Mika
His name is really Michael Penniman, but don't expect Little Richard's long-lost grandson.
Besides being white, Mika grew up in Beirut, Paris, and London, and his musical education includes the classics and voice training. His pop taste is said to be all over the map, but it's peculiarly British in that he seems to go out of his way to make sure no two songs sound alike. Suffice it to say that the Scissor Sisters beat him to this particular game by about a year, but Mika is less a thief than he's been described. His self-consciousness results in ambitious arrangements and instrumentation, as well as ostentation in terms of singing and playing. On record, this sort of thing can sound cluttered and cloying, but live it can be a hoot, and if Mika is anything he's a crowd-pleaser. He'll be rolling back to Tokyo for one gig following his Fuji debut.
GREEN STAGE, 7/29, 2:20 pm
