Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Mike Libertoski

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we again take a look at a defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk band that we randomly selected from our band links, in order to spotlight them and their work for current readers! We had originally planned to look at two solo projects today after projecting that the first wouldn't have enough for a full profile, but I underestimated it, so the planned second act will lead off a double profile next month that we'll outline in a bit. Now, here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profile!
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Mike Libertoski

Genre: Metal/Progressive Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members:

Mike Libertoski (The London Gentlemen, The Slackjawed Rats), all instruments

Audio/Video: While material posted on his now-deleted Reverbnation page is now gone, Mike has posted a number of solo recordings on his MySpace and PureVolume pages, and his YouTube channel, with songs on those going towards what his MySpace page hyped as being from six solo albums released between 2006 & 2010, with names like "In The Arms Of The Condemned" & "The Great Movement" (which uniquely included vocals), though whether these actually received a paid release or not is unclear. While largely of a technical metal bent, many of his MySpace tracks take on an acoustic prog/jazz rock style, which his solo concerts were also like. Here's an example of one of his better metal solo songs, "Glasgow Smile"! (Note that he has also posted progressive metal cover videos at this link.)



Info/Analysis: A prolific local guitarist & instructor who you may recognize from bands like Swayze Train & Toast, Mike Libertoski (who played under the eponym Mikell early on) worked on his own solo project from 2006 until at least 2011. Surviving information on his solo work isn't in high supply, especially with MySpace's layout changes and his Reverbnation page being deleted, but his mostly instrumental work got a good reception during it's heyday. Mike woudld switch focus to his technical death metal project Galactic Alignment in 2011, which is also inactive at present, though Mike remains active as a guitarist with the cover rock band The London Gentlemen. I wish Mike would revisit his solo material, as he is an excellent and technically sound guitarist that deserves a lot more attention than he gets (if only he could play on this side of the border easily), and his genre knowledge and technicality set him apart well! Hopefully we see more original work from him, Galactic Alignment or not, in the future!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next up in this series, we'll have a double profile, with the previously promised profile of Gates of Winter frontman Lee Maines' inactive solo project leading off no matter what, but assuming that there isn't enough to sustain a full profile, we'll fill things out with the randomly selected defunct local metal band When They Fall, who (I believe) featured some familiar faces, so look for these on or around September 10th! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon as well! Thanks everyone!