Born in 1956, Nik Beat (aka Michael Barry) toiled in the rock and roll field for a number of years until he quit and took the moniker Nik Beat. This native Torontonian has for the past twelve years been a writer/poet published in numerous anthologies. He has been profiled on Much Music and TVO's Imprint as well as on CBC radio. He currently hosts the HOWL spoken word radio show on CIUT 89.5 FM. He lives in the quiet doldrums of the famous Beaches area, where he not only commandeers a Words and Music show at the Renaissance Café but is also an accomplished collage artist.