Duke Michaels

Duke Michaels is a storyteller that’s been around the prairie a time or two and knows the feeling of being in a ditch with no shovel. He’s found his own ground to stand on and carries a highway in his heart. Duke has come from the ground up and can build a good solid song and well-structured lyric using his own toolkit of well-rounded skills and knowing how to always keep her simple.

His albums are loaded with positive songs about life and taking each breath as it comes. Duke prides himself in seeing endless possibility in every day living and is good at finding songs in his life and capturing those moments with a couple of chords. His good just gets better and he’ll paint that half empty glass full for you every time. And that highway of stories he’s been carrying, it just gets wider every day.

So if you ever want to meet a modern day pioneer and gunslinger, the wagon stops here. Duke Michaels is rock 'n' roll with boots on. His horse is a work truck with no saddle. His hat is wide open country filled with dreams and his life is a story unfolding. His music is Los Angeles meets the wild wild west and carries the brand “DM Country”. "The truth is in the tracks" … Duke Michaels

Raves and Reviews!

Duke Michaels is an intriguing figure in the country world. He doesn't walk the Nashville line of pop-ready songwriters churning out hayseed bubblegum pop for the CMT set. Duke Michaels brings a unique mix of country and rock and roll to the table; a modern take on old country attitude and grit. Michaels writes thoughtful and thought-provoking songs full of real grit, love, loss and determination.

Welcome To DM Country is a strong offering as a co-debut and should do much to establish Michaels as an artist of import. Purple Sky Outlaw, stripped down it shines as a diamond in the rough. It's a thing of beauty to behold and solidifies Michael's position as a great songwriter and performer. You'll want Welcome to DM Country in your collection. You need Purple Sky Outlaw.

"Welcome To DM Country" was recorded at Duke's very own DMC Studios. It started off sounding a bit like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones playing country music, and as Duke added some dirt and spit, and a whole lot of grit into that twang, it became his own sound and style. Whether you call it southern rock, country rock, new country, alternative country, or rock 'n' roll, the music is pure Duke Michaels and "DM Country" is Duke's very own label for his new brand of country. But “DM Country” is more than just the sound coming out of Duke’s flat-top, it's Duke's way of life, and his own vision of the world he's been living in. It also just so happens to be the name of the wild western world found in his soon to be released web site. Click on the Video Tab or the You Tube link to check out the "Welcome To DM Country Trailer".

"Purple Sky Outlaw" was recorded and mixed like an early Bob Dylan record in one weekend by Duke himself in order to bring back the art of storytelling and turn that live energy and old school method of making records into a modern day setting. The songs were written in about a month after the death of Duke's father and were finished on the day they were put to tape. Duke chose that classic folk style to capture the sound of "The Iron Range" region of Northern Minnesota and to pay tribute to his father and the working class people like his father that struggled all their lives to keep their family's head above water. No other musicians were on this record in order to produce a very honest and straight from the heart sound that DM could only get by himself to send out his love to his fathers life and career in mining.

Duke Michaels is driven by love and marches to the beat of his strumming guitar strings while keeping his eyes on the road, ears to his heart, and mind warrior ready. Like many warriors, Duke Michaels is all heart and his soul continues to guide him through every closed door that stands before him. His music has become an extension of the freedom he feels everyday under the purple sky that Duke uses to describe his own unique vision. Michaels has a concrete slab of songs and ideas he’s been hauling around in the back of his rig for some time now and that hard fought foundation continues to expand and add weight to his tires. To DM, writing a new song is as simple as a soda cap popping. It just happens every day.