Micah and The Reason

The son of a pastor, Joseph began singing in church at an early age. His mother was the piano player and he and his two older sisters were in the choir. They moved around for most of his life but settled in Marshall, TX, a small town in the northeast. The middle child of seven he found music to be his retreat. "Growing up my mom use to play Luther Vandross and Ronnie Milsap all the time. My older sisters would listen to whoever was out at the time, Guy, Johnny Gill, Keith Sweat. My friends were into hip hop, Geto Boys, NWA, 2 Live Crew, and Magic Mike, but we also listened to Rock; Def Leopard, Motly Crew, Queen, AC/DC. And where we lived there were a lot of Country radio stations so I'd hear George Strait, Keith Whitley, Garth Brooks, and Randy Travis. So I grew up listening to a whole lot of different music." When he moved to Orlando, FL at the age of 14 he was then introduced to his most influential music, Old School RnB. "There was a friend of the family's we called Uncle Dave who introduced me to Little Willie John. This man's voice was unbelievable. His range, tone, and voice control were perfect." Little Willie John's style and others such as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and Marvin Gaye, gave him his foundation for his sound today. Joseph also says that he was lucky enough to have in his life people who appreciate music as much as he did. "They'd talk to me about the artist, their history, and then they'd let me listen on these 12" of their favorite albums." Like Marvin Gaye's 'Here My Dear', which he says is his favorite Marvin Gaye album. While in Florida he tried singing in groups. His first was the Boys Of Malibu, named after the neighborhood they lived in. His next group was C-Nation, short for Coordination. His last group was X-Pression, the only group he has remained friends with to this day. He wrote the songs for all of the groups he was in and says that he may never release them on his solo projects. He has written, at last count, upwards of 700 songs to date, and he says he doesn't think he'll ever stop writing. "I can't stop writing, and I don't want to. I love creating music. And because I write and play I don't have to pick just one style." Joseph "Micah" Morse was the lead singer for the Boomers Band and Micah and the Reason. Now he's releasing his own music, playing and singing it all.