Tedesco

Mike Tedesco doesn't expect fame to just fall in his lap.

He wants to work for it.

"I know what I want and I know what I want to do," said the Torrington native. "Music to me is not just about recordings and YouTube videos. I want to put my nose to the grindstone and play, and build through live performances."

The singer-songwriter, who graduated from Torrington High School in 2010 and is now finishing up his senior year at Hofstra University in New York, is not shying away from making a name for himself. The musician, who performs both as a solo act and as part of a group, is poised to graduate college and hit the ground running.

His band, formerly known as the Mike Tedesco Band, just recently changed its name to Tedesco. The group won a battle of the bands contest, River 105.9's "Locals Live," in December at Mohegan Sun and will perform at the casino later this summer. Tedesco also released a new EP this month, called "Something New."

The musician began playing piano at the age of 9 and has been performing live since he was 16, taking on as many gigs as possible. At Hofstra University, he studies jazz and commercial music, and has used his college years for two main purposes: to perfect his piano playing and his songwriting skills.

He said his goal is to have a career as a singer-songwriter, and to write music that moves people. He has a variety of musical idols whom he respects, including Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Ben Folds, Elton John, Paul Simon, and his all-time favorite, Billy Joel.

"They are all really incredible singer-songwriters and they can play an instrument," he said. "To me, that is the thing I look up to the most. I want to become the best I can on my instrument and move people through song ... They are all very organic and vulnerable and have such a wide range of songs, a mix of all these emotions and variations on songs, and that's what I love about them so much."

"Something New" follows that formula, with different styles apparent in the tracks' musical range. But piano and lyrics are finely crafted in each song, evidence of Tedesco's hard work.

"I try to do my own thing ... My goal is to stay true to what I do," he said.

Currently Tedesco manages his own career and wants his touch to be on all aspects.

"I write all the songs, I do all the booking," he said. "I don't want someone to speak for me yet. I want to be the one to speak for myself ... I want to make a connection, and personally connect with everyone."

Tedesco, the band, features Tedesco on keys and vocals, Steven Cowit on drums, Adam Baine on bass, Max Ross on guitar, Jordan Cohen on saxophone, and Paul Jordan Talbot on banjo/backing vocals. The group performs all original music written by Tedesco.

The band has several gigs in the coming month in New York, including shows May 22 at Bowery Electric, June 1 at Piano's, June 26 at Santos Party House, and July 31 at Webster Hall. The band will also give its "Locals Live" headlining performance at Mohegan Sun's Wolf Den on Sept. 30.

For details, visit facebook.com/tedescomusic, or miketedesco.bandcamp.com. - Kellie Lambert