Taught by his mother, Mike Kilmer has been playing piano since age seven in 1976. As a teenager his mentors included Perry Robinson (Dave Brubeck band), Joe Ruddick (Phillip Johnston, Dee-Lite) and he studied Third Stream Music under Ran Blake at New England Conservatory. In 1991 Warner Brothers released a record with his band Sweet Lizard Illtet and he has also–with his partner Rivka as MadhaPPy–released on Bar/None records. Mike plays and teaches piano, voice, guitar, bass, accordion, composition and songwriting and also basic recording and production.