Chi McClean

Well, I’ve begun the painful process of writing out charts for my new tunes. Tedious? Yes… Necessary? Yes… Painful? Maybe… In any case, it’s a good exercise and will definitely speed things up with the rest of the guys when I get back into the studio this month to start recording my new record. I had forgotten what an eraser and graphite pencil felt like… old school, baby!

Two down, 12 to go...

Anyway, just a quick post today… got to get back to the grind stone and hammer out a few more of these charts. Anyone have a pencil sharpener?

Dan "D-Lucca" Parenti kicking things off at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA last night.

Man, what a fun night we had on the main stage at Yoshi’s in Oakland, CA. Bassist, Dan “D-Lucca” Parenti invited me to join him for five tunes towards the end of his set and I played a bit of slide guitar, some acoustic, and sang an arrangement of my tune “Rocketship” for a packed house on a Monday, of all nights. Lots of fun, but man… that stage was loud. My ears are STILL ringing like a bell. In any case, with nine guys up on stage (drum kit, percussion, keys, sax, three guitars, bass, piccolo bass), it’s bound to get loud. Anyway, it was a killer time and Dan crushed it up there on his piccolo bass. If you haven’t ever heard his music outside of playing on my record and with me live, check out his all-original music here.

Dan "D-Lucca" Parenti with part of the band in the Yoshi's green room before the show.

Now, it’s back to booking, writing, and gearing up for two songwriter conferences in September (West Coast Songwriters) and October (Durango Songwriter Expo). Plus, it looks as though I just confirmed details for a new recording project to start in early September. Needless to say, it’s going to be a busy couple of months, so stay tuned here and on my Facebook page for updates!

Two dudes riding the same bike while powering their built in lights and PA.

Yeah, this picture pretty much sets the tone for yesterday’s craziness at the third annual Bayvibes Summer Musicfest. There were over 25 bands and DJs, a number of artists painting a few stages throughout the day, and tons of food and street vendors all over the place. Café Cocomo was hoppin’ and the weather couldn’t have been better - sun, warm temps, blue sky, and a nearly full moon when the sun set.

My set ran from 1:20pm until a little after 2:00pm. I think I played 100% new material, which was really fun. It’s the first time I ran through a few of those songs live and it was good to get the crowd feedback after my set. The good news is that everyone I talked to enjoyed it. A couple were on the verge of tears after one of my tunes, apparently (”A Thing Or Three”). Yes, it’s a sad, sad story song… my bad! Anyway, the sound was great outside on the courtyard stage and the audience was awesome.

A huge thanks to Robin Applewood and Charlie Wilson for putting it all together. It was a massive undertaking at a new location this year and, from my perspective, it couldn’t have gone any better. Nice job, guys!

Now in it’s third year running, the Bayvibes Summer Musicfest is back THIS SUNDAY, August 22nd with a killer line-up… and it now includes me! I’ll be playing a solo acoustic set featuring some brand new tunes including “Life Got In The Way”, “Build Me Up”, “Hole In My Heart”, and “A Thing or Three” from 1:20pm until 2:00pm on the courtyard stage and it’s going to rock. [I can't wait to share these new songs with you guys!]

Buy your tickets now: http://www.chimcclean.bayvibesfest.com

The event starts earlier in the day at 12:00pm and runs until 2:00am the next morning with non-stop, local, Bay Area-only, live music from more than 20 different artists, so make a day out of it and join me outside for some good tunes and good times. For additional festival details, and to buy your tickets in advance at the early bird rate before the price goes up, click on over to www.chimcclean.bayvibesfest.com. ($20.00 Early Bird Rate in groups of Four / $25 Advance Individual / $35 Door Individual / 21+ Only)

If you aren’t a planner and ya just wanna show up at the door, just head on over to Café Cocomo this Sunday and meet me there! Café Cocomo is located at 650 Indiana Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. See ya soon!

So many great Bay Area bands, so much to do, see, and hear.

Well, I have to say that, for my very first live webcast, the event last Thursday at Loudville.tv was pretty awesome. Of course, as with any first (this was a first for the studio and for us in this environment), there were a few hiccups. Overall, however, it was a huge success. Five different camera angeles, nice mics on the amps/instruments, and a solid crew from the Loudville studio made for a really fun evening. Plus, the VIP, in-studio audience was a killer cheering section (thanks, guys!).

Me, the band, and the crew from the Loudville studio just before we went "live".

Joining us that night was local trumpet and percussion player, Rich Armstrong. The great thing about Rich is that he is like a chameleon: whatever you play, he sort of just blends in and gets the job done. We had a great time playing with him and it was fun to hear a few pleasant surprises along the way from his arsenal of percussion toys. (I think he must have used every one of his 30+ toys on that rack! Hilarious.)

A big thanks to Mark Keller, owner of Loudville, for hosting us and choosing us for his inaugural live webcast event. A huge shout out to Boone Spooner (drums) and Dan “D-Lucca” Parenti (bass) for making it so fun on stage at the studio, too! Of course, the support from Taylor Guitars and Elixir Strings was awesome, as always… be sure to visit their sites and check out the absolute best guitars and strings out there. If you want a professional sound, these are the tools ya need to get the job done!

Stay tuned for the recordings in a few weeks. We’ll be mixing and editing the video footage soon and I can’t wait to share it with you guys once it’s ready to go, so keep your eyes peeled right here for updates!

Tonight's set with the acoustic quartet starts at 7pm PST.

Well, we did a dress rehearsal for the audio engineers and camera men last night at the Loudville.tv studios and it’s looking and sounding pretty darned good. Joining me on camera tonight will be Boone Spooner (drums), Rich Armstrong (trumpet and percussion), and Dan “D-Lucca” Parenti (bass guitars). It’s a pretty all-star line-up and I’m excited to be playing with these guys. The folks at Loudville.tv are really pro and have pretty much everything dialed in and ready to go, too. I’m a little camera shy, so we’ll see how dorky I look up there on screen, but what can ya do? Either way, it’s going to rock… Be sure to log on at http://www.loudville.tv from 7:00pm PST until about 8:00pm PST for a 100% LIVE webcast performance. Go ahead… watch us in your PJ’s… we won’t tell anyone! Watch The Live Webcast Promo Video!

Woah! I met these guys at a gig I did at Cava Wine Bar a little while ago down in Santa Cruz, CA and they were so into the music, they invited me to perform at one of their wedding parties yesterday down at their home in Capitola, CA. The weather was awesome, their group of friends was a ton of fun, and best of all… they really dug my tunes. I sold all of the copies of my CD that I had with me, got more than a few folks signed up on my e-list, and made some new friends and fans in the process. Plus, I got to sample some world class BBQ, the most insane mac’n'cheese I’ve had in a while, and these weird cheesy potato thingies that beat even the cheesy’est  potatoes I tried during my trip to Nashville, TN earlier this summer. Mm!

Towards the end of the late-night set with the bride rockin' her wedding gown by the bonfire. Awesome!

Later in the evening, after I packed everything up and hung out for a bit with the bride and groom by the bonfire, just as I was thinking of heading back to San Francisco, I suddenly heard some familiar music blasting out of one the nearby apartments. I realized why it seemed familiar… it was my record! Turns out that the bride and groom were so stoked on it that they pulled it up on their stereo, then built a Chi McClean Radio Station on Pandora, and were showcasing it to their friends. Awesome… I think I heard “Something Out There”, the title track, about ten, maybe 12 times from start to finish. I was totally flattered by their enthusiasm and was reinvigorated with good vibes about my debut album. (Thanks, you guys!)

Rockin' the Chi McClean Radio Station on Pandora after my performance.

Anyway, I was reminded that some pretty cool things have happened in the last year or so that I’ve been doing this full-time and I was thankful for the good folks that brought that to my attention again. Sometimes, it’s easy to get buried in the day to day booking, writing, traveling, etc. and easy to forget to take stock of all the good stuff that’s happened; last night was a refreshing reminder that things are going well!

Up next: a 100% LIVE webcast with the acoustic trio from Loudville.tv this Thursday, August 12th. Be sure to check it out from 7:00pm until 8:30pm PST in HD video and audio from the comfort of your own home, office, or whatever! It’s gonna rock…

I love this gig… I’ve done the “in the round” gig once before up at Hotel Utah, and I was psyched to do it again. Local songwriter/performer Heather Combs puts on a monthly event there and it always makes for a really fun evening. This time, we basically did a repeat of the last show back in April with me, Heather Combs, Austin Willacy, and Stewart Lewis sharing the stage.

From left to right: Austin Willacy, Stewart Lewis & Heather Combs at The Hotel Utah Saloon

I was honored to be able to spend some time with these guys and, as much fun as it was playing music, it was almost more fun in between songs re-enacting the comedy from the last time we all shared the stage together. Honestly, these folks are hilarious… not only do they write amazing songs, but the banter in between the performances is gut busting. Seriously… the sexual innuendos, the political jabs, the mindless chatter… all pretty impressive.

Anyway, we had a great turn-out for the night with an interactive experience for the crowd during a few sing-alongs and just a great time all the way around. Thanks to the bartenders and the soundwoman for making it a memorable night. You girls are great!

When I woke up on the 4th of August, I was pretty psyched. I had a lot to do! After taking my friend Kate out to breakfast as a “thank you” for inviting me to crash her pad, I made my way back over to Jenni Alpert’s place to try my hand at a little co-writing. We got it started off of a riff that I had developed after coming back from Nashville when I was in my open tuning phase. Actually, it ended up being a great start to a pretty cool tune. I think we ended up rocking some pretty good music (Jenni taking the song/idea a step further with her insane piano playing and composition skills). We wrapped up before we could finish some lyrics as she had to get to a show her boyfriend was playing at the Santa Barbara Bowl with Stevie Nicks (Woah! Are you kidding me?!). Plus, I had to get going to my show up in Grover Beach… orrrr, so I thought. Actually, just as I was getting set to go, I got a call and an e-mail from the promoter that the show had been cancelled. (Grrr…)

This place rocks! So happy I found it on my way back from LA...

What to do? Well, I started to hitting the phones and the internet trying to find some options. Jenni found what seemed to be a cool songwriter contest up in Ventura at Zoey’s Entertainment Loft (really, really cool venue) and I got in touch with my friends up at Live Culture Lounge in Santa Barbara. In any case, it seemed like I could piece something together. In the end, I hauled tail up to Ventura, got the last remaining spot in the the Zoey’s songwriter contest (by cancellation, no less) and actually won! Yep… not bad, eh? I played a new tune called “Hole In My Heart” followed by “I Know”. The judges (three industry folks from LA and Ventura) ate it up and and I got some great feedback. Actually, I had no idea it was going to be like American Idol, so when I finished my songs and suddenly was receiving commentary from the judging panel, I was a little freaked… In the end, none of them had anything to say other than “it’s great… there’s nothing I can say…”. That’s good, right???

After the following nine performers/contestants played, the judges held a conference and chose the top three songwriters. They called me up on stage along with two other performers/songwriters and I won! Plus, I won $50.00 and an automatic entry into the finals in November to compete for $1,000 grand prize and recording time at a reputable Ventura studio.

In any case, after chatting with a few folks, I cruised up to Live Culture Lounge in Santa Barbara to jam out at Live Culture Lounge, where I played earlier in the week. (Thanks, Darin and Sierra for hosting me so last minute!) Darin, one of the owners of the venue, sat in on cajon and CRUSHED IT. It was SO much fun… plus, his buddy, Dylan, sat in on piano for a few tunes and we had a really great time. Plus, jamming on the the 11′-high stage is always a ton of fun.

Afterwards, I headed back to Darin’s pad, we baked some frozen pizzas, watched some ridiculous horror/thriller movie called “Species” and finally crashed out at around 4:00am. (Sound familiar?!) As I was falling asleep in a nice, comfy bed, I thought that the night turned out pretty darned well considering I started off with a cancelled gig and no alternatives earlier in the night adding some meat to the line, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. Indeed…

Yes, it’s true… Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles DOES have really, really, really good Chinese food. Mm… Anyway, after a really fun time in Santa Barbara and minimal sleep (that’s what a three/four am bed time will do for ya) it was fun to get down to Los Angeles on Tuesday, August 2nd and play this favorite spot of mine on North Fairfax. The sound is generally really good, and the food makes it even better.

The myth, the legend, the Genghis...

Anyway, I caught up earlier in the day with buddy, fraternity brother, and movie writer Jesse Johnston. We hadn’t caught up in a while and got together a little lunch meeting at this amazing Mexican place he introduced me to at The Farmer’s Market in the Fairfax neighborhood in LA.  It turns out that Jesse just finished what appears to be a really amazing script. I can’t tell you anything about it (hey, I promised him I wouldn’t tell) but it sounds AWESOME. I really hope it sells and that he gets to shoot it… it sounds so good. (Good luck, Jesse! And, by the way… if you get it placed, make sure you license one of my songs for the soundtrack!)

Later on in the afternoon, I met up with singer-songwriter Jenni Alpert. I met Jenni after a gig at Room 5 Lounge a while back and we stayed in touch with the goal of trying to do some writing. Long story short, she has an amazing voice and is a great pianist. We worked out a couple of arrangements for “Hard As I Try” and a new song of mine “Hole In My Heart” for the night and she joined me on stage later that night at Genghis Cohen. Turns out that it went really well! (Thanks for joining, Jenni!)

A bunch of LA friends posted for the show, which was awesome, and we had a good time catching up after my set. I threw back a few pot stickers for good measure and then crashed with my friend Kate for the evening on, perhaps, the most comfortable air mattress I have ever tried (well, it’s only the second one I’ve ever slept on, but still… it was pretty awesome). Thanks to everyone for such great support at the show! (Onnie, you rock and your cookies are AMAZING! Mm!)