Mike Holder Bio

It's In The Genes

Mike Holder was born into the world of music, broadcasting, media, writing, graphic arts and entertainment with a family tree steeped in these genres - blessed with talents that were evident at an early age. His mother, Barb Holder, had extensive experience in radio and TV commercials and was involved in over 200 stage productions and shows as an actress, singer, producer and director. Mike's family tree sports relatives who were a first chair violinist in the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, the Dean of the the Berlin Conservatory of Music, as well as in the fields of professional horse racing, studio session musician and recording artists.

The Early Years

Mike Holder began his media career in Detroit at the age of 5 as a print, TV and radio spokesperson for AAA as the "AAA Wagon Boy" (his images from this campaign are still being used to this day in promotional materials at AAA locations throughout the United States). It was also at this time when his start as a musician and singer began with piano lessons. By age 6, Mike had won local and state vocal competitions as a singer.

Throughout his elementary and junior high years, Mike performed on stage in numerous musical and dramatic productions with the Dearborn (MI) Civic Theatre and the prestigeous Players Guild of Dearborn where such renowned thespians as George Peppard ("Breakfast at Tiffany's", "Banacek" and "The A-Team"), Chad Everett ("Medical Center"), and Tom Skerrit ("Top Gun", "Steel Magnolias" and "Picket Fences") made their early debuts in the world of entertainment.

By high school, Mike began to hone his skills in music and voice. He participated in concerts, musicals and stage productions. He was featured as a soloist with the Michigan Youth Symphony's performance of Faure's "Requim In D Minor" in 1974. During this period, Mike was with several local pop/rock bands performing on stage and in the recording studio, where he also began to develop his audio mixing/mastering skills as a recording engineer. Mike also began to hone his dialect and impersonation skills doing voices of such personalities as Johnny Carson, Howard Cosell, Paul Simon, Tiny Tim, Richard Nixon, as well as numerous cartoon characters of the day.

The "Mastermixer"™ and More!

By the mid 1980s, Mike saw the shift from live band entertainment to live DJs in the club scene, and began to work with turntables, mixers and recording equipment. By 1987 Mike had become one of the top live DJs in Metro Detroit and one of the pioneers of industrial/beat mixing - being dubbed by his contemporaries as the "Mastermixer"™. He continued to perform as a musician and singer, sitting in with numerous area bands, as well as shared his unique wit and humor in the world of standup comedy and live on-stage hypnosis.

Mike continued to develop and improve his voice talent and recording skills, and began what is now known as Mike Holder Media in 1987, where he did free-lance voiceovers and audio production for Detroit area radio. Mike continued to perform as a musician backing Contemporary Christian singer Julie Jenkens who opened for several major CCM atrists such as Phil Keaggy and the Newsboys.

During this time Mike entered the field of radio, utilizing his skills in voiceovers, music and audio production at # 10 market Detroit radio stations. By 1996 Mike worked his way up to being a morning and afternoon drive on-air personality, Production/Imaging Director and PD. In 1997, Mike took a hiatus from broadcasting and concentrated full-time on his business and expanding its media services and client base. In 2006 he returned to broadcasting in Lansing as co-host/producer of WHZZ 101.7 MIKE-FM's Morning Show, teaming up with Lansing radio legend Tim Barron. Mike also served as Creative Services Director for the group of MacDonald Broadcasting-Lansing stations (WHZZ-FM, WILS-AM, WQHH-FM and WXLA-AM).

Mike Holder Today

Today, Mike is on hiatus (along with his radio partner Tim Barron) awaiting the next radio broadcasting adventure coming soon. He continues to lend his voice talents on numerous commercials and projects heard throughout the country, and has taken on other projects as audio/video engineer, producer, professional photographer and with creative media endeavors. He has also started writing a book as well as some scripts for television, stage and screen. Mike still is involved with Mike Holder Media, delivering voiceovers, audio production, website design and web hosting to numerous clients. Mike still remains involved as a musician, singer, performer, entertainer, comedian, writer, stage hypnotist and emcee for numerous group and organization functions throughout the country.