“We had our own original band when I was 13, complete with full face paint, and original songs!!!" – Mykull MyKull and his cousin, Travis McKinney, basically learned guitar from one another. Their families were extremely poor, so guitar lessons were out of the question.  He learned bar chords by sheer experimentation, and later learned what they actually were! MyKull played guitar in a cover band called Cold Fire all through high school, and opened for the group Vixen in 1982. He had plans to give up playing guitar that night, but Vixen’s guitarist, compelled his interest in the instrument.

Despite the words of encouragement, Mykull went off to college, still not taking guitar all that seriously. MyKull began jamming with his Brother Ray's friend, Steve Taylor. Jamming with Steve is where MyKull learned to play with a drummer, and to create a “groove”. The duo influenced each other a great deal and as a result, both grew musically over their college years. MyKull's first attempt at college was unfortunately cut short, but this allowed him to finally take guitar seriously. He basically shut himself off from the world, for 2 years, just absorbing and playing music. He awakened from the closet, and began to give lessons, which vastly improved his playing and understanding of theory. At one point, in the small confines of McDowell County, he had over 20 students! He returned to Appalachian State, and got his degree in Technology/Electronics. MyKull had released a song on a compilation CD with the band R.I.P. and was tapped by local favorite band Temptor to play guitar. This was MyKull’s first band with totally original compositions, a stage presence, first-rate talent and a following! Temptor released a four song demo, Temptor "Un-unplugged" which caught the attention of Warner Brothers, but the fates delivered an unkindly blow to the band. As a result, Temptor folded. After Temptor, MyKull formed another band, Disciple 13, with his new friend Lothar Keller and they soon realized how much they musically had in common.

"It's like we could complete each other's sentences on guitar!" – MyKull

Unfortunately, the local area could not provide a talented or dedicated rhythm section to complement this musical union, and after a couple of years, MyKull and Lothar parted ways. MyKull knew, however, that one day they would meet again and record something together. A move to Tampa, Florida was in order to pursue his dream. Metal was supposedly big in Tampa, but after his arrival, MyKull thought that maybe it was “not so much”. Despite this revelation, when he hit the Tampa scene, he immediately landed in a cover band called Taken by Force, which eventually led him to the Savatage tribute band, Streets. It was the only Savatage tribute endorsed by Jon Oliva himself! MyKull felts that playing in that “league of musicianship” rapidly advanced his playing further. With the help of Jon Oliva, Steve Walcholz, Tom McDyne, and the members of Streets, he had finally realized his potential as a guitarist. He began to write his own compositions, inspired greatly by the loss of a beautiful, close friend. His solo work is nearing completion as of the writing of this biography. In early 2008, his old friend Lothar Keller (formerly of IHS), made him aware of a possible guitar/songwriting position opening in Sacred Dawn. Lothar had laid the groundwork for the band, and had proven himself a reputable guitarist and songwriter. So, needing a "change", he loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly...uh, umm...Chicago!  The CD "A Madness Within" would prove to take over 2 years to complete, but the end result has been worth it!

"I am very proud of this CD, and love being in this band. Everyone is awesome! There are no egos, everyone is dedicated, talented, we enjoy each other’s company, and this is how a band should be!" – MyKull