Today we’d like to introduce you to Myke Rock.
Hi Myke, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
All upward movement in my life seems to have stemmed from involvement in music. As a child, around 8 years old, it was a normal occasion around the house to hear my father playing his electric guitar. Some BB King, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and a bit of “duckwalking” through the living room. After exploring his guitar from time to time, I had started and left the guitar, toyed with drums and landed on bass guitar. That instrument would stick, so far, for 50 years. I have toured Europe and the US several times over with various recording artists and recorded my bass guitar parts in the studio on more than 300 songs. Recently, I’ve received a Professional Artist grant from the Ohio Arts Council to produce 4 shows from January 30th, through March 14th, 2026, featuring top Columbus-area bassists, with a new line-up in each program, with 15 bass spots and 4 drummers through the series.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Struggles along the way? Absolutely. Growth in a profession and as a person can only truly happen when difficulties arise and you must find new perspectives and new ways to get to where you need to be. Evaluation and re-evaluation are constants in evolving in anything. I found that I had to be willing to change and adjust my outlook and plans, many, many times over, while the inner resolve never really wavered. Only the path to the next step up mattered, even when it was hard to see the sometimes hard-to-see miniscule movement. For me, it always came down to “How bad do you want it?” I had no choice. I was indeed willing to do the hard work, the hardest work. And certainly not always with grace.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a professional electric bass guitarist, or bassist. I have played in bands where I was a member, and still do, though most of my work is as a hire-on for touring and recording. In a given year, I could perform (in a studio or a live show or tour) with up to 50 different recording artists or bands in general. I am known for my essentially unique insight and personal take on bass lines that more than “fit” a piece of music. I look to build a “bass story” usually sparse at the top of a song and building tension and added texture throughout. But, the song is always king. What that particular song needs, lives for, is what I find and what I give, using all of my experiences and some I have not actually had. A number of things set me apart from other bassists. Visually, one notices right away how low I strap my bass. Some think it looks cool, some think “different” or even “odd”. But I do this because I was born with a left arm (below the elbow) that seems as though that part of my arm was removed, cocked a quarter turn and put back on. And so, I strap low and literally turn the bass to fit my hand, playing the highest notes with the bass almost 100% vertically. Musically, people comment on my innate”feel.” for what a song or passage needs to move the piece with taste, practicality, while creating a literal feeling that otherwise would not exist.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
My Facebook pages and official website, and email address are the best ways to follow events, news, listen to music I’ve recorded, studio and live show videos and make contact:
http://www.mykerock.com
http://www.facebook.com/myke.rock
http://www.facebook.com/MykeRockElectricBass
mykerock@mykerock.com
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.mykerock.com
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/myke.rock
