1. Michael Rolfe Gira is an American singer-songwriter, composer, author and artist.
17 Facts About Michael Gira
1. 2.
Michael Gira is the founder of Young God Records and previously fronted Angels of Light.
3.
Michael Rolfe Gira was born February 19,1954, in Los Angeles to Alice, originally from Iowa, and Robert Pierre Gira.
4.
Michael Gira's mother was an alcoholic, and Gira spent much of his early life caring for his younger brother.
5.
Michael Gira moved to New York in 1979, where he played in a band called Circus Mort, before forming the band Swans.
6.
In Manhattan, Michael Gira found employment as a construction worker, doing demolition, sheetrock installation, and plastering.
7.
However, in 2010, Michael Gira decided to revive the band, with members new and old.
8.
Michael Gira has released several albums under his own name including Drainland, a spoken word album called The Somniloquist, and What We Did, a collaboration with Windsor for the Derby's frontman Dan Matz.
9.
Michael Gira has spoken of his decision to shift his focus from The Angels of Light back to Swans as a move based on impassivity.
10.
In February 2018, Michael Gira released his second short story collection, The Egg.
11.
In 2022, Michael Gira released a collection of Swans lyrics, stories, and journals titled The Knot, in a collector's edition of 3,000 hand-numbered copies.
12.
Michael Gira was married to Gunga Din vocalist Siobhan Duffy from 1999 until their divorce in 2011.
13.
Michael Gira has been married to Jennifer Church Gira since 2014.
14.
Michael Gira has stated that many of his songs were written by a voice that channels through him named "Joseph", which he says had stayed with him since his youth.
15.
Michael Gira has 2 children, one of them being a son named Swan according to Children of God album cover photographer Laura Levine, and the other being a daughter, born in 2007.
16.
Michael Gira is known for using a Guild antique burst electro acoustic guitar, and a Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus Guitar Amplifier during his solo concerts.
17.
Recent shows have seen Michael Gira using Orange amplifiers and cabinets, as well as Mesa Boogie cabinets.