Mike Tetrault

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Mike Tetrault
Birth Name Michael Edward Tetrault 
Aliases Mike Tate, Sis Boom Bah, Big Tate
Occupation Musician, Contractor
Instrument(s) Harmonica, Spoons
Birth Date March 6, 1956
Place of Birth Cincinnati, Ohio
Marital Status  Divorced.
Eyes Blue
Hair Brown
Height Five Foot Eleven and Three Fourths Inches

The Rev. Michael Edward Tetrault (born March 6, 1956) is a legendary local blues harmonica player in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has played with many local blues bands. Although he has not appeared on any albums, his work has appeared on various live bootlegs and collections. He has not played a gig since 2002, although as of August 13, 2005, he has hinted playing at Burbank's in Sharonville, a suburb of Cincinnati. He does, however, make regular appearances as an audience member at local blues clubs and the annual Cincinnati Blues Festival.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Tetrault was born in March 1956 on Cincinnati's middle-class East side. His father, Edward Bradley Tetrault, known to relatives as "papa", was born in New England and attended Holy Cross college. His mother, Maureen Flynn Tetrault, was born to Irish immigrants in Yonkers, New York. Before Mike was born, Maureen and Ed had another child, Michelle Tetrault, who died while only a few months old. Although his family lived in Pleasant Ridge, at the time of his birth, they moved to Mt. Washington soon after. Mike attended Guardian Angels, a catholic Grammar School that is part of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. During his stint here, his parents had 5 more children:

  • Chris Tetrault
  • Geoff Tetrault
  • Greg Tetrault
  • Denise Tetrault
  • Lori Tetrault (Now Boeh)

After leaving Guardian Angels at the end of Eighth grade, he attended the highly acclaimed St. Xavier High School. After being asked not to return, he attended various high schools throughout Cincinnati. He finally graduated from Hughes High School in 1974. In his twenties, he became an enthusiastic musicologist. He has stated that the song that sparked his love of the harmonica was "Night Owl Blues" by The Lovin' Spoonful. He taught himself to play harmonica in these years, and, according to those who knew him well at this time, already showed great musical promise. Says contemporary Bruce Stephens, "Mike's just a hell of a player!"

[edit] Personal life

In the early eighties, he wed Brenda Peters. Their brief union produced no children. In the late eighties, he wed Deborah Moorehous. She had two children from a previous marriage. Mike and Deborah's first child, Michaela, was born in 1989. She was born with a not-so rare genetic disorder called Down syndrome. One of the groups Mike played in, Sonny Moorman, was closely associated with the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati. In 1991, their second child was born "Steven Tetrault".

[edit] Musical Career

Mike's most productive musical period was the 1990s. Everything discussed in the first paragraph of this article happened during these years. He played with Sonny Moorman on and off until 2002, when he abrubtly ended his musical career. He has not given any reasons for the end of his career. In a 2005 interview, he said, "I just felt like it was time for me to move on. I'm not as healthy as I use to be, and ending my non-stop gig schedule was the best decision of my life." On July 31, 2005, he contacted his former bandmate, Sonny Moorman. They reportedly discussed Mike rejoining the group for open jams on Thursday nights for open jams at Burbank's in Sharonville.

[edit] Amplifiers and Microphones

Mike was renowned for the custom amp rig he used while performing. He started with a Fender Super Reverb blackface which he had hot-rodded internally by renowned tube amplifier genius Mike Stevens. He changed the look of his amps by covering them with rare simulated snakeskin. Mike had two of these rigs, one a little different than the other internally. Some say they were magically transformed into harmonica nuclear machines. MIke also had a large, acclamimed collection of vintage harmonica microphones that he amassed over a 5 year period through acquisitions at Swap Meets, personal contacts, and EBay. It was said by renowned Fender amplifier collector and fellow harmonica player, Eric Besanko, that Mike's collection was an unbelievable and never to be seen again collection of these musical entities. At the end of his career, he sold off a majority of this collection to support himself in hopes to one day regain his acclaim as a microphone collector.

[edit] 2002-Present

His health has declined over the past few years. He has been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, the same disease that took punk-rock star Joey Ramone. He also has been diagnosed with hepatitis C. In June of 2005, he became a Minister with the ULC. He currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has recently become reinterested in an infatuation of his youth, Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

[edit] Musicians Mike Has Collaborated With

  • Sonny Moorman
  • Nosmo King
  • Blue Eldorado
  • Mike has also been asked to sit in with legendary musicians Bootsy Collins, Big Joe Duskin, and other Cincinnati Bluesmen.

[edit] Major Influences

[edit] External links

  • Mike Tetrault's Official Website [1]
  • The Sonny Moorman Group [2]
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