th year with Prologue Performing Arts, who present his in-school and online concerts throughout Ontario. He wishes he could play flamenco guitar.

References

External links

Home page
Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian male singers Canadian children's musicians Living people 1962 births Moxy Früvous members Canadian folk rock musicians Canadian male singer-songwriters {{singer-songwriter-stub