Michael Gurley
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{{Infobox musical artist
| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | instrument = Guitar | name = Michael Gurley | genre = Rock, active rock, country, jazz standards, children's, folk | associated_acts = dada, Mike Gurley and the Nightcaps, Wayland, ZZ Lightfoot | years_active = 1987–present }}
Michael Gurley is an American musician whose musical talents have been featured in many successful rock bands including dada and Butterfly Jones. He is best known as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock band dada.[1].
Musical career
dada gained popularity in 1992 with the release of their first single, Dizz Knee Land, from their first album, Puzzle. Puzzle received an RIAA gold record award. Among others, Gurley has recorded and played with Ringo Starr of The Beatles, Stewart Copeland of The Police, and Mick Taylor of The Rolling Stones. His band dada toured with Sting and Crowded House, and dada opened shows for Stone Temple Pilots, Courtney Love, Sarah McLachlan, and a host of other bands and musicians.
He co-wrote and co-produced the album Drama Junkie Queen by the Los Angeles band Billy Boy On Poison. Billy Boy On Poison were signed to the record label Ironworks Music, owned by Jude Cole (producer for the band Lifehouse) and Kiefer Sutherland.
Gurley currently writes for and produces the band Wayland (based in Wayland, MI) along with Grammy-nominated producer, instrumentalist, and mixer Florian Ammon. He is a singer and the lead guitar player in Kiefer Sutherland’s band, ZZ Lightfoot. He also performs in Mike Gurley and the Nightcaps, a jazz standards band that has had a residency at the Los Angeles jazz club, Jax, since 2007. His early career included a stint in the power pop band Louis and Clark, which featured Louis Gutierrez of Mary's Danish and Joie Calio, bass player and vocalist for dada.
In his more than 30-year career, Gurley has published over 300 songs and has sold over 1,000,000 records.
TV songs
Gurley has written theme songs for three Disney Channel television series, with the best known being the theme song for Disney’s animated series American Dragon: Jake Long, which was sung by The Jonas Brothers. His song "Stick Hippo" was used for the Disney channel movie Prom. He has also written music for the Nickelodeon channel show SpongeBob Squarepants, and his music has been used in a variety of television shows and movies. Gurley, along with Joie Calio of dada, wrote the dada song "I’m Feeling Nothing," which is the opening song for The Brady Bunch Movie. He wrote and produced the song "On My Way," performed by Billy Boy On Poison. "On My Way" has been featured in commercials for DayQuil, Harley Davidson, Chrysler, and Nickelodeon as well as professional sports commercials. Gurley is also the singing voice in the commercial for the successful Xbox video game Titanfall.
Discography
Louis and Clark
- Hollywood Capacity: Maximum (1987)
dada
- Puzzle (1992)
- American Highway Flower (1994)
- El Subliminoso (1996)
- dada (1998)
- Live: Official Bootleg (Volume 1) (2003)
- How To Be Found (2004)
- A Friend Of Pat Robertson (2006)
Butterfly Jones
- Napalm Springs (2001)
Mike Gurley and the Nightcaps
- Champagne Champagne (1996)
- Euphoria (1999)
- I Ain't Gonna Sit On Santa's Lap (2004)