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            Mikhail Tank - multimedia artist, writer, director & producer, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on December 30^th (see birth-chart) and began performing at the age of three to Romani music. By the time he reached 12, he was writing poetry and acting in community theatre, cast in darker roles such as a male witch and Haman (view 1st headshot here).

            When Mikhail was just 13, he recognized that performance art could manifest itself in diverse ways.  He began to see that “darkness and negativity are separate and entirely different elements. [He] believes in light and that light comes from darkness... wherein answers reside." It is this fundamental understanding that inspired Mikhail to create Darksoul™ performance art.

            In 1997, Tank became a writer & publisher with BMI and had honed his skills enough to win a KFOG (#1 SF radio station) “Battle of the Bands”, beating out veteran artist Todd Rundgren with his debut single, Aggressor. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Drama (2001) from the University of California at Davis, Mikhail played the role of Dionysus (Greek-God of ecstasy and drama), directed and choreographed by world-renowned artist, Bill T. Jones and released his debut CD, Prove To Me. While attending university, Tank premiered a one-man show to sold out audiences and received a Lobster roast award, he also hosted a cable access TV show in the East Bay. In 2000, Mikhail attended the prestigious Grammy Awards as a Voting Member. In 2001, Tank was featured (minor) in The Sweetest Thing and later joined the Screen Actors Guild.

          In 2003, Mikhail moved to LA and secured representation. He had a chance to visit both Greece (where he saw an exceptional concert on Voula beach by Anna Vissi), as well as his royal hometown - the cultural capital of Russia. He played a recurring henchman on FOX's hit 24. In 2004, Mikhail studied acting with his beloved teacher, Gerry Cousins & won an audition to co-star opposite Isabella Rossellini on ABC’s hit show “Alias”. In 2005, he played the role of the devil in an Italian Film Full Moon, directed by Lazzaro which premiered at Festival Nazionale del Cortometraggio Yasujiro Ozu. Tank also secured a position at a major studio, while his film Disturb Things premiered at the Anchorage International Film Festival in December 2006.

            2007 - Mikhail was invited to be an autograph guest at WonderCon SF, had his directorial debut, Believe, Smile and Love premiere on national JL-TV and released his first book, “The Art Studio of Life - a children's book for all ages," as well as the single & album "Expired Love" and was featured on Createspace, an Amazon company, as an example of an independent multimedia artist with book, film and music releases.

            In 2008, Mikhail published a rare magick text “The Testament of Solomon” and performed a sold-out one-man show, which not only received critical acclaim, but also a commendation from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Tank attended the Cannes Film Festival with a debut feature film project (in development) and before the year’s end, founded Principality Productions. He is grateful to have visited the Principality of Monaco (for inspiration).

             2009 saw Mikhail directing My Pretty Pony, under the dollar baby agreement, inked with legendary story writer Stephen King. Interviews were featured on top King fan sites, the premiere taking place at the venerable Oldenburg Int’l. Film Festival, followed by screenings at the H.P. Lovecraft film festival & The Netherlands. In regards to collaborating with Mikhail, veteran actor & member of The Academy Awards, Paul Marin stated: "He's a very talented director and gets the actor to see his vision and gets the collaboration of both the cinematographer and performer." In August, Tank was invited to be a featured guest on BBC Radio & received worldwide press coverage, including Reuters & The Washington Post. He also received correspondence, from Her Majesty and became the 1^st artist in history to perform a worldwide live ticketed show, “Soul Photography” - via streaming through the Edinburgh Fringe (largest arts festival in the world), having already premiered the May stage version in Tokyo, Japan (a culture close to his heart) .

             Mikhail began 2010 by releasing an artistic statement titled ‘Untied’ (read it here). In March, he traveled to freezing, charming Moscow to have meetings with two top studios (including MOSFILM), regarding his feature film project (read Moscow blog here), while also visiting the Moscow Art Theatre and the Bolshoi. In April, Tank's performance in the title role of the Karoliyov video comic (watch clip here) premiered at Wondercon, followed by iTunes single releases of Burst The Bubble of Hate R.P.G. Remix, Sir.Tank: Black Sheep and Hubris from the June 23rd solo show, companion CD album - (click here) and DVD release, 'For The Special Ones' (view promo video here) ”dedicated to all those who feel like they’re sitting in the corners of life". The live show with original music by Daniel Levin, took place at the famed Stella Adler Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. (Article / Spotlight) LA Theatre Review noted the "poignant moment", where "(Tank) speaks of Leonardo da Vinci, who was dyslexic and compared him to the Ritalin-popping ADD kids of today – would we still have the Mona Lisa?" A viewer commented, "Your philosophy is timely and poetic. You say what we all feel but don't say. Sometimes there is a very thin line between being the nut in the corner and being the artist in the corner... You sparked my imagination. Made me remember how dormant my own creativity has become." Following, Tank presented at the 1st Hollywood Fringe Awards. In August, Mikhail went to see Ray Bradbury speak and was inspired to write a magical short story, Nectar of Experience. In the fall, Mikhail took a few classes at the legendary Magic Castle with master magician & author Mark Wilson (photo); released 'Halloween' - a digital single on iTunes; joined the International Brotherhood of Magicians and was featured on a location-rotating movie theatre billboard-storyboard for Arclight Cinemas (view image) (an advertisting campaign which won an ADDY). My Pretty Pony (the dollar baby) was screened at the classic silent film theatre in Hollywood & Tank's dream came true, when he visited the astounding Playboy Mansion, in character from his upcoming feature film, The Young Rasputin (watch teaser).

              On January 20th 2011, Mikhail released a REMASTERED collection of Darksoul™ performance art via iTunes and Amazon - Link Here. On February 16th, Mikhail broke a 50+ year-old record & became a Guinness World Records™ record holder for releasing the 'Longest title of a music single'. "The title is a meaningful & thought-provoking prose to help free the minds of those who feel lost." On 2/22 - the comedic/thought provoking piece Brainwashed (Free Your Mind) became available for consumption - Link Here. View the March 5th WORLDWIDE DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE of For The Special Ones: The Importance of Creativity here - http://vimeo.com/mikhailtank/create. Following the tragic earthquake in Japan, Tank was one of the 1st artists to announce that his 'Live in Japan' digital single's proceeds would go towards disaster relief (see tweet here). Tank released an advert for his feature film work-in-progress via The Hollywood Reporter (3/18 & 4/1 editions). On April 22nd, Tank was featured on Newslite.Tv / see here - 350k viewers/month, on April 24th, a feature article titled 'Mikhail Tank Wins a Guinness World Record (tm) and Continues Being a Renaissance Man', written by Robin Scholer and released to great success via Patch.com (an AOL company) - remained #1 'most popular' for 2 days - read here. In May, a limited edition vinyl was released as a customizable Darksoul offer for fans, it is available in the store section of this website.

               On June 12th, Tank gave a radio interview via Conversations Live - listen here (part 1 / part 2). In June, Mikhail released a "young book for all ages" titled 2424, order your copy HERE. On July 2nd, a special interview with Mikhail premiered on Santa Maria Public Access channel 25, in the show Creative Minds. On July 9th, Mikhail attended the Royal Centennial Polo event, in Santa Barbara, CA (listen to the CBS KNX 1070 radio interview here) (watch the ABC Ch.7 interview clip here). On July 30th, Tank worked with his long time collaborator, Patti Garcia on the 1st video project for 2012's The Power of Rejection (MAGMA) - see still image here & working. August 14th - Tank's dollar baby film, My Pretty Pony screened at the 1st ever dollar baby film festival in Spain (view interview here / screening details). In September, Tank released the music video for 'MAGMA' along with a collection of unique performance art pieces, titled 'Personal Strength'. On September 18th, Mikhail attended the elegant 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards (see photo on the red carpet). On October 10th, Tank received his BMI Card after his original track WAX was featured on network TV promos, on the 13th Tank and Daniel Levin received an official entry in the 54th Grammy Awards (in category 59 as well as a solo entry with Magma in category 3)... also see charts. On October 14th, Tank's record Soul Photography was re-released on Amazon (Click Here). On October 15th, Mikhail signed with new SAG-franchised agent, Joaquin Sahagun. On October 19th. Tank released a gift MP3, titled "a Blessing for those who don't Feel Well" (Download Here).  In late October - early Nov., Mikhail traveled to the amazing land of Transylvania and stayed at a Count's estate. On Halloween, he announced the second dollar baby project (authorized & based on a story by Stephen King) from BRAN Castle (Read & View Here). On November 5th, My Pretty Pony screened in Buenos Aires, Argentina (Click Here). Festival organizer, Ariel Bosi noted, "People really liked the obscure enviroment and focus the movie had. It was sinister and people really enjoyed that" (photo). On November 13th, Mikhail officially opened  'DARKSOUL THEATRE', with websites: www.DarksoulTheatre.com & www.DarksoulTheater.com

and on November 20th, MPP screened in Antwerpen, Belgium (Click Here).

               2012: January 1st & 3rd - two singles from the upcoming Power of Rejection show, are now available on iTunes. 'Magma' & 'The Golden Hand'. Get them both on iTunes, by clicking HERE. January 25th - Tank's write-up about Transylvania has been published in 'The Borgo Post' Vol. 17 Issue 1 (Winter 2012). 'The Borgo Post' is the official newsletter of the Canadian Chapter, Transylvanian Society of Dracula .pdf 1 / .pdf 2