Michael J. Scherer

The world lost a sweet, multi-talented man when Michael James Scherer -- Metal Mike to his friends -- suddenly passed away at his home in Westbrook, Connecticut on July 27, 2026. Raised in the meadowlands of Moonachie, NJ, he was the son of Francis and Dorothy Scherer who adopted him when he was 6 weeks old. He is survived by his wife, Marion (Maggio) Scherer and his sister, Patricia Scherer, of Little Egg Harbor, NJ. He is also survived by his two sisters-in-law, Theresa and Dorothy Maggio.

Metal Mike did many things in his life and did them all well. Growing up, he was an athlete. “He loved dirt bikes, and he was good too,” his sister said. The tracks wove through the Meadowlands swamps. “He could have turned pro if that had been a thing back in the 1960’s,” she said. He also played football for the Packers, a local junior varsity team. “He was handsome; all the girls loved him. People just wanted to hang out with him.”

In high school at Bergen Tech he took up culinary arts and welding. He could decorate your cake and fix your pipes. For a while worked as a union pipe fitter.

He got the moniker “Metal Mike” because of his musical preferences. He was the lead singer and bass player in the heavy metal hair band Bullet, while simultaneously running their audio and stage lights. He also sang for the band Seducer and memorably wore leather pants on stage.

John Lopez, a friend from school days, said he would introduce Mike to friends as his “brother from another mother.”

“He was one of a kind,” he said. Lopez played in a North Jersey band and “Mike was always the sound man.” They were often looking for a lead singer. “Three years later we found out that he could sing; we could have choked him! But he was one of the best sound men that ever lived. “

Mike eventually formed his own company, Active Audio. Singer Alicia Keys hired his team to do sound for her first world-wide tour through Europe and Japan.

“He had a photographic memory for details,” said Lopez. ”Wiring-- he could look at a hundred wires and remember them all in his head.” He could recall conversations they’d had “thirty years before while sitting at Moon’s Bar in Wallington [N.J.].”

Metal Mike moved up from dirt bikes to restoring classic cars. He died in his garage next to a white Corvette he’d rebuilt and named Irma. He rode a Harley. He flew a pirate flag. He dove for treasure with friends in Florida. Both his arms had tattooed sleeves. He wore his hair long in a biker’s pony tail down his back. He slicked it with gel, and kept his goatee pointy. Tough guy looks, but he was a warm and sentimental guy. He kept his father’s old wooden cigar box on the kitchen table to hold small treasures. He communed with cats and dogs, imitated wild bird calls, and kept a cockatoo named Spike. “I cannot believe how many friends he had,” said Lopez. “Oh, my God!”

Twenty-one years ago he married Marion and moved to their Westbrook, CT home. He was a member of the Grove Beach Point Association in Westbrook and was always willing to lend a hand to his neighbors. Twenty years ago he started work as a sound engineer for Mohegan Sun’s 10,000-seat arena in Uncasville with performers like Taylor Swift, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, and Bon Jovi. During Metal Mike’s time there, the arena twice won Newsweek’s “Best Casino with Live Entertainment” award. When Tony Orlando played there, he hugged Metal Mike.

Marion, his wife, said: “Mike was my lifesaver. And my best friend.”

Visiting hours at Swan Funeral Home in Clinton, CT are from 5 to 7 pm on Thursday July 30, 2026. Words of Remembrances to follow immediately at 7:00 PM. Burial will be at the convenience of the family.