--Mike Anthony--

--hometown--

Pewaukee, Wisconsin

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--his story--

Mike Anthony grew up with a love of music.  When he was five, he started learning his first instrument, piano.  Years later, Mike picked up his first guitar: a Squire Stratocaster starter pack.  He quickly gave up playing guitar when he realized that he couldn't play 'Yankee Doodle.'  But, he never lost the urge to play guitar.

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At the end of middle school, he talked his father into buying him a Gibson Explorer, so he could learn.  After, two years of playing bass guitar, he developed his skill quickly.  He started learning by purchasing Metallica song books.  At around this time, he joined his first band with a few high school classmates.  They would play in their drummer's basement for hours.  

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Although Mike was heavily involved in classical music, he formed a new hard rock group, Flynn.  This was his first real band that he could write, record and perform in front of his peers.  Flynn, was short lived once Mike went to university and only ever recorded a demo CD. 

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Mike enrolled at the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh for pursue a double major in music performance and recording technology.  After his second year of university, he dropped his recording major because of the industry crash due to the popularity of home recording studios.  It was around this time, Mike met his future wife and started a family.  

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Even though Mike spent many years raising children and supporting his family, he never lost his love for music.  He would always try to find time to play guitar whenever he could.  Eventually, he started writing countless number of guitar riffs that he needed to form a group to turn into songs.  That's when he started the quest to form his new group, What Shadows Hide.