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Fashioning a drumkit with household items, Michael MJ says he can beat it...
Bike helmet. Tailoring machine cap. Silver plate. Empty cup. These might be a part of our household items but for Michael MJ, a 20-year-old hailing from Salem, they serve as musical props that help him create new, interesting sounds.
“As we could not afford the model of drums that I wanted, I started playing on household items,” he says, recalling how his interest kickstarted, “Soon, I became more passionate and started playing on practically everything in the house.”
Naturally, that irked his household members a bit but gradually, they realized that the young boy had a special gift.One of his role models is Sivamani, the man who drums on just about anything. “He has listened to me playing at an event,” recalls Michael, “He had a lot of kind words for me and said I should put in a lot of hardwork to make it to the top.”
Since then, the musician has been spending almost an hour every day honing his skills. “I work on my equipment and try to bring out new sounds,” states Michael, who has received appreciation from many celebrities in the music industry, “I first learnt to play the mridangam without help from anyone. Soon, I started playing the drums too.”
And that led him to the world of college culturals and several other musical events. “I’d land up at many places with my entire ‘musical kit’ and perform for the crowd. Apart from winning many college events, I’ve received accolades from people in the music industry.” AR Rahman’s sister, Raihana, was present at one such function and she encouraged Michael. He’s also performed at an event graced by the likes of Vikku Vinayagam, GV Prakash and others who were awestruck by his performance of creating music from ‘simple everyday things.’
Nurturing an ambition for music since his youth, the college-goer is currently aiming to get into one of the prestigious music schools in Chennai. “I hope to learn a lot from there if I get in,” signs off Michael.