Mike Hadley had his time in the spotlight.
Back in the ’90s, for five years, he had a group that released a couple of albums on prominent Christian record labels. He had a busy tour schedule, including a few trips to Russia. These days, he keeps his music strictly to church worship (with the worship band at Calvary Chapel Capitola) and his group the Mike Hadley Band, a six-piece group that mostly covers Motown and old rock tunes.
“Travel is not all it’s cracked up to be,” Hadley says.
He’ll keep it local with a Jan. 3 Mike Hadley Band show at Michael’s On Main. Hadley, who co-owns the Fish Lady restaurant with his wife, used to play there every Friday night when the store was in Soquel, until August 2019. When the restaurant moved to its new Capitola location, the shows stopped. His fans got restless. He figured he’d find opportunities to play out in town more often.
“There’s a couple of guys that write songs, so we throw some in every once in awhile. But we all have day jobs and families,” Hadley says. “We’re not looking to cut our teeth and go anywhere.”
Still, the Mike Hadley Band did grow out of one of those Russian gospel band tours. A new guitarist in his band told him about a band that played corporate gigs doing covers and dance music. The idea appealed to Hadley, and he’s been doing the Mike Hadley Band in its current incarnation for 18 years now.
“It’s a good band. We’re tight. We’ve been playing together for a long time. Everybody in the band sings, and I’m self-taught on the piano,” Hadley says. “We try to do all the songs in the original keys. We don’t try to take their songs and make them ours. We try to give as much honor to the songwriters as possible.”
8:30pm. Friday, Jan. 3. Michael’s On Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $10. 479-9777.
