Biography
Chris Hightower, Maggie Armstrong, Nicole Sundboom, Michael Rambo, Davey Sumner
The Michael Rambo Project began in the fall of 2009 out of a realization of a life-long passion of lead singer- Michael Rambo- to perform, entertain, and captivate audiences through pop and soul music that inspires, provokes, and encourages listeners to be all that they can be. Beginning members were friends, family and musical partners of Michael through the UWEC Jazz program and Eau Claire, WI music scene. Members included at that time: Andrew Detra, Aaron Hedenstrom, Brian Claxton, John Miller, and Daniel Rambo, Michael's Brother.
Released at their first concert at the Grand Little Theater in Eau Claire was their first four-song E.P. recorded and produced by Michael in the months leading up to the concert. Their first concert incorporated live art, poetry, and video audience participation. The concert was then recorded for their 2nd release, “Live and the Little Grand.”
Further developments in March of 2010 were their release of the first music video, “The Michael Rambo Project does Eau Claire,” which featured an actual audio/video recording or their song “Day After Day” at signature locations across the city of Eau Claire. A follow up video, “The Michael Rambo Project mows your lawn and does majic tricks in the street” was released in April, 2010 as rebuttal to commentary from local culture magazine, “Volume One.” In April, 2010 John Miller, the electronics, technical guru and web-mastermind of the band developed an app for the iPad that allowed audiences to mix beats and improvise synth sounds with the band during live performances. The Project also developed a system to provide audiences with free access to live recordings of each live performance through the beginning of 2011. With these first two local releases, energetic concerts, video dialogue, and the technological integration into live performances it brought the MRP into high standing with regional audiences.
From the winter of 2010-11 until now the MRP has been laying the groundwork for their upcoming double album featuring two distinct flavors of the MRP. This double album is intended to be their first release into the larger global market, and will be the backdrop to their upcoming multi-media tours in the summer and fall of 2012. Summer 2011 had its fond farewells to 5 of the members of the original ensemble, welcoming many enthusiastic new members to carry the project to completion.