Mike and Alicia began playing music together in 1984 as members of the band, The Side Effects, culminating in a professional recording in 1987 entitled, “Are We There Yet?” The group disbanded shortly thereafter. Due to a career relocation, Alicia and Mike moved to the Washington D.C area where they performed occasionally as a duet. In 1992, they moved back to Austin, Texas and began focusing on composing and arranging their original work. After a few minor recording efforts, they are now showcasing many of their tunes in their new CD, “Journeys.” Mike began playing music as the drummer in an original rock band in late 1960’s El Paso, Texas. He was also a member of his high school varsity choir and men’s quartet and sang bass in his church choir. He ended up in Lubbock in the late 1970’s trying to learn the songwriting craft and a little guitar along the way. Mike moved to Bryan/College Station, Texas in 1979 and started to blend Lubbock folk/country with Houston folk music, playing open mikes with Lyle Lovett and Joey Smith, and eventually joining The Side Effects (a Thursday night pot-luck dinner garage band) around 1982. He still has that garage band mentality. Alicia grew up in Houston, listening to Texas rock music and found a heroine in Bonnie Raitt. She received a guitar for her birthday one year (which she still has) and immediately began to write good songs. Alicia played and sang in duets with a good friend and played/sang many weddings. Her college career took her to Texas A&M University in Bryan/College Station. Here she developed a love for the Grateful Dead and met several musicians. It was here she was dubbed “The Prairie Canary” by Wildlife Department pickers in honor of her rich vibrant voice. In search for musicians to accompany her in her sister’s wedding, she showed up at the Thursday night pot-luck. As luck would have it, The Side Effects lead singer had just left the band so a band without a singer just met a singer looking for a band.