Mike Malinin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It has been suggested that Forty Marshas be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Michael Theodore Malinin (born October 10, 1967) joined the Goo Goo Dolls in January 1995, after a brief jam session with founding members Johnny Rzeznik and Robby Takac, who were seeking to replace drummer George Tutuska.

[edit] Background

Malinin was born in Washington, D.C., the youngest of four children. ^[1] His family soon relocated to Miami, Florida where Malinin went to high school at Ransom Everglades in Coconut Grove. He began studying drums in the summer of 1979. His first instructor was Mike Cottom, and he then studied with Harry Hawthorne at the University of Miami until 1985, when he graduated from high school and headed to Denton, Texas, to attend the University of North Texas. While in Denton, Malinin played in many bands, including Angry Jasmine, Last Rites, and Caulk. He played on Caulk's first release, entitled Learn to Take. Malinin eventually dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles in July of 1992 with his friend and fellow musician Robert Cooper. After playing in various short-lived bands, he joined Careless (featuring Brian Baker) around 1994. Baker eventually left the band and began playing with Bad Religion, and Malinin landed a gig with the Goo Goo Dolls in January 1995.

He has a side project called Forty Marshas. ^[2]

He is also an avid ultra-marathon runner, having completed several 100-mile races.^[3]