Former Spin Doctors lead guitarist Anthony Krizan has performed around the world, opening for the Rolling Stones, writing hit songs with Lenny Kravitz and even playing songs on “Sesame Street.”
Even with all that experience, he walked away from Troy University’s MIC Check Invitational last week admiring the talents of TROY’s student musicians.
“I’m impressed with the talent and also how TROY is showing these kids all the angles of the business,” said Krizan, who led master classes and performed alongside POPulus during the two-day event. “I’m actually learning from the kids, and seeing so many talented kids and what they’re doing in college is impressive.”
This year’s MIC Check marked the first time Krizan, a multi-talented instrumentalist, songwriter and producer, has presented a musical clinic.
“I’m a friend of Al Chez, who did the clinic last year, and he recommended me for this, even though I’ve never done one before,” Krizan said. “I prepared a lot for it and have had a lot of fun. The talent here is incredible. Some of these students are like stars already — they have presence on stage, they perform like stars, they’ve really got it.”
Krizan drew on his experience to pass along advice related to performing, recording and working one’s way through the business side of music.
He praised TROY for preparing students in a way musicians of his era were not.
“When we were coming up, nobody thought of all these things,” Krizan said. “Musicians don’t know how to run their own business, so TROY is showing them the things they need to know. These are valuable tools.”
After jamming with POPulus, the Jazz Ensemble and Frequency, Krizan said he felt like he was performing alongside full-time professionals rather than college students.
“I told the kids there used to be a lot of record labels, and I hate those aren’t available anymore, because a lot of these kids would probably already be signed and be big stars,” he said. “On the other hand, these kids are so much further along in their development as musicians due to technology and access to lessons here at the University that it will ultimately benefit them in the long run.”
MIC Check is an annual event that brings high school and college students together to learn from masters in the music industry.
