Some people live for the fortune, and some people live for the fame. Thankfully, there are people such as Michael Powers who remain to inspire, create, perform and teach without a greedy concern. As money hungry as society has become, Mr. Powers continually reaches nirvana by living at his own level of success. After following the yellow brick road to the Emerald City, Michael sits comfortably next to Bill Gates and Sir-Mix-A-Lot (who he played guitar tracks for on his blockbuster Mack Daddy release), as the coolest celebrity you've never met.

After hanging a platinum plaque (from the aforementioned Mix-A-Lot album) on the wall in your own music studio, chances are high that your ego would swell to the size of a rain cloud. Interacting with the general public usually becomes a chore in itself for the famous musician. Constantly shaking stranger's hands and signing autographs at the supermarket can damper their day with complete redundancy. Uniquely, this is not the case for Seattle jazz and blues musician Michael Powers, and as a matter of fact, he welcomes your company. After releasing 7 albums, from his award winning debut in 1988 (honored by Earshot Magazine and the Northwest Area Music Association), to his latest creation Live At The Moore, Michael Powers not only publicly performs and records, but teaches music to people of all ages as well.

Michael is a very cool and calm individual, and hanging out with him proves why he's able to connect with and tutor people of all ages. Well spoken and a vivid story teller, you can easily become captivated by his verbal autobiography.

One of the reasons that Michael began playing the guitar in the first place, is because he needed to build strength in his hand that was broken due to a childhood skateboarding accident. Fortunately, strumming the guitar strengthened his left hand to a full recovery.

But I can bet my guitar that everyone can remember the first time they saw Michael perform. For me, it was on television. There were three men playing instruments. A drummer, bass guitarist and electric guitarist were having a wonderful time jamming in front of a mid sized audience. What really boggled me was that I heard a saxophone, acoustic guitar and trumpet playing along with the band, but there were none of those instruments present. Soon realizing that Michael was tapping a foot pedal and using his unique looking guitar to play those big band sounds, I ran for the Tivo and hit the record button like it was Janet at the Super Bowl. When I started to rant to people about what I saw, people from church goers to frequent Jazz club junkies, I was amazed at how many people knew exactly who I was ranting about.

The eye catching Frame Guitar that Michael plays is exclusively made by Frame Works. It's available with nylon or steel strings, and is created and sold independently by german luthier Frank Krocker. You can check out more about them at http://frameworks-guitars.com.

Currently promoting his new CD/DVD combo Michael finds time to work with the Washington state Artist in Residence program, interacting with children and teaching them how to write their own music. Humble, eager to listen and even happier to teach, Michael Powers talks to Seaspot with every intention to feed your soul.

One thing about Michael is he believes that there are only two types of music, good music and bad music. It's up to the listeners to decide whether they like it or not. Working with two other musicians as a trio is one the many next moves for Michael. With his distinctive Frameworks guitar and the unique sounds that are created, it will help define his music more visibly. When asked why he hasn't run away from the rain of Seattle and moved away like Quincy Jones and Ray Charles, he can simply tell you that he vibes off of the pure energy. As a matter of fact, a lot of famous musicians live and frequently visit Seattle and you would never know it. The pressure to move to the fast paced NYC or L.A is non-existent with Mr. Powers.

From Japan to Amsterdam, from Mexico to Australia, expect Michael to appear and perform wherever you might be. You never know, you might even catch him at the golf course getting his Tiger Woods on.

For more info on shows, CD's and DVD's and general info on Michael Powers, please visit www.MichaelPowersMusic.com.

Artist In Residence program, yes.

Well, they pay me, but I figured it out, and working with them for two weeks is equivalent to performing once. I consider it community service in that range.

For me it's planting the seed…of something new, different and interesting and creative, in kids. Especially, the way society is now, there's a very short attention span. Kids seem to be more attention deficit now, than in the past. Music helps them channel their focus and energy.

Sometimes it's one of those issues of, "are they a left or right brain learner?" But if they can find an outlet in some kind of art, and focus on that, that's really good and also gives them a different way of learning. So that's one of the things I find fulfilling about working with kids.

In '88, actually. So I've been doing these kinds of workshops for almost 20 years. Working with people from elementary to high school students. And the reason I began doing these workshops was kind of a sideways reason. A friend of mine name Allan Youngblood, who happens to be a jazz musician asked me to translate for him at a music class. I asked him "what do you mean translate?" He said that he was teaching a class, and it was filled with guitar players. But he was a piano player. So I became the "interpreter."

Well, then I asked him where the gig was. He said it was at the maximum security prison in Monroe.

Well it was all the things you hear about. The door goes "clank" right behind you. You actually run into people you know. I know that as a kid, if I hadn't found a way to focus my energy playing the guitar, I could have easily been there.

Tony Hawk? No, not me (laughs). When Allan left town, the prison knew I was comfortable teaching there, and called me and asked me to come back to teach. So that's how I became involved with the Artist In Residence program. So now I've developed my own way of teaching. If I'm teaching younger children, I'll teach them blues, and how to put verses together. And they write their own song and record a CD at the end.

Back in the day having access to a recording studio was a big deal. Now everybody who has a computer has one.

Some people, I taught them the first chords they've ever played. Guitar is a popular instrument, because it's portable. Especially in jail, they could take the guitar back to their cells. Some of them actually went on to play in bands.

Not really. It is real unique, and such a cool concept. I'm happy to see other people play it. A few years after the Frame Guitar came out, Yamaha, which is a multi-million dollar company, basically copied the design. They changed a few things, but basically co-opted the idea. People come up to me and say "Hey, your guitar is like that Yamaha!" But NO! That Yamaha is like mine.

Yeah, it's a good conversation piece. But the guitar is one thing, and the modifications I've had him (Frank Krocker) do to suit me is another. The electronics I use is the third thing. I like to play the piano, harmonica, horns, etc… on the guitar. I really do my best to pay attention to how the actual instruments really sound, like the notes and phrases. I think that's what makes what I'm doing unique.

There's a foot pedal, and there's a switch on the guitar. It's right behind the guitar so you can't see it. The sounds are run through a microprocessor synth.

It's mixed. I do think that musicians nowadays would do well to make friends with technology. Learn how to work Pro Tools and such. As opposed to fighting against it, be the guy that can do it better than anyone else.

Take Kanye West. He takes music from different places and assembles them. When he really needs someone to play live, he has (keyboardist and vocalist) John Legend and (violinist) Miri Bin-Ari. Is he so different from Quincy Jones? What does Quincy really play? I'm sure he can play the trumpet and piano well, but we never hear him on the piano. It is his strong arranging and composing that makes him a standout. So should Kanye be treated any differently? I really don't think so. But as far as technology goes, there's good and bad stuff about it. The overall state of music though, has me pretty encouraged. Alicia Keys, John Legend, they play their own instruments, and they write as well.