Tim Blake and Michele

 Tim Blake is a musician-entertainer from Lorain Ohio. He has been playing guitar and singing live music at clubs, special events, bars, parties and festivals in Northern Ohio and at the Lake Erie Islands for over 35 years. His versatile style is underscored by his friendly stage presence and vast experience as both a solo artist and his involvement in many duos and bands. Tim’s original songs have been road tested and tell interesting stories of people and places he has met along the way. His single “Jewel of the Port” tells the story of the Lorain lighthouse and its return to glory after years of neglect. The song was featured in a PBS documentary about the many lighthouses of the Great Lakes and his songs have received radio airplay both live and studio produced. “Dreaming in the North Coast Sun” is Tim’s latest CD featuring 12 original songs with the help of longtime friends Tom Akosi, “Guitar Johnny Hunyad” and Mike Thompson.

In 2009 Tim was introduced to award winning electric violinist Michele George from Cleveland Ohio and together they are known as “Tim Blake and Michele” and are often joined by other artists in “The Tim Blake Experience”.

 Versatile Cleveland musician Michele George has played violin and viola with regional symphony orchestras throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, as well as for productions at Playhouse Square and the Cleveland Playhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. She has shared the stage with George Benson, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rosemary Clooney, Roy Clark, Hawkwind, Meatloaf, and Il Divo. As an electric violinist in Cleveland, she has played with the award winning experimental space-rock band Einstein’s Secret Orchestra, the Tellers, Witch Disco, and has made appearances with Moss Stanley’s Nitebridge. Other musical collaborations include Riverfire Strings, an eclectic acoustic ensemble with guitarist Pete Cavano and cellist Jeffrey Schimelpfenig, and the Apollo String Quartet. Michele teaches students of all ages both in the classroom and through Cleveland State University, Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory Outreach, and Cuyahoga Community College. She also teaches strings through the Mark O’Connor Violin Method, unique strings method that combines classical technique and theory with American music, history, creativity, and improvisation. Michele represents the state of Ohio as a teacher at the national O’Connor Method Strings Camp in Charleston, South Carolina.