Aaron Rubin, Co-Opted Music:
piano ballads that would sound at home on any Billy Joel album…
…Gina Morris, Evolution of Media:
Ever since the late 70s it has been difficult for pure pop bands to be taken seriously in the music marketplace; everyone from Squeeze to Jellyfish to the Posies to Ben Folds Five has had to struggle for mainstream credibility and sales; only the critics really got it… Jeff Michaels Band can take pleasure in knowing that this critic gets it and that they maintain standards set by the best, which should make them proud.
Naomi Allaway, InSite Editor – London, UK:
Unique songwriting talent…great protruding melody in each and every one of their songs… hard not to like.
JamParty video game (Peavey/Zivix):
…enchanting piano rock jam will sweep you away with its memorable vocal melodies, inspiring keys, and radio-worthy guitar lines.
Aaron Rubin, Co-Opted Music – Berkeley, CA (review of Nothing’s Really Changed)
This San Francisco-based quartet, led by singer/pianist Jeff Michaels, is clearly determined to succeed. Everything from the well-crafted, radio-friendly rock contained on the band’s latest release, “Nothing’s Really Changed,” to the slickly-designed, user-friendly website screams out “sign us – we’re pros.” And, lest the foregoing sentence be taken as some kind of snarky, indie-hipster criticism, let me say this: I thoroughly enjoyed the ten songs contained on Nothing. Nothing kicks off with “Going Nowhere,” an uptempo rocker sounding like a slightly more energetic Counting Crows, and in the nine songs that follow stakes out a territory ranging from the straightforward guitar rock of “Only Time will Tell,” to piano-based pop reminiscent of Van Morrison on “Another Song About Life” and “I No Longer Hate California,” to “My Street,” a piano ballad that would sound right at home on a Billy Joel album. Even Elroy is not breaking any new ground, but the band covers this well-trod territory with skill, enthusiasm, and an evident respect for the timeless classics that the tunes on Nothing evoke.