Mike Criscione

Two-time winner of "Best Original Guitarist" at the Buffalo Music Awards, Mike Criscione's path as a musician has taken him through a number of angular phases. Beginning in the western New York music scene as a rock guitarist for the critically acclaimed progressive band Riley, Criscione established himself as an accomplished guitarist and vocalist. Riley found success in the Buffalo area. Their technique-intensive live shows, regional radio airplay, and high profile performances (a 1999 season opening slot at Buffalo's "Thursday at the Square" concert series) propelled them to be voted Best Original Rock band at the 1999 Buffalo Music Awards.

After disbanding with Riley, Criscione established himself as a singer/songwriter on the region's coffeehouse circuit, drawing positive reviews from clubs and fans alike. Initially performing with only voice and acoustic guitar, Criscione quickly found that setup too limiting. Over time, his performances have evolved to additionally incorporate electric guitars, mandolin, keyboards, bass pedals, percussion and live recorded loops. "It's kind of like juggling," he says of his current style. "You get in the rhythm of doing a number of things at once and it just turns into one big motion." For Criscione, this motion entails balancing singing, playing one of the many instruments in his arsenal, stomping on bass pedals and controlling live digital loopsall at the same time. The use of looping enables Criscione to add multiple layers to his songs without resorting to using pre-recorded parts. This also allows him to switch instruments mid-song, adding greatly to the visual aspect of his live shows.

Criscione's debut release, BALANCE, features him performing on over ten different instruments. Self-recorded, mixed, and mastered, this work covers an impressive array of styles interwoven with an acoustic/rock foundation. During the process of this recording, many of the songs evolved from arrangements that Criscione could pull off solo to ones that required a full band. The Buffalo News describes Criscione as having, a diverse palette of musical inspiration and a definite knack for storytelling.

Also a sought after guitarist in the Western New York Music Scene, Criscione performs regularly as part the modern rock cover band UltraViolet. He has also lent his electric skills to other performing/recording artists artists in the region most notably Rob Falgiano and NSS.

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