Mike Hamer is a songwriter and singer. A CD of his acoustic music, "Black Crow," was released recently by Black Swamp Music. Hamer, a C-6 quadriplegic as a result of a diving accident in 1985, plays hammer dulcimer and other instruments on the recording. Besides acoustic music, he writes and records rock 'n' roll with his band, Mike Hamer and the Rhinoceroses with the Angelic Choir. Hamer is also an original member of The Lemon Sisters and The Rutabaga Brothers, a swing rhythm and blues band that has played in eastern North Carolina since 1982. In addition, he has composed the music for four children's plays: Melvin the Pelican, The Great Nut Hunt, Wheelchair Dancer and Spiders on Strike. Hamer lives in Greenville, North Carolina, where he teaches courses in English and songwriting at East Carolina University.
