Mike Conte
Encyclopedia
Mike Conte is an artist and musician, most well known as the lead singer and founding member of the heavy metal band Early Man (band)
. He is 36 years old and is known by many in the music scene as "Early Mike". He began working on what would become Early Man songs in the late 90's using a drum machine and a four track recorder. In 2004 Early Man took NYC by storm after playing shows at the now defunct bar The Hole. The band and Mike became instant underground legends and they were soon signed. The following year saw the release of "Closing In", the bands first full length. Early Man released "Death Potion" in the summer of 2010. Mike lived in NYC for 10 years before relocating himself to Los Angeles where he currently resides.
In July of 2011 it was announced that Mike is the composer for a new show on the Cartoon Network
called Secret Mountain Fort Awesome
. Conte composes all of the music for the show which will begin airing in the Fall of 2011 on the Cartoon Network.
's Ozzy Osbourne
and Judas Priest
's Rob Halford
. While he resembles these vocalists, he sings in his own style.
Conte's guitar playing can easily be summed up in one word: RIFFS. Nearly every Early Man song is jam packed with a roller coaster of riffage from start to finish. This is the hallmark sound of the band and Mike's playing style. Conte uses standard tuning and has become known for his songwriting chops which he is on record as saying has become somewhat of a lost art in modern heavy metal music.
Early Man (band)
Early Man is a heavy metal band from Brooklyn, New York, now based in Los Angeles, California. Guitarist and vocalist Mike Conte began performing under the name "Early Man" in the early 2000s, and when drummer Adam Bennati moved to New York in 2003, the two formed the nucleus for the current line-up...
. He is 36 years old and is known by many in the music scene as "Early Mike". He began working on what would become Early Man songs in the late 90's using a drum machine and a four track recorder. In 2004 Early Man took NYC by storm after playing shows at the now defunct bar The Hole. The band and Mike became instant underground legends and they were soon signed. The following year saw the release of "Closing In", the bands first full length. Early Man released "Death Potion" in the summer of 2010. Mike lived in NYC for 10 years before relocating himself to Los Angeles where he currently resides.
In July of 2011 it was announced that Mike is the composer for a new show on the Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
called Secret Mountain Fort Awesome
Secret Mountain Fort Awesome
Secret Mountain Fort Awesome is an American animated television series created by Peter Browngardt and produced at Cartoon Network Studios for Cartoon Network...
. Conte composes all of the music for the show which will begin airing in the Fall of 2011 on the Cartoon Network.
Vocal and playing style
Like countless other heavy metal singers, Conte is largely influenced by Black SabbathBlack Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
's Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
and Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
's Rob Halford
Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
. While he resembles these vocalists, he sings in his own style.
Conte's guitar playing can easily be summed up in one word: RIFFS. Nearly every Early Man song is jam packed with a roller coaster of riffage from start to finish. This is the hallmark sound of the band and Mike's playing style. Conte uses standard tuning and has become known for his songwriting chops which he is on record as saying has become somewhat of a lost art in modern heavy metal music.