| Michael Campion | |
| Birth Name: | Michael John Campion |
| Birth Date: | 1962 12, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | Moses Lake, Washington |
| Nationality: | American |
| Known For: | Co-founding a company that reintroduced the Danelectro brand |
| Occupation: | Record producer, Entrepreneur, Musician, Songwriter |
| Children: | Kylie, Kalina and Kiana |
| Website: | , |
Michael John Campion (born December 4, 1962) is an American producer, entrepreneur, musician and songwriter. He is known for resurrecting the guitar company Danelectro.[1]
Michael Campion was born in Moses Lake, Washington. His family moved to Orange County, California, while he was in grade school. Campion formed a band called "Westbound" in middle school and started playing high school dances before he could drive. He produced his first record for his high school, when he was 17 years old.
In 1980, Campion formed "Surf City"[2] (originally "The Surf City Boys"), a band focusing on the music of The Beach Boys and Jan and Dean. While playing at Knott's Berry Farm, he met John Stamos, who joined the band on stage. Stamos would later introduce Campion to The Beach Boys[3] and Jan and Dean, with whom Campion would eventually tour. Through these events Campion met songwriting partner Randell Kirsch and joined forces for a duo project under the name of "C&K". Campion and Kirsch reunited in 2005 to release a gospel vocal album, under the name of "Feather".
At a corporate gig, Campion was approached by Wild West Stores to produce a jingle for a television & radio campaign based on The Beach Boys #1 hit, I Get Around, with Campion's production and rewrite of the lyrics. Under the name of "Pacific Productions", Campion would spend the next couple of years writing and producing dozens of jingles and music campaigns, often calling upon the vocal talents of Beach Boys' band members like Jeffrey Foskett and Phil Bardowell.
In 1986 Campion bought into a boutique music store concept called "L.A.B. Sound" and opened a location in Orange County that strategically shared a wall with a recording studio owned by Frontline Records. Frontline dominated Christian radio in the late 80s and Campion contributed songs to several artists on their roster, including Crystal Lewis.[4]
Campion met Steve Ridinger of EVETS Corporation in 1992.[5] QWIK TUNE was the first project that they worked on together. The concept was to take Liquid-crystal display (LCD) technology and simulate the analog meters used in guitar tuners. Old school guitar tuners with analog meters ruled the MI industry in the early 90s (selling at around $100). QWIK TUNE selling at $19.95, was accurate and disruptive to the market.[6] [7] [8] In recent years, QWIK TUNE rebranded as SNARK Tuners.[9]
Campion and Ridinger then saw an opportunity to reproduce the sounds of the most sought after "vintage" guitar pedals, in an affordable package. Many names were considered, but "Danelectro" had a simplistic beauty, history and mystique.
Musicians had been deprived from Danelectro products for nearly 30 years, when Campion and Ridinger introduced 3 new pedals under the brand name, at the Winter NAMM Show, in 1997.
Dealers from all over the world ordered mass quantities, but their number one question was: When are you coming out with guitars? In a rapid, but thorough design and development effort, Danelectro released their first model of guitar, (a replica of the 1956 "U2"), exactly one year later The Danelectro U2 was embraced by the industry and the demand for additional models set the course for the years to follow.[10]
Tonal Creations combined Campion's experience in guitar manufacturing with creative advertising, by producing custom shaped guitars for high-profile companies to use as branding and marketing instruments. Guitars in the shapes of everything from hamburgers to cartoon characters were produced for clients like Mars, Incorporated for M&M's.
Campion left Danelectro in 2002 and dove back into songwriting, placing songs in a few television shows, like One Tree Hill,[11] through agencies that demanded to own the song's publishing, in exchange for their placement efforts. Feeling that this was unfair, Campion formed "Music Epicenter", with partner and mentor songsmith, Chris Falson in 2003.
Campion shifted focus from song placement to finding a solution for an industry in rapid decline. Lack of stable distribution channels for new artists, inspired Campion, along with ME partner Chris Falson and James Langteaux to create "PeaPod Music", where he raised capital and filed a patent on this unique distribution and discovery process.[12]
The Raymies was a youth-based entertainment project created by Campion, in which he also served as musical director and executive producer.[13] As the project evolved, he raised funds for a television pilot, which he co-produced with Brillstein Entertainment Partners and John Stamos. The lead singers were two of Campion's three daughters (Kalina and Kiana).[14]
In their three years together, The Raymies performed over 100 live shows from Los Angeles to New York and recorded nearly 40 songs written by Campion.[15] Several of the songs found their way into other television and film projects.[16] An animated version of The Raymies was developed for the kid based, online, virtual world of JumpStart, whose Raymies followers grew from 200,000 to 2,000,000 during their two-year collaboration.[17]
In 2011, Campion struck a deal with Rainbow S.r.l. to develop a musical television series with Nickelodeon as a platform for Kalina and Kiana's music career.[18] Campion served as Co-creator and Music Supervisor of the series and wrote much of the music with his daughters. The show (recast) premiered in 2016 as .[19] and completed 78 episodes, (including guest appearances by Kalina & Kiana), over three seasons, airing internationally on Netflix, Nickelodeon and Disney.
Through experience gained from Maggie & Bianca, and having directed nearly two dozen music videos, Campion discovered a passion for storytelling beyond music, and launched his own production company - Media Epicenter, in late 2019. The launch was slowed by the COVID-19 Pandemic, but the company is back on course and currently has eight film & TV projects in various stages of development, ranging from unscripted to interactive animation. Media Epicenter began production on two documentaries in late 2022 and will launch their first docu-reality series in 2023.
Campion married Lezlie Gibbs in 1988. Together they have three daughters: Kylie, Kalina and Kiana.
Advertising: Television & Radio Commercials
| Client | Project/Campaign | Year | Credited Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild West Stores | "I Get Around" | 1984 | Producer, vocals, Keys, Writer | ||
| "Love My Honda" | 1985 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| "Get To Know The Park" | 1985 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| McCowen's Market Place | "Who Could Ask For More?" | 1986 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | ||
| "Meet Me On The Green" | 1986 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | Vocals: Phil Bardowell | ||
| "Toyota-Land" | 1986 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| Sunland Ski & Sports | "Fun & Fashion" | 1986 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | Vocals: Laura Savitz | |
| "Scootermania" | 1987 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| "It's Not A Gift You're Giving" | 1987 | Producer, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | Vocals: Laura Savitz | ||
| "Greenhouse By Gelson's" | 1987 | Producer, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| "Ride With A Winner" | 1988 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| "Theme" | 1988 | Producer, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| Sunland Ski & Sports | "Take It To The Top" | 1988 | Producer, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | Vocals: Jeffrey Foskett | |
| "We'll Make You A Believer" | 1988 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| "Danger Zone" | 1989 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| "Get The Max" | 1989 | Producer, vocals, writer | |||
| "It's In The Register" | 1989 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| "We Know The Game" | 1990 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| "At Your Service" | 1990 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer | |||
| Bupkis | "My Name Is Bupkis" | 2012 | Producer, vocals, guitar, Keys, Programming, Writer |
| Project | Year | Credited Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAB Systems | 1989 | Executive Producer | |
| The Touch Company | 1990 | Executive Producer | |
| One Tree Hill | 2003 | Composer | |
| Punk'd | 2004 | Composer | |
| Punk'd | 2005 | Composer | |
| The Great American Christmas | 2006 | Performer | |
| The Maxwell Multiple Climax | 2007 | Executive Producer and composer | |
| According To Jim | 2008 | Composer | |
| Where Is She? | 2008 | Executive Producer and composer | |
| Legally Blondes | 2009 | Composer | |
| Raymies Rules | 2009 | Executive Producer and composer | |
| My American Friend (Pilot) | 2011 | Producer and composer | |
| D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F. | 2012 | Composer | |
| 2014 | Vocal Producer | ||
| 2016-2017 | Music Supervisor and composer | ||
| 2016 | Producer and composer | ||
| The Annunciation | 2018 | Producer and composer | |
| 2021 | Producer and composer |
| Song | Artist | Year | Credited Role | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UP2U | The Raymies | 2009 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPqF3-g5oAs |
| Good Day | The Raymies | 2009 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj2MroKc-Yg |
| Nothing Seems To Rhyme | The Raymies | 2009 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp1gRfMwHhQ |
| White Christmas | The Raymies | 2009 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oflRxSrfXSA |
| RaymieVision | The Raymies | 2009 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhdkG-Bv6nU |
| Places We Would Go | Rocky's Revival | 2013 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk-S7c6pTdU |
| Salvation Mountain (Slab City) | Kylie Campion | 2014 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdfHB4I7F3k |
| Silent Night | Rocky's Revival | 2015 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_XwZtFxz3c |
| Lonesome Without You | Kylie Campion | 2016 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pU8LOs8qQbk |
| It's Gonna Be A Miraculous Christmas | Kalina & Kiana / Zag Animation | 2016 | Editor/Composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5Gt52e7kiE |
| Heathens (Live) | Kalina & Kiana | 2016 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E4gor4uq5E |
| Silent Night | Kalina & Kiana | 2017 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYPFk0VaXDg |
| It Had To Be You | Kalina & Kiana | 2018 | Executive Producer, Composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXHa8KeLqSs |
| Say What You Want | Kalina & Kiana | 2018 | Executive Producer, Composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-MzkgqD8kg |
| That Girl's In Love | Kalina & Kiana | 2018 | Director, composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPnkG0aoHyk |
| That Thing | Kalina & Kiana | 2019 | Director, composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-nt2ZuYVtU |
| Gold | Kalina & Kiana | 2019 | Director, composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ytntdoq8N4 |
| She Is | Kalina & Kiana | 2020 | Director, composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeytBmNRrrk |
| Golden Age | Kalina & Kiana | 2020 | Director, composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLyuBwiRhq4 |
| Summertime Sadness (Live) | Kalina & Kiana | 2020 | Director | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPjFVgTAAoM |
| Sunshine (Lyric Video) | Kalina & Kiana | 2021 | Director, composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S9fQ8r9YYs |
| Something New (Lyric Video) | Kalina & Kiana | 2021 | Director, composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFAgAf3zMZc |
| At Christmas Time (How Could He Do This To Me?) | Kalina & Kiana | 2021 | Director, composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z0aDWCBj5o |
| That Thing (TouchMix Sessions) LIVE | Kalina & Kiana | 2021 | Executive Producer, Composer | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6BW7TFMHDM |