Bio
Finnegan is the acoustic chicken pickin' pseudonym of a guy from Minneapplesauce, MN that many know as Micycle Tricycle (yes, that's him in the picture.) Our story begins sometime back in 1977 in Cottage Grove, MN:
At the rather unripened age of 5, Finnegan would sneak into his mum and dad's bedroom to pull an intriguing, black vinyl-coated cardboard guitar-shaped case out from under their bed. As fate would have it, there was a guitar in that case (go figure.) It was his father Larry's nylon string classical guitar, and it had been gathering dust since it had been retired after a few lessons at a local Schmitt's Music.
Young Finnegan would close the door, plop the case up on the bed, open it, and sit and pluck the strings. He was fascinated with the sounds they made. Although his wee fingers weren't strong enough to fret any notes (nor did he know what frets were for in the first place), he taught himself how to play TAPS on the open D,G, and B strings and thought he was pretty bitchin' for figuring that out.
He was a shy little boy, so he kept this obsession a secret up until the Fall of 1985, when his Mum asked if he would be interested in taking guitar lessons from their neighbor over the back fence. Not wanting to let her know that he had already been snooping around in that guitar case for quite some time, he reluctantly said yes (while jumping up and down on the inside.)
One evening a month or so after the first few guitar lessons, his parents called him into their room saying "Watch this guy on TV play!" It was Leo Kottke, and young Finnegan could not believe all of that sound was coming from one guy. They bought him a "Leo Kottke - The Best" LP for Christmas and after that, he knew he wanted to play that kind of music in some way, shape, and form for the rest of his life. It would be 10 years and several layers of fingertip skin before he wrote his very own first official solo piece, but it finally happened, and many more followed.
Over the years, solo acoustic guitar became a really nice way to keep him entertained while not playing with his freak-out rock band Iced Ink or making atonal jigsaw puzzle recordings under the pseudonym Honkeylips. Today, Finnegan, Mike, or whatever you want to call him, is actively playing his solo acoustic shows in the Minneapolis area (occasionally with his Iced Ink bassist-in-crime Joe Berkman on upright bass) and shows no signs of letting up anytime soon.
Click here to check current performance dates!
F.U.C.Q.
(Frequently Unanswered Common Questions)
1. What do you go by: "Mike" or "Finnegan"?
Yes.
2. Where did that name come from?
"Mike" came from my parents; they gave me that name when I was born. "Finnegan" came from my Aunt Joan, who used to address me by singing the old tune "Michael Finnegan".
3. Hey Finnegan! I know you like to play shows. Do you perform at weddings, private parties, art galleries, events, and just about anything else where properly somber live musics are so desired? What is your fee?
Absolutely. Hit me up on the contact page with what you've got in mind and I'll get back to you. I am willing to barter... for cash.
4. What kinda stuff do you use?
A Taylor 414CE through a 60W Crate acoustic amp with a hint of its built-in delay and reverb. Less is more. I also use electricity, as it is needed to make my amp go.
5. Are tabs or sheet music of your compositions available?
Sorry... all of this stuff is in my head. As Frank Zappa would say, if you want to learn it, you're going to have to "learn it like a parrot".