Biography

Michael lived in London, England until the age of 17 when he and his family moved back home to Ireland. When Michael was nine years old his mother asked him to sit down and be quiet so that she could watch something special on the television. That something special was the worldwide telecast of Elvis Presley in the "Aloha from Hawaii" special. Michael sat down and watched the show with amazement at the performance and the showmanship of Elvis. Michael didn't know it at the time, but this would be one of life's "inspiring moments" for him.

While living in Ireland, Michael developed a love for singing but had yet to develop his personal style. He started to attend Karaoke venues to get used to performing in front of an audience.

Michael met his beautiful wife Tammy, who was an American girl living and working in Dublin. After a whirlwind romance, Tammy and Michael were married and then they emigrated to America. Michael and Tammy would go to Karaoke events in their new home of Bend, Oregon but Michael would only sing a couple of favored songs. One day Tammy presented him with a Karaoke disc containing only Elvis songs and said, "Hey Michael, it's time to learn some more songs!" And so "The Velvet Elvis" was born.

Henry Ford once said "whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you are always right."

I will be forever grateful to my wonderful wife Tammy for helping me to see that "I can."