For Self-Titled Album
Including Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, Waddy Wachtel, Danny Kortchmar, Jeff Pevar, John Popper, Pat Monahan, and more
Album out May 12, 2015
Featuring a laundry list of legendary and music-defining guests as his backing band including Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, Waddy Wachtel, Danny Kortchmar, and Jeff Pevar (nicknamed "The Section"), Pat McGee isn't so much a departure from his own band, the eponymously named Pat McGee Band, as it is an extension of his own voice. "It's more of a 'coming into my own' album… 20 years later," he laughs. The album also features guests Paul Barrere (Little Feat), John Popper (Blues Traveler), Gabe Witcher (Punch Brothers) as well as Pat McGee's own band members. "I never expected any of these legends to say 'yes'," says Pat. "If nothing else, I wanted them to know that I felt they would have been the perfect band for these songs."
Good friend Pat Monahan (Train) contributed vocals on "Overboard," a song written for his wife expressing how he tends to go overboard with his feelings for her and his family, at times, leading to vulnerable moments. "I was so inspired by listening to those old vinyl records that everything truly just flowed out of me." PopMatters premiered "Overboard" here: http://www.popmatters.com/post/191344-pat-mcgee-overboard-audio-premiere/
A topical writer, McGee wrote the song "We Need Each Other" about famed calculus teacher Jim O'Connor who, by day, is one of St. Francis High School's toughest teachers, but by night cares for sick babies at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and is currently the hospital's top blood donor. "One morning, I was sitting there with my guitar, getting ready to write another song and, as people do, I picked up my phone and took a look at Facebook," he recalls. "A friend posted a video about Jim O'Connor, so I checked it out and was instantly inspired to write a song about this man. A classic case of being misunderstood but even better when you don't want credit for anything - doing good for just the sake of good. That song pretty much wrote itself. I hope I can share it with him one day!"
"This is kind of an anomaly in this day and age to have a band together in the studio – a real studio, especially cutting to tape," says Leland Sklar about the authentic analog recording of this album. "I only get to do a few of these a year like this, and it's a real treat to do this because it really hearkens back to the old days when this was the norm rather than the exception." Adds McGee, "We never tracked more than two or three takes before moving onto the next song. In all of these moments, I felt like I was witnessing the creation of an iconic classic rock guitar moment, drum part or bass line– it was happening right before my very eyes. And the fact that these guys were making it happen on songs that I wrote is just still so unbelievable to me."
Pat McGee and was produced by Chip Johnson, Kit Karlson and Pat McGee and will be released on May 12, 2015 via Noble Steed Music. It was recorded at the Boulevard Recording in Los Angeles, CA, formerly called Producers Workshop where Pink Floyd's The Wall and Steely Dan's Aja were recorded, among many others, with additional work done at Bias Studios in Virginia.
Pat McGee Tour Dates
April 3 City Winery (New York, NY)
April 24-25 Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. (Purcellville, VA)
May 2 Rams Head On Stage (Annapolis, MD)
May 8 Music Box (Cleveland, OH)
May 28-31 Down The Hatch Festival (Outer Banks, NC)
July 10 City Winery (Chicago, IL)
July 31-Aug 1 Eddie's Attic (Decatur, GA)
July 17-25 Navy Entertainment Tour (Middle East & Africa)
--- More at UnRatedMagazine.com |
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