Michael Ward Obituary – Ward was a founding member of the alternative rock band School of Fish, which was signed to Capitol Records in the early 1990s. His distinctive tone served as the foundation for the band’s hit single “3 Strange Days,” which has been covered by a number of artists, the most recent of whom were Dave Navarro (Janes Addiction) and Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) during a live performance at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. The inventive approach that Michael takes to playing the guitar has attracted the attention of a number of producers, such as Matt Wallace (Faith No More, Maroon 5, Deftones, R.E.M.) and Mark Endert (Madonna, Train, Miley Cyrus).
As a consequence, Michael has recorded more than fifty studio albums over the course of his illustrious career that spans 35 years. By working together with Matt Wallace, Ward was able to record the album Perfectly Good Guitar by John Hiatt. The album was successful, and the title track was one of the songs that was featured on the album. He was a contributor to the recording of the Gavin DeGraw album Chariot, which featured the song “I Don’t Wanna Be,” which went on to become an outstanding success.
Mark Endert was also a part of the recording process. Jakob Dylan approached Ward in 1995 with the concept of joining the Wallflowers and recording the album Bringing Down the Horse. Ward was an enthusiastic supporter of the notion. More than five million copies of the album were sold, and Michael received a Grammy Award for his performance of “One Headlight” in the category of Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Following the dissolution of the Wallflowers, Ward joined Ben Harper’s Innocent Criminals and made contributions to the films Both Sides of the Gun, Lifeline, and Call It What It Is.
In addition to that, he was a member of Ben Harper and The Blind Boys of Alabama, for which he was honored with an NAACP Image Award for his contributions to the film There Will Be a Light. Over the course of his career, Ward has performed in over fifty counties across the world. As he is away from the road, he makes his home in Los Angeles, California, where he works as a studio session musician and teaches guitar. He also teaches guitar lessons.
