Sizemo Member Bios

Micah Ball played guitar, keyboard, bass, dijeridoo and taiko drums for several years before settling on the Chapman Stick as the ultimate tool for his creative expression. He finally decided that more is indeed more. He has studied with Bob Culbertson, Morris Asiveto and Judy Davis. He has been seen in performance with Amy X Neuburg & Men (avant-cabaret), Xeno (experimental ethno-electronic pop), and the San Francisco Taiko Dojo (Japanese drumming). He has been influenced by Peter Gabriel, Alan Holdsworth and Shaun Lane, as well as gobs of "World", rock and jazz music. When he plays, he tries to evoke the power of the volcano for inspiration.

Sam Sheats got his musical start playing classical violin. But after hearing Hendrix, he felt sure his future lay with rock, and switched to guitar. Never having developed a good working relationship with the plastic pick, and always liking the lower registers, he quickly gravitated toward bass. He was always intrigued by the rhythms he heard in John McGlaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, but couldn't quite understand them, until he attended the Blue Bear School of Music in San Francisco. He has been a hard-core devotee of odd meters ever since, making this his specialty. He currently plays in Sizemo, Savant Guard (an eclectic jazz/rock/fusion trio), and Sushumna (experimental trance music). A project called Gandwana, featuring his own compositions is also in the works. Although he possesses an advanced sense of humor, when it comes to music he is 100% serious.

Sam Markewich is completely insane. Which is why it's ironic that he works as a therapist. How many fragile minds has he pushed right over the edge into insanity? We may never know. The reasons he started playing drums are many-fold: They were a tool to survive his dysfunctional family by finding pride in something, the Synsonics pads his dad bought him broke after two days, so he got a real kit, the saxophone was too heavy to carry to school every day, and he mistakenly thought that girls went for drummers (well, maybe girls with serious mental disorders do). His first practice kit was a hihat, and a leather recliner. At a tender age, he was mentored by John Hvasta (who played like too many consonants together), and started developing the immaculate tone and style with which he plays today. He has been influenced by Jack Dejohnette, Bill Bruford, Tony Williams, Elvin Jones and Aireto. He is currently playing with Sizemo, Captain Zohar (progressive Jewish Mystical rock), and Laurel Isbister (Bulgarian musicologist & Folk singer). His favorite food is dry cornmeal.