Mike Cochrane was born into a musical family. His grandfather and uncles played guitar, mandolin and banjo as The Four Hobos touring vaudeville circuits and panhandling on street corners during the Great Depression. Mike knew he wanted to be a musician as soon as he saw The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show and so he, and his grandfather, fabricated a makeshift drum set out of bongos and a cardboard box, however, a beat up box guitar bought at a thrift store for $2.35 opened up a whole new world.

Singularly, Mike credits Joe Walsh and The James Gang for his musical direction and guitar playing style. Grand Funk Railroad, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Fields, Cream, and his guitar heroes Richie Blackmore, Joe Walsh, Mark Farner and Jimi Hendrix, all major influences in his musical direction and gear selection. A natural tinkerer, Mike taught himself how to repair and modify amps and guitars to get the tone and sound he wanted and used Marshall amplifiers and Les Paul guitars in the beginning to achieve his nirvana.

As a young boy growing up in the Culver City / Venice Beach neighborhoods, Mike began playing with other teen musicians in the area. His first band, The Night Shift, had already been playing private parties and competing in battle of the bands before landing a steady gig at Santa Monica’s then Pacific Ocean Park (POP). Mike recalls how playing POP was a great learning ground for the fledgling band. At 15-years old Mike auditioned for the band Shango (ABC/Dunhill). Shango had a top 100 hit in 1969 with the song Day After Day (It’s Slipping Away) and was in the process of recording their next album. Although the members of the band were more experienced and already in their late-20s they were immediately taken by Mike’s guitar playing and hired him on the spot. Unfortunately the label dropped Shango from the roster to concentrate on their more lucrative bands at the time, Steppenwolf and Three Dog Night, before the album was completed.

In 1971, Mike formed Train, a power trio he helmed as lead vocalist and guitarist. As the house band for Gazzarri’s on the Sunset Strip, Mike continued honing his skills while playing six nights a week and working alongside Eddie James and the Pacific Ocean (Edward James Olmos) and then unknown band Van Halen. After meeting singer-songwriter Dave Lewis, Mike took his talents to the studio and eventually doing session work for Warner Bros. and recording at the Beach Boys’ Brothers Studios, where he caught the eye of Dennis Wilson.

In the remaining years Mike played in a variety of bands from originals to covers. He had a short stint with Harry “The Hipster” Gibson, a boogie woogie piano player with novelty hits from the 40s, performed a benefit concert with Spencer Davis, was courted by Tim Bogert, (Vanilla Fudge), to round out a new Beck, Bogert, and Appice trio, and spent several years with an original hard rock quartet, Crabby Appleton, a reformed version of the early 70s band with the top 40 single Go Back. Crabby showcased at Madame Wongs, Whisky A-Go-Go, and The Roxy to name a few and garnered the attention of several labels, but by the end of the 80s, the tide had turned, and the record companies moved on to greener pastures.

In addition to singing, playing guitar, bass, and keyboards, Mike is an actor working in TV and film; most notably on the Showtime series Shameless, where he also contributed his musical talents recording a William H. Macy penned Christmas tune for Season 2 DVD. In his leisure time Mike likes riding motorcycles, designing and repairing amps and guitars, and as a Star Trek original series fan likes collecting memorabilia and robots.

Brace for Impact Is the project Mike has been planning for quite awhile, but needed to find just the right musicians to make a Power Trio work to his standards. Craig and Mike are the perfect complement to Mike Cochrane’s vision of what a Live, Loud Power Trio is supposed to be.

 

 

Craig Miller brings years of professional experience to Brace for Impact. In the 70s and 80s Craig toured the Southern California circuit with his original power trio A La Carte where they headlined The Whisky a Go Go, Troubadour, Madame Wongs, and the Starwood playing alongside bands like Van Halen, Quiet Riot, and Mötley Crüe. They sold out shows all over Orange County at places like the Edgewater Hyatt, Golden Sails and world-renown venue the Golden Bear where they opened for Blondie, Black Oak Arkansas, Steppenwolf, Journey and Bonnie Raitt. Craig’s forbidden to give any more details but suffice it to say, it was an amazing ride.

The flamenco guitar was Craig’s first musical instrument, something his mother loved; he then moved to drums, which he played throughout high school in marching and concert bands. Noticing there was a serious need for bass players he decided to take up the electric bass and hasn’t looked back. Citing his mom as one of his first musical influences Craig later discovered bands like ZZ Top, The Who, Grand Funk Railroad, The James Gang, Deep Purple, and bass heroes, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, Mel Schacher, and a little Stanley Clark for good measure.

Playing through Mark Bass amplification systems and too many 10” speakers, Craig brings the rich, big sound and energy a power trio needs. If you can’t feel it, then it’s not loud enough. Craig plays Fender, Gibson, Spector, and BC Rich basses in addition to Boss pedals, Sennheiser and Sony wireless.

In addition to playing bass, Craig shares vocal duties, singing lead and backup, jumping in and filling wherever needed. With only three players, vocals are a very important element to the band. Craig says he loves working with Brace For Impact and the extremely talented musicians in the band. “It’s a hard hitting classic rock trio.” he says, “I have no expectations, let the music do the talking.”

When Craig’s not playing music, in the studio or writing songs, he likes traveling, target shooting, camping, watching old movies and spending time with his wife, Holly, and his two children.

 

 

The instrument Mike Dauer gravitated towards at 9-years old was the bass. As a Beatles’ fan and southpaw Mike was fascinated with Paul McCartney and his Vox bass, but with lack of funds, the bass wasn’t in his future. At 13-years old Mike started playing the drums. After years of beating on everything and anything and a few mishaps along the way including a dented dining room table, he received his first kit as a graduation present. Mike says his mother had the most impact on his musical journey;  introducing him to songs like Sing Sing Sing with drummer Gene Krupa.

Mike got his first gig in 1972, the year he started playing drums and continued to perform in bands playing Orange County clubs The Rendezvous, Cuckoo’s Nest, Jezebels, The Crescendo, Starlight Ballroom, but it was The Roxy and Madame Wongs, in Los Angeles, that stand out the most for him.  One of Mike’s proudest and greatest achievements was the opportunity to record at Capitol Records under the wing of veteran engineer and producer Charles Faris. He spent time in the legendary Studio B providing  simple handclaps, claves to timbales and drums on demo recordings. Mike owes everything to Faris, as he truly taught him how to play for the song.

Musical influences for Mike are varied:  Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie, Montrose, and The Beatles, and his drum heroes include John Bonham, Tony Williams, Jeff Porcaro, Ian Paice and Vinnie Colaiuta, as well as everything from big band, swing and jazz.  Mike plays Rogers, Ludwig, DW and Gretsch with DW9000 Heavy Duty series hardware and nothing but Zildjian A’s, A Custom, K’s and K Custom are in his bags.

The eldest of five, a third generation Angeleno, Mike has two incredible daughters and the perfect partner to share his life, who is also a musician. Mike’s day gig for the last 35 years is in the business of flying aerial surveys and when he’s not working or playing drums, he enjoys travel, golfing and anything outdoors, especially if it means BBQ.  Mike says it’s a blessing to work with people whose company you enjoy and he thinks the audiences are in for a very big surprise … the possibilities for Brace for Impact are only limited by our imagination.”