Musicians - Bret Michaels

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	Musicians - Bret Michaels

Bret Michael Sychak, also known as Bret Michaels (born March 15, 1963 in Butler, Pennsylvania) is best known as the lead vocalist of the hair metal band Poison.

Youth and Early Career

Michaels has suffered from diabetes since the age of six. He attended Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He was interested in music from an early age, and his love of heavy rock was undoubtedly influenced by bands such as KISS, Sweet, AC/DC, and Aerosmith. Michaels formed the band Paris in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1984. The band, which later became Poison, moved to Los Angeles in 1985 to begin touring the clubs there.

Success with Poison

Michaels had a highly successful career with Poison in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During that time, he co-wrote ten Top 40 singles including the hit, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", which held the number one spot for three weeks in Billboard’s Top Pop Singles chart. His live antics and on-stage persona were, however, widely rumoured to have been copied from the band Kix ; and, particular, Kix lead singer Steve Whiteman. The band has released so far seven studio albums, all featuring Michaels on lead vocals.

Other Ventures

Michaels and actor Charlie Sheen established film production company Sheen/Michaels Entertainment which produced the movie A Letter From Death Row (1998) which Michaels wrote, directed and starred in, as well as No Code Of Conduct the same year. Their company also produced the feature film, Free Money, starring Marlon Brando and Mira Sorvino.

Solo Projects

Michaels released his second solo album Songs Of Life in May 2003. The album featured cameos by C.C. DeVille and Rikki Rockett of Poison. The first single, Raine was named after Michaels’ daughter, Raine Elizabeth Michaels.

Michaels recently completed work on his third solo album, Freedom of Sound, which is being released by his own record company BMB Records. Marking a departure from his previous work, this album is targeted at the country market, and its first single -- "All I Ever Needed" -- made it to #46 on the Billboard Country Singles Chart.

Personal life

Michaels had a short relationship with Pamela Anderson. A video of the couple having sex appeared on the Internet and apparently it will be released as a DVD on September 7, 2005 by Metro Studios.

Currently, Michaels has two daughters with Kristi Lynn Gibson. Raine Elizabeth Michaels, was born on May 20, 2000, and Jorja Bleu, born May 5, 2005.

Solo Discography

A Letter From Death Row (1998)
Show Me Your Hits - A Tribute to Poison (2000)
Country Demos (2000)
Ballads, Blues, and Stories (2001)
Songs of Life (2002)
Freedom of Sound (2005)

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