Michael Kevin Farrell is an American keyboardist, musical director, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work both recording and touring with

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...

and

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray ha ...

Early life

Farrell was born and grew up in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He attended

John Carroll University John Carroll University is a private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio. It is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts institution accompanied by the John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business. John Carroll has an enrollment of 3, ...

where he won a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1991. He later received a master's degree from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in 1993. After college, he moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1993 to pursue music.

Macy Gray

Farrell was the musical director/keyboardist for Grammy winning artist

. Farrell and Gray opened for

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

for 6 weeks at the end of 2003. Though he isn't a member of her band, Farrell still collaborates with Gray as a writer having contributed original material to her 2007 release, ''

Big Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

'', produced by

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "Will-I-am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is the founding and lead member of the musical group Black Eyed Peas. ...

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hil ...

. They also recently recorded original material for ABC's ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...

'' soundtrack.

Morrissey

In 2004, Farrell joined Morrissey's band on the world tour in support of his platinum album ''

You Are the Quarry ''You Are the Quarry'' is the seventh studio album by English alternative rock singer Morrissey. It was released on 17 May 2004 by record label Attack, and was his first album in seven years following 1997's '' Maladjusted''. The album was a hu ...

''. That tour featured worldwide festival and headline dates, including the Glastonbury Festival and the KROQ Inland Invasion. Subsequently, Farrell was the featured keyboardist and percussionist on the album ''

Live at Earls Court ''Live at Earls Court'' is a live album by Morrissey. Its sleeve notes state that it was "recorded live at Earls Court in London on 18 December 2004 in front of 17,183 people." Track listing All tracks written by Morrissey and Alain Whyte exc ...

'' (where he is erroneously billed as 'Mikey V. Farrell), the " Let Me Kiss You" and " I Have Forgiven Jesus" single B-sides and the live concert DVD, '' Who Put the M in Manchester?''. In the fall of 2005, Farrell recorded with Morrissey for his eight studio album ''

Ringleader of the Tormentors ''Ringleader of the Tormentors'' is the eighth studio album by English alternative rock singer Morrissey. It was released on 3 April 2006 by record label Attack. The album was described as showcasing "a thicker, more rock-driven sound", which ...

''. The album, recorded in Rome, was produced by the famed

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

. Farrell co-wrote two songs for those sessions; "At Last I Am Born" and "Sweetie-Pie", and played keyboards, percussion, guitar, trumpet and trombone. In support of the album, the band spent the summer of 2006 performing festival dates in Italy, Turkey, Germany, Holland, Croatia, Finland, Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria, France, and Spain. After completing a comprehensive US, UK and European tour in support of Morrissey's ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album in 2007, Farrell decided to leave the band to spend more time with his family. However, an earlier single recorded with Farrell, "

That's How People Grow Up "That's How People Grow Up" is a 2008 single by British singer Morrissey. The song, released on 4 February 2008, was used to promote his latest ''Greatest Hits'' album. The song also appears on his 2009 album '' Years of Refusal''. The song was ...

", appears on Morrissey's subsequent (2009) album ''

Years of Refusal ''Years of Refusal'' is the ninth studio album by English alternative rock singer Morrissey. It was released on 16 February 2009 in the UK by record label Decca and on 17 February 2009 in the US by Lost Highway. It was the last album complete ...

''.

Other work

In recent years, Farrell has increasingly been working in the studio in a variety of capacities, as a session keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist, a mixer, and as a songwriter and producer. Farrell has constructed his own studio in Burbank where he has written and produced tracks for Morrissey, Macy Gray, Jeremy Gregory, Ben Lee, Michael Orland of American Idol, and Angie Hart. As a film composer, he has scored the Sundance Channel film "Paradise, Nebraska", the award-winning short-film "Beat", and the children's TV pilot "The Mighty Me Superhero Hour". He has also written a song for the HBO feature film "Girl" and contributed music to the NBC sitcom "Men Behaving Badly". Farrell has also performed on shows such as Third Rock from the Sun, Grounded for Life, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Farrell has toured with other artists such as

Vanessa Carlton Vanessa Lee Carlton (born August 16, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Upon completion of her education at the School of American Ballet, Carlton chose to pursue singing instead, performing in New York City bars and clubs while ...

and Vanessa Brown, with whom he played keyboards and guitar. At various times he has also shared the stage with

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

, Lee "Scratch" Perry,

Ruben Studdard Ruben Studdard (born September 12, 1978) is an American singer and actor. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of ''American Idol'' and received a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his recording of ...

, Dave Navarro and Camp Freddy,

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

, Ben Lee, Kimberly Locke, Anthony Rapp, Sally Kellerman, Jean Smart,

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...

, Scott Record, and Dan Finnerty and the Dan Band. More recently, he has played keyboards on the

The Guardian Angel Tour, European, North and South American Tour, in 2012. In 2014, he toured with

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...

in Australia and Europe.

Personal life

Farrell and his wife Mandy have three children, Travis, Justin, and Amelia.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Michael American rock keyboardists Record producers from Ohio Musicians from Cleveland Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Syracuse University alumni University of Waikato alumni 21st-century American keyboardists