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Artist
My Pet Dragon
12+ albums
indiesynthpopIndietronicindie rockAOTM April 2011
about
The My Pet Dragon story begins with a young Todd Michaelsen climbing into his old, beat-up Buick headed for New York City with a lyric book and Stratocaster in tow... Todd grew up in upstate New York in a town called Granville, a small mining community on the Vermont border not too far from Saratoga. He grew up listening to his parents rock records of Springsteen, Young, Hendrix, and Dylan, but was also very influenced by 90's alt-rock. He had just quit college to expand his horizons in New York City's East Village, where he crashed on his uncle's couch for a year. After meeting artists, musicians, and DJ's, he moved to Bushwick, Brooklyn and immersed himself in the burgeoning music scene of Brooklyn. It was there he started playing with future My Pet Dragon drummer Rajeev Maddela. The two bonded over a love of rock music influenced by big, expansive artists such as the Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, and Bjork. It was at Raj's loft/rehearsal space that Michaelsen met Reena Shah, an actress and classical Indian dancer from New Jersey. The two became inseparable and quickly moved in together, their blossoming romance punctuated by the harsh reality of living in a cold water flat in a rough neighborhood. A shared love of music and art got them through this stressful period. Their luck changed when they went to Mumbai to visit Reena’s relatives. It was Todd’s first trip to India and he was amazed by the experience. The couple explored Jain temples and saw live music
