Jared Michael

Jared Michael (born November 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, keyboardist, drummer and guitarist. He gained notariety in the 1990s while performing live with several well known Central Pennsylvania area jazz bands. He continued to find success as a session musician into the 2000s, most known for being a member of Evolution, Ricochet, The Inevitables, Monarch, Meltdown, Source: Unknown and Lincoln Highway cover-style bands. Jared also had a brief stint while arranging and writing numerous songs for Havre de Grace's own The Fury ensemble. Michael continues to perform and record all over Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and Virginia on a regular basis.


== Early Life == Jared was born Jared Michael Blouch in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He is the only son of Michael, a self-employed material handling consultant, and Linda Blouch, an eligibility specialist. The family originated from the Cornwall (Southern Lebanon area) area of Pennsylvania, one of the oldest and smallest boroughs in the United States known for the rich coal mining empire of the Cornwall Iron Furnance, made famous by the Robert Coleman and Peter Grubb families. He has one younger sister, Jacey Lyn.

1980's

When he was in third grade, Jared expressed interest in playing the saxophone and sought private instruction with a well-noted jazz musician in Central Pennsylvania, Tom Strohman. Tom is a founding member of a jazz band named Third Stream and still performs with the group to the present day. Around the age of ten, Michael began writing a lot of poetry, developing his own song IDeaS, singing at school-related functions, festivals, MusicAL contests and events around his hometown. He then began private instruction for the piano as he approached Middle School grades after his grandfather Perry, local piano store owner gifted a piano to his family shortly before closing the business. His first major show was a performance at the Lebanon Plaza Mall with an elite group of jazz instrumentalists while playing first chair saxophone.

1990's

He attended the Cornwall-Lebanon public district, Cedar Crest Middle/High Schools, where a schoolmate suggested he use his first and middle name only to avoid butchering the spelling and pronounciation he had be dealing with. He later chose to drop his last name for live performances and session work only, soon known to the local community as just Jared Michael. After mastering the alto saxophone and piano at a very young age, he began to express interests in other musical INSTRUMENTS as time moved ahead, which he ultimately learned how to play through self-taught instruction. Excited AbOUT his performances and growing audience exposure, he began to perform at other local jazz clubs and event shortly after turning fifteen years old with a group named The Rockets. He also continued to participate in the school's jazz band and choral ensemble throughout his remainder of time in High School until graduation in June of 1999.

2000's

After leaving high school, Jared moved to the Reading area of Berks County, Pennsylvania to pursue a Bachelor's of Science degree in Information, Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University's Berks-Lehigh Valley College in Wyomissing. He then began experimenting with his colleague's various other instruments the following summer, not really sure which one he would enjoy playing the most. He was beginning to teach himself how to play the drums, which , guitar and electric bass around the same timeframe, only to experiment with different configurations in several bands he chose to become a part of around the Berks County vicinity.

Post-College

After graduating from Pennsylvania State University in 2003, he decided to move to "The Sweetest Place on Earth", most notably the name for Hershey, Pennsylvania. He pursued many cover band ventures, mostly rock, but found the most enjoyment in recording his own music around this period of time. He became a member of Meltdown and Source: Unknown, both being managed by Hammaker Productions out of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (near the Capital of Harrisburg. After moving to the Mechanicsburg area, leaving those bands behind, he decided to join a York-based band named Lincoln Highway for about a year, which transitioned from country to a classic rock genre cover band. After moving, Jared decided to take a break from live performances and concentrate on developing his solo career in preparation for assembling a new original album project.

Present

Presently, Jared is writing and arranging a new solo album entitled "Clearly Misunderstood" set to release sometime in the summer of 2010.