Mike Emiliani
Founder
Mike Emiliani started playing bass his sophomore year in high school. 10 years later he’s never looked back.
Mike credits his love for bass to his father. After finishing his first book, he went to Guitar Center and purchased a bass guitar as a present to himself. For two years, every morning his dad would get up and practice playing Rage Against the Machine songs for hours. The resonant sound of his bass penetrating the house’s ceilings and floors for two years was the early impetus for putting the sound and feel of bass guitar in Mike’s head.
Before starting Smart Bass Guitar, Mike gigged around in and out of bands throughout high school and college, immersing himself in what it means to play bass for a band and craft basslines that both compliment and intrigue listeners.
Mike currently plays bass for a number of projects in Rhode Island.
Follow Mike on Twitter.
John Marley
Contributing Writer, Bass Guitar Lessons
Performing over 250 gigs a year, John Marley is one of the busiest and most in demand bass players in the north of the UK. Since graduating from the BA (HONS) Degree in Jazz Studies at Leeds College of Music , he has worked with some of the biggest names in British jazz such as
- Julian Siegel,
- Stu Mccallum (Cinematic Orchestra),
- Kit Downes,
- Dennis Rollins,
- Alex Munk,
- Eddie Hick,
- Jamil Sheriff and
- Joel Purnell.
Through his association with the Charity Dreamgirls, John has had the privilege of performing with celebrity singers such as Ricky Valance, Chip Hawkes (The Tremeloes), Angie Brown and Katrina Leskanich (Katrina & the Waves).
John is a regular member of many bands including the Kate Peters Quartet, Firebird Quartet and Alec Robinson Quartet as well as playing bass and guitar in the famous York Theatre Royal Pantomime. He is also a respected teacher and arranger, having done arrangements for many bands and musicians across the country. He has appeared on national TV and radio on both the bass guitar and double bass.
John also runs the website Jazzinyork.com which is a guide to jazz in his home city as well as the online tuition website Bassguitarcourse.com. He also contributes a weekly jazz column to the York Press newspaper.
Follow John on Twitter .