Michael Angelo -

Michael Angelo is an American folk-psych musician and songwriter from Kansas City who made a 1977 self-titled album, released in limited edition on Guinn Records. Earlier in the decade, he cut a 7″ acetate on small-press Damon. His album gained newfound appreciation in acid-folk collector circles during the 21st century.

Background

Michael Angelo was born Michael Angelo Nigro in 1954 in Topeka, Kansas, and grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He first played a blue-sparkle snare drum with a ten-inch cymbal at about age ten. His aunt Louise gave him an acoustic guitar at age eleven, which he learned without formal instruction. Nigro soon taught himself bass, harmonica, and piano. By seventh grade, he played teen dances with older high-school musicians in Norwegian Wood. A 1966 group photograph also identifies him with Foundations of Time.

Nigro cut a five-copy acetate for Kansas City label Damon with “Journey to Find Who We Are” and “To You.” In 1975, he answered a Kansas City newspaper advertisement for studio work and joined Liberty Recording as a session musician. He recorded advertising spots and backing tracks for other artists, while Liberty gave him unbooked studio hours for personal recordings.

Nigro spent several months tracking a self-titled album on an eight-track Tascam with high-school drummer friend Frank Gautieri; Nigro handled all remaining instruments. Liberty planned to issue the album, but a financial loss on another project left the completed recordings unmixed. Nigro moved the tapes to Big K Records, where compatible Tascam equipment allowed completion of the mixes and led to another session position. Big K then prepared the album for a 500-copy pressing on subsidiary Guinn Records.

Discography: