Blue to the bone, Mick Kolassa declares. And so he is. Originally from Sturgis, Kolassa spent decades in Mississippi and Memphis, traveled around the world, playing the blues in solo and duo acoustic formats, in legendary blues venues and in blues festivals in North America and across Europe. But he has also spent time working with Presidents Bush and Obama on economic policy. Now living in Three Rivers, Kolassa takes us along on his colorful journey.
“1966, I was living in Sturgis,” Kolassa says. “I went into Emerson’s, which was an appliance store, which is where you used to buy records, because stereo equipment was the size of a car. I went in and I was looking at albums. I had just seen the Hank Williams viopic , Your Cheating Heart … I was 14, and I thought, you know, that sounds pretty cool.”
It was the beginning of a love affair for Kolassa with the blues. Along with Hank Williams, he purchased an album next to it by Robert Johnson and the King of the Delta Blues singers.
“I had an extra three bucks, so I bought it,” Kolassa says. “I wore that sucker out.”
Kolassa began to play soon after, taking on gigs, even as he studied other blues artists and the culture from which they came. Over time, Kolassa recorded 15 albums, lived for decades in Memphis and in Mississippi, earning the nickname of Michisippi Mick, based on his two homes. He has played blues in solo and duo acoustic formats and has performed at blues festivals across the country and in Europe.
Music, however, was not his only interest. Earning a PhD in economics, he then taught economic policy at Nazareth College in Kalamazoo. Kolassa’s knowledge in the topic earned him the ear of politicians, including the Clintons, President Bush, and President Obama.
“What I did with the Obama people is help them update Romney-care [health policy used by Mitt Romney in Massachusetts] … and help Obama implement that,” Kolassa says. The result was the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.
Now returned to Michigan and living in Three Rivers, Kolassa continues playing and recording the blues. Proceeds from his music go to supporting programs run by The Blues Foundation, a nonprofit that works to support the blues and blues artists.
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