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Pat McGee Band reunion show to benefit Adopt-A-Family with Special Guest Jeff Przech with Jeff Przech

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Singer songwriter Pat McGee just made the record of his dreams, working with living legends and he can’t wait to share it with you!! His self-titled 2015 release features session giants Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, Waddy Wachtel, Danny Kortchmar, and Jeff Pevar, as well as featured Artist Paul Barrere from Little Feat, Blues Traveler’s John Popper, Train’s Pat Monahan and Punchbrother’s Gabe Witcher. Pat brings his solid and seasoned band to Norfolk to play selections from this album, as well as Pat McGee Band fan favorites from their other 7 studio releases. Gonna be a great night of music, and you should be there!!

Pat McGee

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www.patmcgee.net

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Artist Bio

“I never expected any of these legends to say yes, but I figured it was worth a shot,” says PAT MCGEE about his star-studded new self-titled album.  “If nothing else, I wanted them to know that I felt they would have been the perfect band for these songs. I have never been a guy that asked for favors or perks in this business, but on this project I definitely swung for the fences and thought to myself, ‘Why not? The worst they can say is ‘no’.”

Fortunately, the iconic players he had hoped to work with gave him a resounding, “Yes!”   The dream team McGee assembled includes musical legends Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, Waddy Wachtel, Danny Kortchmar,and Jeff Pevar (nicknamed “The Section”). Other notable musicians such as Little Feat’s Paul Barrere, Blues Traveler’s John Popper, Train’s Pat Monahan, Punch brothers’ Gabe Witcheras well as Pat McGee’s own band contributed to the album's sound.

Recorded in Los Angeles in 2014, Pat McGee was influenced by the classic albums of the 1970s that were spun in his childhood home.  “I was inspired to write a record that was not based on a ‘single’ but on the wholeness of the complete album,” Pat explains.  “I was at a friend’s house, listening to what I thought was someone’s playlist on an iPod. 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 meto start playing music, including seminal records by James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Crosby, Stills,and Nash.” 

Channeling the vintage warmth of those recordings, he began writing an album that would have the same timeless quality of singer/songwriter rock from the Laurel Canyon scene of the early 70s.
Once McGee had written enough material for an album, he began to wonder what would happen if he reached out to the musicians who helped to shape his ear. An impossible task, he thought, but he decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it. One by one, the pieces started to fit together and each of them accepted his offer. As though the universe had always intended for this record to be made. “You could tell when we got to the studio that all these guys just loved playing with each other,” McGee recalls. “From the moment that we played the opening warm-up casual jam, I knew that this was going to blow away anything that I could have ever dreamed.”

From the guitar intro of opening track “Bad Idea,” the natural connection between the players was obvious, sounding much more like a band who had been playing together for decades instead of being assembled for just one record. In lieu of the modern process of painstakingly tracking each individual instrument, the band jammed. “I would show them my song idea and they would ask to hear the meaning of the lyric, and 10 minutes later, we had a take on tape,” he says, still in awe of that process.  “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.” 

The song “Overboard” features a guest vocal from Train's Pat Monahan, and is a perfect example of how things just fell into place for this album, Pat's fourth solo effort and tenth album overall.  “I've known Pat since 1996 when Train toured with my band and we've kept in touch ever since. Pat knew how important this album was to me, so he offered to sing on the record.”  Written for his wife, the song relays the idea of 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. 

Extremely proud of this record, McGee is hard-pressed to choose a favorite track.  “I'm sure any artist is going to say this but it’s hard to pick a favorite,” he says. “Certainly there are musical moments that really put a smile on my face, like the mood of ‘Caroline’,  the vibe of ‘Four-Door Dynamo’,  the funk chops of ‘Kite String’ and the harmonies throughout the entire album from Patrick McAloon and Jonathan Williams…”

McGee started his professional music career in 1995 as leader of Pat McGee Band, touring relentlessly for over ten years all over the United States, including one stretch doing 98 shows in 103 days. The band, dubbed PMB by legions of adoring fans, sold out venues all over the US and shared stages with The Who, Allman Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, James Taylor, Counting Crows, Rat Dog, Levon Helm & more.  Pat McGee Band even performed for President Clinton. 

A big supporter of the US military and all that they do, McGee performed for the USO in Greenland as well as in The Middle East and Africa with Navy Entertainment.  McGee and his band were also granted the opportunity to land on The USS Eisenhower to play for 5000 brave men and women serving on the Arabian Sea, certainly a career highlight.  “My support of the Navy Entertainment and the USO feels, to me, something that every musician or artist or entertainer should be embracing,” McGee says. “I did not grow up in a military family, although my father did serve in Vietnam and to know the years he spent away from my sister while she was young is something I can relate to when meeting the troops overseas. These experiences have really shed some light on how incredibly difficult their jobs are.  The men and women I've met while doing these tours really inspire you to go home and strive to be a better person.”

Reflecting back on this opus he’s created with these iconic performers, Pat McGee is proud of what he’s accomplished. “It sure feels good to have a record out right now that I want to share with everyone, and not just because they are songs that I wrote,” he explains.  “I truly believe that all of the musicians that played on this album need to be credited for what they do.  That seems to be lost in the modern music listening atmosphere.” 

“It's not just that these guys are masters on their instruments, because they certainly are that, it's that their natural instinct is to put the perfect part down to whatever song they're working on. That is why they have lasted over 50 years in this business. It's just remarkable that they're such a cornerstone of the sound of the American songwriter,” McGee says humbly.  These new recordings are an indication that McGee has gained the acceptance and approval of his heros, an enviable feat in modern music.

Jeff Przech

Connect with this artist:

www.jeffprzech.com

Jeff Przech is as Americana as they come and it’s not a dirty word to throw the country moniker around when describing this album. If Przech’s influences were trees he’d have an entire orchard full of some of the greats of the traditional and alt-country movements, as well as varying forms of folk and Americana."

Jeff Przech likes to tell stories. Musical stories. "My favorite songwriters, the ones I always gravitate towards, are the ones who tell great stories in their songs." Influenced by contemporary artists like Jason Isbell, Ryan Adams, and Sturgill Simpson, along with classic artists like Kristofferson, Jennings, and Dylan, Przech's 2015 debut release, "Sounds Like Fresh," is his first, though certainly not last entry into the canon of Americana music. The record is carried by classic songwriting and led by Przech’s deep, soulful vocals and acoustic guitar work. Many of the arrangements are sparse, but never wanting for more. Przech’s vocals and guitar are more than enough to carry songs like “Back Again” and “Wasting Time.” On the other hand, Przech’s arrangements on songs like “Clinchfield Rail,” “Eden,” and “Make A Wrong Thing Right” feature dazzling lead work by Jon Graboff (pedal steel), Dennis Fancher (lead guitar), and Przech himself. It’s perfectly clear that Przech knew exactly what he was going for on his first record, a collection of songs that takes the listener on, as one reviewer called it, a “rewarding emotional journey.”

Behind the ten original songs (along with a cover of Adams' "English Girls Approximately") that make up "Sounds Like Fresh" is Przech himself. Born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, Przech began writing in high school though, as he says now with a laugh, "My earliest attempts at songwriting make me cringe." While he dabbled in music during his college years in Boston, Przech didn't start playing professionally until his late 20's, late in the game by today's standards. He spent several years playing in cover bands, gigging throughout New England and, while constantly writing through those years, his own songs took a backseat to the other projects he was involved in. Ultimately, Przech felt a need to do something more to satisfy the artist within. He took his life experiences and his years as a Creative Writing teacher and applied them to his music, painting musical portraits with his songs. As Przech describes it, "There's an element of me in all of my songs. Some more than others of course. I like to borrow a phrase from Kris Kristofferson to describe them: 'Partly truth and partly fiction.' They're not all about me or my life per se, but I'm in all of them so to speak. They're all honest though, and I always hope people will be struck by the stories and the characters within them." Those characters are people we all know, even if we've never actually met them, and they share a vulnerability as they search for a way to make sense of the world they live in. 

"Przech is as Americana as they come and it’s not a dirty word to throw the country moniker around when describing this album.  If Przech’s influences were trees he’d have an entire orchard full of some of the greats of the traditional and alt-country movements, as well as varying forms of folk and Americana."

"People ask me all the time what kind of music I play," says Przech, "and it's a tough question to answer. Chris Robinson once said, 'I'm a folk singer. I sing songs for folks.' But I classify myself as an Americana artist because that's the music I identify with the most. That's where the artists I respect the most reside. Even guys like Kristofferson, Waylon, Merle, even Dylan, they'd all fit into that genre today." Przech spent the summer of 2015 bringing his form of Americana music from Vermont to the Carolinas, and was a featured performer at the Podunk Bluegrass Festival, the New England Acoustic Music Festival as well as the Keene Music Festival in New Hampshire. Przech has also enjoyed successful shows at great venues like Infinity Hall in Norfolk, Connecticut and The Bitter End in New York City. No matter where Przech plays, his fans know what they're in for. As one venue owner put it, "Jeff Przech is one of those artists that you hear in a room and you have to stop what you are doing. You stand there with drink in hand...or set it down because you don't want to be disturbed and you just take it all in."

"'Sounds Like Fresh' relies on classic songwriting that shoots straight for the heart. It’s pure with its intention and leaves little question as to what we might expect from Przech in the future."

The most important aspect of Przech's songwriting, and of Przech himself, is the authenticity. There is a distinct lack of pretense in everything he does and his intentions are as true as some of the stories he tells. Przech is humble and unassuming with a dry sense of humor, evidenced by the title of his record - 'Przech' actually does rhyme with 'fresh.' Now proudly calling the small town of Unionville, Connecticut home ("I love the peace I get living here," he says, "it's the right place to write the kind of songs I do."). And those songs have not gone unnoticed, receiving excellent reviews and airplay on WPLR, WESU, and WAPJ in Connecticut as well as internet radio stations and podcasts throughout the country from Connecticut to Washington.

“‘Sounds Like Fresh' is more than a clever title meant to explain the pronunciation of 'Przech.' In a world where so many artists are employing marketing gimmicks and studio tricks, vying for the next big spotlight in the music scene, Jeff Przech makes it abundantly clear that's he's here to do one thing, and that's make great music.”

Jeff Przech is many things. He is a songwriter, troubadour, a bit of a raconteur, and most importantly, a single father. "It all starts and ends there, man, with those two," says Przech, referring to his two young children, who both make cameos on his record. He understands struggle and his life experiences shape his songwriting, which is always very true with its intentions. He wants his songs to make people think and feel. Przech’s music is an ideal union of the classic sound he so admires and the modern Americana genre. Whether he is playing with his newly formed band, The Outfit, or just by himself with an acoustic guitar, Przech’s dusty, resonant baritone provide a weight to his songs and lyrics. While the songs may be ‘partly truth, partly fiction,’ Jeff Przech is not. There is an unquestioned sincerity to the man and his music. “There’s a line in one of my songs,” says Przech, “All I can do is all I can do. That’s pretty much the way I look at it. I put everything I have into what I write and record. If it doesn’t mean something to me, how can I expect it to mean something to anyone else?”

THE OUTFIT IS:
Dennis Fancher - Lead Guitar, Vocals
"Slim" Kalish - Drums, Percussion
Joe O'Brien - Bass, Vocals 

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