Mike Albert is an American guitarist. He has collaborated with various musicians like

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

Don Felder Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 to 2001. He is known for co-writing several of the band's songs, most notably "Hotel California". Felder was in ...

, Ruben Guevara, and L. Shankar, and toured with bands like

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

and

El Chicano El Chicano was an American brown-eyed soul group from Los Angeles, California, whose style incorporated various modern music genres including rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa. The group's name came from the word Chicano, a term for Un ...

Early life and career

Albert began playing guitar at the age of nine years old. He left high school in his junior year to pursue a musical career. Soon after, Albert became a professional guitar teacher at the age of 18. During the mid-1970s, he joined the band

Ruben and the Jets Ruben and the Jets was an American rock and roll band from Los Angeles, California. The band originated as an alias for The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa's band, to release ''Cruising with Ruben & the Jets'' (1968). Later, musician Rubén Gu ...

, who were produced by

. After they disbanded, Albert continued to write and perform with the band's leader and vocalist, Ruben Guevara. In the following years, Albert was a member and co-leader of original keyboardist

Bobby Espinosa Bobby Espinosa (April 29, 1949 – February 27, 2010) was an influential and important part of the Latin rock scene in Los Angeles from the late 1960s to the 2000s. He was a founding member of El Chicano. Background Espinosa was born on April 2 ...

's version of the

Latin rock Latin Rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean folk with rock music. However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featurin ...

band

. They released several US regional singles in the early 1980s, such as "Groovin" and "Do You Want Me". Soon after, they were signed to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and recorded "Let Me Dance With You" and "I'm in Love With". They also toured with

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. The band has had a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted ...

, and

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

. Also in the early 1980s, Albert did a project with former members of

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

and

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is a retired American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded with the groups Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throu ...

, including Sergio Pastora on

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

, Dick Sims on keyboards and

Carl Radle Carl Dean Radle (June 18, 1942 – May 30, 1980) was an American bassist who toured and recorded with many of the most influential recording artists of the late 1960s and 1970s. He was posthumously inducted to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame ...

on bass. They performed many of the songs from the time they were in Clapton's band. In 1984, Albert collaborated with Lee Pastora and

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the '' Mode ...

on a 1984 World Olympics Promotional recording. In 1985, guitarist

Chris Poland Chris Poland (born December 1, 1957) is an American guitarist, best known as the former guitarist of the thrash metal band Megadeth. Since 2002, Poland has been the guitarist of the instrumental rock/jazz rock bands OHM and OHMphrey, among othe ...

left

during their '' Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!'' tour and band leader

Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth and for his time as the lead guitarist of Met ...

asked Albert to take over the position of lead guitarist. Albert joined the band on July 3. They also performed in shows with

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

, and

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

. Though Albert was described as the band's "permanent guitar player" in the 12th 1985 issue of

Metal Forces ''Metal Forces'' is a British heavy metal and hard rock music publication founded in 1983. It was well known for its coverage of unsigned bands through its ''Demolition'' feature and championed the likes of Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, HellsBel ...

, Poland later rejoined the band in October 1985. Albert's playing is featured on several

bootleg recording A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. Making and distributing such recordings is known as ''bootlegging''. Recordings may be copied and traded ...

s from the band's shows. In the late 1980s, Albert and former Megadeth drummer

Gar Samuelson Gary Charles "Gar" Samuelson (February 18, 1958 – July 14, 1999) was an American musician best remembered for being the drummer for thrash metal band Megadeth from 1984 to 1987, contributing to their first two albums, '' Killing Is My Busines ...

started the band Metalist. Prior to being signed with the label

Combat Records Combat Records was an American independent record label founded in 1982 and based in New York City. The label was made specifically for heavy metal and punk rock acts. Notable artists include: Megadeth, Circle Jerks, Nuclear Assault, OZ, ...

, they disbanded. Albert went on as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

for commercials and movie soundtracks including the movie "Hostile Intentions" with Tia Carrere,

Cheech & Chong Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo founded in Vancouver and consisting of American Cheech Marin and Canadian Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and fea ...

's "Nice Dreams", as well as several live performances with the comedy duo. The

wrap party Wrap, as used in the phrase "That's a wrap", has been used by directors since the early days of the film industry to signal the end of filming. Since the 1920s, filmmakers have been using this phrase when principal photography is concluded and ...

for the film was at

George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor. He had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his portrayal of stern but complex ...

's mansion with the band consisting of Albert and

(of the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

) on lead guitars, Tommy Chong on rhythm guitar, Cheech Marin and Ruben Guevara on vocals, Bobby Espinosa on keyboards, and Pancho Sanchez as the percussionist. In the late 1990s, Albert created the band The Unsung Heroes, performing with rap artist

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

, with Albert also the musical director. In 2006, he formed the "Albert/Schroeder Experience", a tribute to

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

, with Albert playing guitar. Albert formed the "Mike Albert Project" and released their album ''Afterlife'' in 2009, which received good reviews and international airplay. Two tracks off the album are also featured on a compilation CD called ''So Cal Metal Countdown''. Band members included Jon Escobedo, Richard Schroeder, Angel Lujan, and

Bernie Pershey Bernard Pershey (born in Joliet, Illinois) is an American drummer and record producer. Biography Pershey began playing drums at the age of eight. In his early years he was part of many psychedelic rock and hard rock bands such as Trilogy, Whi ...

.Berniepershey.com
On January 27, 2014, Maximized Entertainment released his new album ''Crime of Passion''. His song "Drive" is the theme song for "Indie Power T.V.", a worldwide interview show featuring the top musicians of the industry. For the past decade, Albert has been working with Indian violinist and vocalist L. Shankar. They have worked on multiple projects together and have toured the world. Albert is featured on Taipan's album ''Nine Battlegrounds'' with former

members.

Discography (selection)

* 1982 – El Chicano – ''Groovin'' * 1983 – El Chicano – ''Do You Want Me'' * 1984 – El Chicano – ''Let Me Dance With You'' * 1984 – El Chicano – ''I'm In Love With'' * 2003 – Mike Albert Project – ''Feast or Famine'' * 2006 – The Albert/Schroeder Experience – "Tribute to Jimi Hendrix" (guitar: Mike Albert; bass: Jorg Schroeder; drums: Perry Lopez; vocals: Richard Schroeder) * 2006 – Mike Albert Project – ''Hypnotic'' * 2009 – Mike Albert Project – ''Afterlife'' * 2014 – Mike Albert Project – ''Crime of Passion'' * 2018 – M. Albert/S. Verona/D. Saric (soundtracks for film and television)

References

External links

Albert's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert, Mike American rock guitarists American heavy metal guitarists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists