Michael McCrystal (Micky Crystal) was born 13th March 1988 in County Durham, UK. Micky took up playing guitar at the age of 14 after hearing Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Micky's father then started introducing him to albums by various guitar virtuosos.
It was the album 'Friday Night in San Francisco' which featured Al Di Meola, John Mclaughlin and Paco De Lucia that had a lasting impression on him. He soon discovered Stevie Ray Vaughan and the blues and then began practicing more and more intensely to a point where he says "...at the age of 15 I would play at least 4 hours every day and it got to the point I would play 10 to 12 hours a day maybe more, listening to albums from SRV, Brent Mason, John Scofield, Steve Vai figuring things out, immersing myself with it all, blues, country, jazz, rock and metal, I wanted to be able to play it all...."
He soon became in demand as a teacher and has taught at Academy of Music and Sound, Yamaha Music School as well as various Colleges and Universities throughout the UK.
At the age of 22 he began touring the globe as a session musician. In 2013 he landed the gig with NWOBHM Legends Tygers of Pan Tang. He has since toured as guitarist for musicians such as Marco Mendoza and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal.
Bumblefoot commented… “I can truly say, he's at the top of the list - great groove and pocket, great tone, tasty phrasing, fantastic technique... great instincts in spontaneous situations and always respecting what's good for the song. Micky has lots to offer on stage, and lots to offer when sharing his knowledge and experience. A valuable artist addition to JamTrackCentral!”
2016 saw the release of Micky’s debut release with the Tygers which has seen magazines from Classic Rock through to Burrn rave about the addition of Micky’s guitar playing, one commenting…
“As regards to the new guitarist Michael McCrystal (Micky Crystal), I think we can finally say they have found the fastest, most fluid, melodic and aggressive guitarist, that fans of the band have been waiting for since the time of John Sykes. McCrystal has proved not only his remarkable guitar technique, but also of his overflowing personality” Long Live Rock and Roll Magazine (Italy.)
2017 has seen Micky touring extensively with both Tygers of Pan Tang and Marco Mendoza along with writing and recording his debut JTC release “20 Licks: Ages of Rock”.
Stay tuned!
