“I was at a friend’s house, listening to what I thought was someone’s playlist on an iPod,” remembers Pat McGee about the origins of his upcoming self-titled album. “When I realized they were spinning full albums on vinyl, I was blown away. The very next day, I decided to buy a record player and picked up the ten records that lit the fire in me to start playing music, including seminal records by James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash.” The result of that mind-blowing epiphany will be released on May 12, 2015 via Noble Steed Music.
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/
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)