Meet Michael G. Lee, auther of When the Band Played On: The Life of Randy Shilts, America’s Trailblazing Gay Journalist. A writer, researcher, and educator with more than twenty years’ experience in human services and HIV/AIDS, Michael is also a Michigan State alum. His interest in the life of Randy Shilts came about while he was researching the origins of 1970s-era gay and lesbian community services and their influence on AIDS organizations in the 1980s.