MikeRat,
Michael Pendergast
Ableton Live | Sound Design | Mixing and Mastering
MikeRat has been with Slam Academy since 2013, and is now the lead in-person instructor; teaching classes from our flagship Ableton program all the way to Sound Design and Mixing and Mastering. He's also a pillar of the local bass music scene, having played at The Armory, First Ave, and is a resident performer at Infrasound Music Festival. He's an expert in weird, glitched-out, wompy bass, and has been heard on labels like Wormhole and Street Ritual. Mike's approach to both music production and teaching is to lead with his heart, and he places an emphasis on community and camaraderie in the classroom and on the dancefloor. You can catch him running the Ableton Live User group every month, as well as hosting workshops on community wellness within the music scene. He's also a seasoned drummer, turntablist, and loves chatting with students about music theory.
This is a third-party booking system that cannot directly connect to your Slam Academy account. You will need to create new login credentials for this system and separately log in when booking studio time, lessons, packages, and viewing/editing your bookings.
Get in touch
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Waterbury Building
1121 Jackson Street NE Suite #142 Minneapolis, MN 55413
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Michaelton
(Michael Johnson)
Michaelton (Michael Johnson) is a musician, sound artist, educator, and music technologist. While he wears many hats—both figuratively and literally—his mission is clear: to serve music and those who create it.
With extensive teaching experience at Slam Academy and the University of St. Thomas, Michael guides music producers through both one-on-one mentoring and classroom instruction in production techniques and music business.
As founder of Grove Music Group, Michael helps artists overcome challenges in branding, marketing, release strategy, and royalty collection, while recently expanding into artist therapy to help creators break through creative blocks and reconnect with their authentic voice.
As founder of Grove Music Group, Michael helps artists overcome challenges in branding, marketing, release strategy, and royalty collection, while recently expanding into artist therapy to help creators break through creative blocks and reconnect with their authentic voice.
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Specks
(Michael Rieckenberg)
Inspired by the sound of dance music from the turn of the millennium, Specks is a Minneapolis based producer songwriter and DJ; combining the sounds from the golden era of electro-house, progressive house, UK garage, and techno.
Specks made his way into the DJ scene at the young age of 13-years-old. And nearly a decade later is regularly playing numerous shows and festivals in and around the twin cities.
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Abstrakt Sonance
(Tyler Myroon)
Bursting from the rugged wilds of Western Canada, Abstrakt Sonance fuses the primal pulse of nature with gritty urban basslines that are revolutionizing music. Operating from his secluded forest sanctuary, he's
struck sound gold with industry titans like D Double E and Flowdan, while also resurrecting the classic vibes of funk phenoms, Skyler Jett and Ronald LaPread from The Commodores with his diversity of production skills.
With a performance resume spanning the iconic stages of Outlook, Shambhala, and Red Rocks, Abstrakt Sonance has painted his unique sonic signature across four continents, gathering a following that is as raw and compelling as his sounds.
With a performance resume spanning the iconic stages of Outlook, Shambhala, and Red Rocks, Abstrakt Sonance has painted his unique sonic signature across four continents, gathering a following that is as raw and compelling as his sounds.