Mike Nitka
Electric Bass
Backup Vocals
Backup Vocals
Mike was born and raised in the Milwaukee area. He attended Marquette University, where he met Mark. Many a lunch hour was spent in the student union playing "ratspit" (Ask Mark, he'd love to show you how to play. Just don't merc him with any black 2's).
Anyhoo... Mark was in this band called Random Maxx, and Mike would frequently go see them at their weekly gig at a small bar in St. Francis. Then one fateful night, there was a terrible storm and half the band couldn't make it to the gig. [ed: Actually, I'm not sure there was a storm... mike: Shhhh! It's more dramatic this way.] Troopers that they were, Bo and Mark dug deep and played every song they knew. Then they invited Mike to come up and sing a couple of songs with them. Well, it was Mike's stage debut and he was pretty much hooked.
Over the next few years, the guys were kind enough to regularly invite Mike up to do Pearl Jam songs with them. Mike had always dug the bass, so he picked one up and learned to play. He joined the infamous Scrap Band, which later opened for Random Maxx at Conway's in Milwaukee. And now, a decade later, he finds himself a member of the band that started it all. The sublimity of this is not lost on Mike.
To further demonstrate his awesomeness, Mike has (in no particular order): taught martial arts, drafted the mechanical systems of some of Milwaukee's most interesting buildings, taught boy scouts how to shoot guns, narrowly come in 2nd place in a regional Frogger tournament (curse you Matt Hamilton!), worked 3rd shift for a local newspaper, and built an electric upright bass. All but one of the above are true.
Anyhoo... Mark was in this band called Random Maxx, and Mike would frequently go see them at their weekly gig at a small bar in St. Francis. Then one fateful night, there was a terrible storm and half the band couldn't make it to the gig. [ed: Actually, I'm not sure there was a storm... mike: Shhhh! It's more dramatic this way.] Troopers that they were, Bo and Mark dug deep and played every song they knew. Then they invited Mike to come up and sing a couple of songs with them. Well, it was Mike's stage debut and he was pretty much hooked.
Over the next few years, the guys were kind enough to regularly invite Mike up to do Pearl Jam songs with them. Mike had always dug the bass, so he picked one up and learned to play. He joined the infamous Scrap Band, which later opened for Random Maxx at Conway's in Milwaukee. And now, a decade later, he finds himself a member of the band that started it all. The sublimity of this is not lost on Mike.
To further demonstrate his awesomeness, Mike has (in no particular order): taught martial arts, drafted the mechanical systems of some of Milwaukee's most interesting buildings, taught boy scouts how to shoot guns, narrowly come in 2nd place in a regional Frogger tournament (curse you Matt Hamilton!), worked 3rd shift for a local newspaper, and built an electric upright bass. All but one of the above are true.
