Mike Mills was born in Orange County, California on December 17th, 1958. He considered himself local, having moved to Georgia as a baby. He was drifting through music. His father an acclaimed tenor singer and his mother a singer, pianist and guitarist, musical ability was inbred. He studied the piano and in high school he joined the marching band, at first with sousaphone and then electric bass, an instrument at which he quickly excelled.