Mike Maimone

Mutts frontman Mike Maimone “goes from zero to a hundred quicker than most,” according to Daytrotter. Choose Chicago says, “He plays the piano with his feet. He swills whiskey between songs. He shouts and howls. He is an unstoppable music force.” Vern Hester of the Windy City Times adds, “The man has the keyboard style of Fats Waller and Jerry Lee Lewis combined, and a vocal style that clearly recalls Tom Waits and Warren Zevon.”

Maimone has averaged over 100 tour dates each year since 2007, primarily with his band Mutts and as a solo artist, as well as on keyboards for Company of Thieves and Los Colognes. He has toured in support of Murder By Death, The Hold Steady, OK Go, and Blues Traveler among others, played Lollapalooza, Sasquatch, Riot Fest, and at notable venues across the country, from The Fillmore in San Francisco to the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York.

Maimone released his solo debut LP Open Mic Nights, Empty Bottle Mornings in 2008 on his micro-label 8eat8 Records. Forming Mutts with bassist Bob Buckstaff in 2009, the prolific songwriter has written and released 6 albums and 6 EPs in the past decade.

In his own words, Maimone says, “My songs are born from a life of contradictions.” Growing up in conservative rural Ohio, he didn’t come out of the closet fully until age 30. He was an all-state athlete in high school, even played against LeBron James, while having a deep appreciation and love for writing and the arts. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame business school, but quickly walked away from corporate America to focus on music. From these experiences Maimone has published nearly 100 songs that are as diverse as his life has been. For example “God, Country, Grave” appeared in the adult Cinemax show Banshee, and on the other hand, “Let’s Go” was broadcast in the “Friendly Confines” of Wrigley Field. Each Mutts album charted on CMJ, over a dozen of his songs have been spun on WXRT Chicago’s Finest Rock, with Mutts making the local best-of list twice.

Maimone’s latest release is a solo effort, The High Hat Club EP. The 5th Mutts LP is due out in May 2019 on 8eat8 / Romanus Records, and Maimone’s full-length solo album is set for late 2019.

Mike Maimone endorses Nord keyboards, who chose him to perform at their NAMM exhibition in 2018.