John Small bassJonathan Williams vocals, piano and keyboardsPat McGee lead vocals, acoustic and electric guitarsAl Walsh vocals and acoustic guitarChris Williams drumsChardy McEwan percussion
Since its formation in early 1996, the Pat McGee Band's grassroots growth has been phenomenal. The band, with rich harmonies and energized acoustic rock, has been selling out clubs, such as Irving Plaza, New York, NY; House of Blues, Chicago; Paradise, Boston; Birchmere in Alexandria, VA and the 9:30 Club and the Bayou in Washington, DC. PMB's biggest sellouts -- more than 7,000 -- occurred at Wolf Trap's Filene Center, Vienna, VA twice.
At the end of 1999 the band signed a recording contract with Giant Records, a joint venture with Warner Brothers Records. The band's major label debut album "Shine," produced by Jerry Harrison, was released in April 2000.
"Runaway," the first single off "Shine" received airplay across the US, and "Rebecca," the latest single off "Shine" is climbing the charts, as of February 2001.
On January 29, 2001 the band made their national television debut on the Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.
In 2000, the band toured with Allman Brothers Band and Sister Hazel and performed with Barenaked Ladies, Shawn Mullins, and many other top artists at large radio-sponsored shows across the U.S.
In July, Pat, Al and Jonathan sang the National Anthem at Wrigley Field for the Cubs/Giants game and in December in Philadelphia for the 76ers/Knick game.
In January 2001, in an amicable split, Al Walsh left the band to pursue his solo career. We will keep our fans informed about Al's solo appearances, and we hope to work together in the future. We urge you to check out Al's website at www.alwalsh.com and to buy his solo album "Son of Chime." We wish Al all the best in his future endeavors.
The band's first CD "Revel," was released in February 1997. More than 100,000 copies of "Revel" and McGee's solo CD "from the wood," released in 1995, and "General Admission," the band's live CD released in late 1998, were sold independently before the band signed with Giant. Record stores can get the earlier albums through Redeye Distribution. WEA distributes "Shine."
The band tours extensively and has appeared in 42 states. PMB performs more than 250 dates a year. In one year, the band put more than 100,000 miles on their van. Since November 1998, they've been enjoying traveling in a tour bus.
The band has packed houses from coast-to-coast. They started on college campuses in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Word spread quickly, and the band's touring base expanded North and then to the Midwest and finally to the West.
Critics praise the band (see "Reviews"). On Billboard Talent Net, the band was voted number one band, and "Can't Miss What You Never Had" was voted number one song. The band was also named the "Fastest climber" on Billboard Talent Net charts. PMB's recordings have been featured on MTV's "Real World" and "Road Rules." The band won two Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) awards: "1997 Best Duo/Group, ROCK/POP" and "1997 Best Recording, ROCK/POP" for "Revel."
The song "Passion" is on the Aware 5 compilation disk. "Revel" was featured in the "Top 12 Independent Recordings" in Performing Songwriter Magazine, July/August 1997. "Passion" is on the WAMA/DC 101 compilation disk and Notes >From Home, Volume 4. "Who Stole Her From Heaven," is on Oasis Acoustic, Volume 4. "Ceamelodic," is on Music Reviews Quarterly on Disk. "Rebecca," is on "Oasis Alternative" and Millennium Music, South Carolina, sampler.
In April 1998 John Popper, Blues Traveler, sat in with the band at the Bayou in DC. Popper said: "It was a ball . . . Pat's got great songs . . . It's real passionate so I could really get my energy in with them . . . They're all really good musicians so it was easy to follow what they were doing . . . . We've put them on a H.O.R.D.E. date."
Summer 1997 the band performed at the Nissan Pavilion side stage for the Jimmy Buffett, James Taylor and Fleetwood Mac concerts and for Counting Crows and The Wallflowers at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater. They opened for Ziggy Marley in Annapolis. They appeared at Artscape '97 Festival in Baltimore, the July 4th Freedom Fest in DC (in 96, 97, 98) and the Kennedy Center Open House. They performed at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. They opened for Rusted Root at Constitution Hall in DC and in Richmond. Twice the band appeared with Jimmy Buffett at Nissan Pavilion. They performed on H.O.R.D.E. tour in Charlotte, NC.
"Revel" and "from the wood" were produced by Pat McGee and recorded, engineered and mixed by Stuart Ridgeway at Pyramid Digital Productions and Cue Studios, Falls Church, VA. Mastering was done by Dave Glasser at Airshow, Springfield, VA.
