Meet Michael Kranicke of Boudler

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Kranicke.

Michael, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Well I always wanted to be a musician. I grew up in the golden era of rock music and rock stars in the early 70s. Being a rock star was better than being president. I also grew up in a family where music was ever present. My father listened to everything from Mozart to Muddy Waters and everything in between. With all that music flying around and starting piano when I was 7, I think it was a path that was very much alive to me.

I studied piano in grammar school and also played in the orchestra as a cellist so I understood how stringed instruments worked. With piano, everything is laid out in front of you. I taught myself how to play guitar in high school and I started playing in bands and was actually let go from one of the first bands that I was in because I was really bad on guitar. I don’t blame them for letting me go… I would have let me go… but it did motivate me to become better and to not have that happen to me again.

I then went on to study music at Berklee College of Music in Boston. I just practiced all the time while I was in school. Hours and hours of shedding and working on technique and toward the end of my time there started playing with folks in and around town.

I graduated and moved to Vail, CO with a bass player. We both loved the blues and started a power trio. We played all the ski resorts in CO and would play shows 5 days a week for weeks on end. That turned into 4 years and after a while I felt like it was time to move on to a different scene. Denver was not the city in 1994 that it was today so moving to Denver was not on my radar, so I moved back to Chicago looking for a record contract when record contracts actually mattered.

I formed the band the Voodoo Kings and started from step 1 again. I played with some fabulous players while in Chicago and again took my musical skills to another level. From Blues to Gospel to Jazz, the city really has it all.

I also started into working as a composer and audio engineer for commercials. I started writing custom music for companies and engineering voice over sessions, music sessions and sound design for various applications.

Someone asked me to do some field recording for a TV show and I figured that if I could make a record I could record a couple of people on camera.

So at this point I had two careers going at the same time. My musical career where I was running the Voodoo Kings and my engineering career where I would do commercials, or mix a gospel television show, or write music for an industrial purpose.

The Voodoo Kings had the opportunity to release 3 records while I was running the band in Chicago and we toured all over the region. Countless shows and weeks on the road and building a following and a business to go along with it. .

Got married and had two awesome daughters and moved back to Colorado in 2012. And started again at step 1 which was to build the band around here, but also build my audio engineering business as well.

The Voodoo Kings released another record in 2017 and are preparing for more material.

I have had the pleasure to work with great folks in the Film and TV production community here in Colorado. Its such a beautiful place to film that there is always work to be had.

Its been quite the run and certainly not without its challenges. That being said, I doubt that I would change a thing and have been blessed with having worked with some really incredible and creative people.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has not been a smooth road. The path less chosen always is less worn so your footing is generally more precarious.

Money is always a struggle when you are working in the creative fields. You don’t see an ad saying ” Guitarist wanted, 90k/year plus benefits and 401k”. And the rent and food and bills need to be paid so how do you monetize whatever you are doing to allow yourself to pursue the life that you want.

I think that is ever present when working in the creative fields.

I think that another struggle is the mental health aspect of being an artist. One is constantly being told “no”; You can’t get the gig, you didn’t get the tour… whatever the circumstances might be. And dealing with rejection is hard and its exponentially harder when you put art out there which already makes you feel vulnerable and exposed just by putting a song out or exhibiting a painting or showing a piece of choreography.

When that piece of art gets rejected or lambasted by critics, it hurts and you have to deal with it.

I was talking with someone about this once and they understood. They said, “Some people think I am an asshole, but its not in print for the world to see.” When an artist gets a bad review, everyone sees it. And that’s tough.

How you deal with that is hard and while you do develop a thicker skin than most, it still doesn’t make it any easier. The self doubt, the questioning of choice, etc… they all come up whenever you take an assessment of something, I think its only natural; hard but necessary.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Well I have been a musician and artist my whole career. I have always been free lance, I have never had a job like a 9-5 thing. I also never wanted it either.

To me time is the most important thing to have because its the one thing in life I can’t manufacture.

I can always make more money, build something etc..

I went to school for music and always wanted to be a rock star. I was the kid reading the liner notes on a record wondering who produced the record, where was it recorded, who mastered the record. what was mastering. etc…

I went to school for music, Started playing professionally in Boston and moved out here to CO in 1990 and formed a power trio called Blues Effect and we played all the resorts during the years 1990-1994. It was a gas and to be able to play with the same people all the time, that is a blessing that I didn’t realize at the time.

I moved to Chicago in 1994 looking for a record contract and started the band the Voodoo Kings in 1995 and have been running that band as an original project since. I have also played in Blues bands, Country cover bands, Rolling Stone Tribute band., jazz bands, acoustic duos…. you have to gig and you have to work at your craft so that is the reason to play in all of those scenarios.

Started free lancing as an audio engineer in corporate and industrial applications. Started doing field audio work for television shows and then being the audio engineer for live TV shows as well, from Gospel music shows ( one of my favorite things) to live sports shows mixing in a truck.

So there have been many roads taken and experienced as a musician and audio engineer. I think that is inevitable when you work as a creative. Folks ask you to do stuff. and you don’t say no. It’s a ‘figure it out along the way’ type thing.

I’ll give you an example of the ‘figure it out along the way’ method… My first gig as an audio engineer was a VO session. A friend called me up and they were working at an communications firm and said: “our video editor quit, we bumped our audio editor to video, and we need someone for a VO session tomorrow can you do it?” I said yes knowing full well I didn’t even know what VO stood for.. ( its voice over). If I turned that one phone call down based on fear, I would not have moved into the custom music for brands, sound design, audio work for film and tv…. all that would have not happened if I didn’t say yes..

What were you like growing up?
Grew up in the analog world. It was great. no phones, no instagram, no social media BS, none of the challenges that kids have today,.. my kids included.

Music was great… musicians and radio DJs were heroes. Guitar heroes like Keith Richards and Muddy Waters, Joe Perry and BB King.

Grew up in Chicago… west end of Addison street. Took the bus to Wrigley Field all the time. No night games either when I was a kid so always a 12pm start if it was a double header…. no later than 3 in the middle of the summer, and again no lights and no night games.

Loved music and sports and still do.

Rode around on your bikes with your friends… always knew where people were by where the bikes were.

Big family… 5 kids in all plus grandma living with us..

Father was a traveling salesman and my mom was an administrative assistant but always for doctors…

Middle class up bringing when that actually had a definition here in America.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.voodookings.com and www.vdksound.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/voodoo_kings and https://www.instagram.com/michael_kranicke_coloradosound/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VoodooKingsUSA/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-kranicke-3206631/