Reclinerland

Reminisce

I saw Mike at a show in a wharehouse in Portland. He proved to be a very personable, charming performer. Classy even then. For example, he would play a melody on guitar while just chatting about something or other like a smooth DJ and then launch into the song with uncanny timing. A little comic punchline, then bam, the sweep of his pitch-perfect voice delivered you into the music that is Reclinerland.

“Hi, I’m Mike and this is Reclinerland” will forever be his tagline. A consumate showman, with a heart of gold, Mike coaxed his guitar to sound differently than most singer songwriters. It souned more open, bigger, rollicking… I think he must have known that, evidenced by a rockabillly-guy decal with stencilled letters that read “Mr. Big” stuck to the body of his guitar.

Mr. Big and Mike Johnson have come a long way since then. Today Mike spends an equal or greater amount of time with his Piano. A classically trained musician, Mike is a man with a plan when it comes to making orchhestral pop music.

-Chad Crouch, 2001