It's been a while since I've updated this section of the site, so just thought I'd hop on and do a quick update on the last few months!

The end of last year was hectic as ever with prep for the year ahead, finishing teaching and all the panto prep. It was great to be back with PHA last year for panto in Redhill; thanks to Ashley Harvey (Musical Director), Michael Lovelock (Musical Supervisor) and Paul Holman for having me back again - only this time in a big top style venue, due to The Harlequin Theatre being closed upon discovery of RAAC .

I ran a Roland TD-50 kit (borrowed from one of my students), programmed with 4 or 5 different drum kits to suit the different style of songs in the show. Alongside the kit, I also had blocks, triangle, finger cymbals, Roland SPD-S, some hand percussion and mark tree and echo tree (Treeworks).

Following panto, it was into rehearsals for Seriously Collins in the new year. Tour going well so far, with a nice selection of songs this year - a touch more Genesis, which is lovely! We are at all 3 Rewind Festivals this year, meaning our Scottish debut... so a visit to the homeland!

Finally, definitely worth a mention was the opportunity to meet Steve White (The Style Council, Paul Weller) and watch him deliver a masterclass to ACM students in Guildford. Thanks again to Toby Drummond at ACM for the invite along!

Here, have a few photos from some of the things mentioned above.. enjoy!

Hello everyone! It's been a wonderful Summer so far, having had some time off school tuition and having time to catch up on work, practice and a bit more time with the family too. Gig wise, it's been quite varied. I started the month of July, working on the terrific City Academy's production of 9 to 5 - The Musical in Hammersmith. It was a great week, with a really lovely band. The drums were remote in another room, but I was close to the auditorium, and my room was also the band hang out room, so it wasn't too lonely a time.

Then, it was back to shows with Seriously Collins, including a set at Rewind Festival (North) in early August. I can't believe we're already over half the year into the tour, and the tour will be set to change again in January 2024. Great additions to the show have included Hang In Long Enough, Groovy Kind Of Love, Land Of Confusion and Turn It On.

Finally, I've been in on a few Now I'm Here - Queen Tribute shows, whilst Josh Henderson has been back on land from the ships. The terrific Scott Ottaway (of The Searchers, previously) has been in to cover me on a few dates when I've not been around.

For now, have some pics from the various set ups over the last couple of months.

Hello everyone, yes indeed... it's been a while since I've updated the news page, as it's been so frantically busy, but here we go! Rather than writing a lot this time, I thought I'd just drop a few pics with captions of some of the things I've been up to lately, including gigs over the water in Ireland with Seriously Collins  and first festival of the season (for me) with Josh Henderson and Now I'm Here - Queen Tribute.
Enjoy!
Oh, should also definitely give a massive shout out to one of the schools I teach at, Harris Academy Morden, and their music teacher Frances, as they made an appearance on The One Show on BBC1 a few weeks a go. Very proud to see my student on drums with the orchestra, and seeing the benefits that music and musical instruments brings to those young people.

A new EP, "Live At Ignition Brewery" is now available to stream on Apple Music and Spotify in celebration of the first anniversary of the release "Beautiful Intruder".

"Beautiful Intruder" is the 2022 album from Markus Michelucci and Sound Refuge, which received it's first playing from start to finish live by the band at Ignition Brewery, Sydenham.

The new EP features 4 tracks (2 covers and 2 originals), recorded live at the event, not featured on the album.

To find the EP on Spotify, click here.

Personnel:
Music, Lyrics, Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica: Markus Michelucci
Lead Guitar, Vocals: Chris Buglass
Cello: Marianne Hardisty
Bass: Kaveh Ghandizadeh
Drums, Percussion: Stephen Coetzee
Production: Matt Norriss (Piraxa Studios)

I am delighted that my music lessons are now being offered to Jaguar Land Rover employees through the Employee Learning Scheme.

The company give credits to their employees to spend on courses of their choice, made available on the  company's  own online platform.

Currently, we are offering guitar, bass guitar, singing, trumpet and drum lessons through the ELS - with more to come!

Of course, you do not have to work for the company to book a lesson... why not drop us an email today to see how we can help you? [email protected]

Music Tuition by Stephen Coetzee is a music tuition service provided by professional drummer, Stephen Coetzee. Tutors are all professional musicians, with a wide range of teaching, live and recording experience. You can find out more by clicking here.

The weather's getting colder, which can only mean the end of another busy summer season and the start of  the winter gigs.

I'm thrilled that this year I will be playing drums for the Redhill pantomime at The Harlequin Theatre . A huge thank you to Ashley Harvey, Paul Holman (Paul Holman Associates) and Michael Lovelock for the opportunity. Looking to having this show so close  to home this year, and hope to see a lot of you there!

I have also realised that this week marks my one year anniversary with Seriously Collins, the tribute to the music of Phil Collins and Genesis. To be completely honest, I was very nervous for my first show last year - it's a huge chair for drums: so many details to get right! One year on, I think I've settled in nicely and really enjoy touring with such a great band and lovely people. Thanks to Chris Hayward for having me on board!

An update here is long overdue... it's been so busy lately, that I've hardly had time to touch the website! So, just wanted to provide a bit of  summary of what I've been up to over the last few months.

In April, Markus Michelucci & Sound Refuge released the new album "Beautiful Intruder" (now available on Spotify & Apple Music), with a special launch gig at Ignition Brewery in Sydenham. The gig was a special intimate performance, and the room was packed out! Great night had by all... see a few pics below from the evening .

Things have also been really busy on the road with Seriously Collins. It's been great to settle into this show, and very much looking forward to the future with it. I'll try update the gig page with latest dates for that, keep an eye out!

Lastly, worth a mention, I have just spent a week on Sister Act (wonderfully performed by Wimbledon Light Operatic Society) and under the musical direction of Ashley Harvey.  The original west end Sister Act MD, Nick Skillbeck, popped in to see the show, and passed on some lovely comments to Ashley about my playing too, which was lovely to hear!

I'll try keep on it with the news page in future, but if things keep crazy busy (which hopefully they will!!), it might be another couple of months!!

Hello everyone!

Very excited to say that after all the crazy times, the new Sound Refuge album is ready for release! The album will be available from 16.04.2022 on all major streaming platforms, and we're celebrating this new release with a launch event in Sydenham (SE London) at Ignition Brewery on the same day, from 7pm till 9pm.

The album is a journey of hope and optimism, despite Covid  and the darkest of times that we live in, and we will be playing the album from start to finish for you, as well as other songs  written by Markus Michelucci and a few popular folk rock tunes.

... PLUS, FREE ENTRY AND PIZZA VAN!!

The Band:

Markus Michelucci - Guitar/Vocals
Chris Buglass - Electric Guitar/Vocals
Marianne Hardisty - Cello
Stephen Coetzee - Drums/Percussion
Kaveh Ghandizadeh - Bass

Album producer Matt Norriss of Piraxa Studios will be on sound for this special, intimate performance.

Follow @sound_refuge on Instagram.

Hi everyone!

The new single from the upcoming Sound Refuge album has been released today!

This reworked version of the original 2013 release features a new acoustic rock arrangement which is a real treat for the ears.

You can find "Defeat The Fears" on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.

Featuring:

Music, Lyrics, Guitar, Harmonica and Vocals:  Markus Michelucci
Electric Guitar/Vocals: Chris Buglass
Cello: Marianne Hardisty
Drums/Percussion: Stephen Coetzee
Bass: Kaveh Ghandizadeh

Production: Matt Norriss at Piraxa Studios
Artwork: Scott Ritchings

Happy New Year everyone. After an extremely challenging year, I'm sure we are all hoping for things to keep getting better in the world.

The last few months have probably been the craziest in a while. I'm delighted to have taken on the role of drummer on Seriously Collins - The Phil Collins & Genesis Tribute which will be playing at theatres all over the UK this year (let's keep those theatres open, please!!). The show is fronted by the phenomenal Chris Hayward, who has been fantastic to work with and has been a real help in preparing me for the shows. I'm also pleased to be working alongside Keith Atack again, who is a such a laugh and an amazing musician to be on stage with. Most of October/November was spent learning the set, and I have played 3 shows with the production since November - looking forward to a lot more!

Also in November, I was offered a gig playing Godspell by Stephen Schwartz in London for a week with Centre Stage, an amateur musical theatre group based in London. We performed at The Bridewell, a nice small venue just a few blocks from Blackfriars Station. It was a fun play - knowing the shows Wicked and Pippin so well, I'm surprised I've never delved into this one before! The band were lovely, as were the cast - in fact, I even forgot I was playing Amdram at points that week - it was a phenonemal production, performed by some real talent. Go check out the opening of the show 'Tower Of Babble' on the New Broadway Cast Recording. It was one of my favourite parts in the show, and I wasn't playing anything. The harmonies and everything were just exceptional.

Finally, I was thrilled to return to Greenock (Beacon Arts Centre) with Imagine Theatre this year for their pantomime production Cinderella, starring Still Game's Mark Cox and Jane McCarry, River City's Jimmy Chisholm and the fabulous Kim Allan, Michael Lewis and Lee Samuel, who I've also had the pleasure of working with in 2019.

We opened on 10 December, sadly had to close on Christmas Eve due to the change in Government guidelines re Covid in Scotland. We're very proud of the show, how safe things were behind the scenes, and how we managed to get so far without any show reschedules or anyone catching the dreaded virus etc.

This month, it's back to tuition, rehearsals for the Phil Collins show and a photo shoot...