Chi McClean

The home of the famous "fries inside" sandwiches... Insane!

After more than a week of no voice and canceled gigs due to a crazy cold / laryngitis that absolutely crushed me, I made my comeback at Giordano Bros. on Thursday evening, January 19th as part test, part kick-off gig for my current California run of shows. The voice felt pretty good and, despite the rain and less than desirable weather conditions outside, I had a fun audience for the night.

I played through my usual set of original material with a few classic covers sprinkled in for kicks and, after a while, this girl sat down in front of the performance area, smiled, and started singing along… She looked awfully familiar, but the person I thought she looked like lives in Ventura, CA was scheduled to perform with me this coming Monday, January 23rd at Zoey’s Café, so it couldn’t possibly be her. Then, just as I was about to ask if she had a twin living in Ventura, she smiled and I knew right then that it was Lainey Taylor. Lainey is a terrific singer/songwriter and has been making waves with her original music down in Southern California. I invited her up to sing a few of her songs and we were all blown away. Keep your eyes on this one… she’s gonna go far.

Ventura, CA artist Lainey Taylor stopped in for a surprise visit during my set and played a few a songs from her upcoming release.

As if that wasn’t enough, right after her songs, I looked to my left and discovered local singer/songwriter Mike Gibbons sitting right next to me! Heck, I’d been playing for two hours straight at that point anyway, had one of those crazy Giordano Bros. sandwiches in front of me, and to tell ya the truth, I really wanted to hear what Mike had been up to, so I offered him the stage for a few tunes. With a smile and an “Uh, I don’t know, man…”, Mike took the stage and proceeded to crush it… Awesome. If you don’t know Mike, ya should. He has been a featured KFOG 104.5 FM artist as part of their Local Scene program and has played all over the States. He’s got a couple really great songs that have been receiving some airplay and has carved out a really nice foothold for himself in the songwriter scene.

SF singer/songwriter Mike Gibbons taking the stage for a few tunes and doin' it right!

So, if you don’t know about Giordano Bros., you’ve probably been wondering this whole time, “What the heck are these sandwiches all about?!” Well, I’ll tell ya… straight out of Pittsburgh, PA, these guys make these ridiculously awesome sando’s on Italian bread with your choice of Italian meat (ham, seasoned turkery, coppa, etc.), cole slaw, fries, salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar. They are a perfect little slice of heaven. Be careful, though… you might get addicted (see below).

See what I mean? These sando's at Giordano Bros. in San Francisco, CA's North Beach District are AWESOME!

All in all, it was a terrific start to my coastal run of shows to wrap up January 2012. The voice felt strong and like it was nearly 100% after that terrible bout with that cold / laryngitis, and I had a ton of fun… Be sure to keep tabs on my Shows Page for upcoming dates in California this month. I’ll be hitting Half Moon Bay, Palo Alto, Paso Robles, Ventura, Los Angeles, South Pasadena, San Diego, Los Angeles again, then Arcadia with a few interesting stops in between. Hope to see you all out on the road soon!

Hitting the road again, with a smile on my face, this Thursday 1/19 through the end of March here in California. Woot!

This cold has beaten me to a whiny little sliver of the man I once was… but now, I’m on the comeback! Nearly back at 100%, I’ve got my sites set on my mini California tour that kicks off this coming Thursday, January 19th in San Francisco, CA. I’ll be touring from San Francisco (1/19) to Half Moon Bay (1/20), Palo Alto (1/21), Paso Robles (1/22), Ventura (1/23), Los Angeles (1/24), South Pasadena (1/25), San Diego (1/26), Los Angeles again (1/27), and Arcadia (1/31) with a few surprise dates happening along the way and afterwards. It’s going to be a terrific trip at a variety of different venues along the way, so be sure to check out my calendar here and spread the word! In the mean time, I’ll be drinking lots of water and taking a ton of vitamin C to crush the remaining, tail end of this brutal cold that had me down for the count for over a week! (Good riddance!) Looking forward to seeing all you California folks starting this Thursday! It’s gonna be a hoot.

Bad news, folks, but I’m sick as a dawg… The road and the cold season have finally caught up to me and they’re laying into me like a hurricane that has crushed my voice to the point of a squeaky, scratchy sound more similar to a vulture’s caw than a singing voice. So, I had to make a tough call today and cancel this weekend’s performances. I hate to do it, and I always avoid a cancellation at all costs, but I’m just not well enough to make it happen. Sorry for the bad news! If you had planned on swinging by Vida Y Vino Wine Bistro in Fremont, CA this Thursday or Friday night, or if you had planned on coming by Maria Maria in Danville, CA on Saturday, please take note that I will not be performing. Hopefully, I’ll be back at 110% soon, so keep your eyes peeled on my SHOWS PAGE and come on out and see me again soon! Until then, keep taking that vitamin C and stay healthy!

I’m getting pretty psyched to check out this new venue in Half Moon Bay, CA right on the water by the harbor. They’ve got a killer menu, a full bar, huge ceilings (read: really awesome acoustics), and just an all-around cool vibe. I’ll be performing from 6:00pm until 9:00pm this Friday, January 6th and would love to see you there. They’re just kicking off their new music program and this performance is FREE and open to ALL AGES, so make a reservation now by calling (650) 712-1288 or just show up and have a seat at the bar and chill. It’s going to be a fun time and a great way to unwind from the week, so swing on over and let’s have some laughs. Before then, don’t forget to check out my latest release A Thing Or Three on iTunes, CD Baby or, for you audiophiles looking for hi-res audio, DownloadsNow!

The stage at The Wine Bar in Half Moon Bay, CA.

Well, tomorrow, I pack my bags and head out from Colorado to Half Moon Bay, CA to perform at my favorite little coastside listening room, The Wine Bar. Claudia Marshall, proprietor, art and music fan, has made a huge run with this place and has brought together a great local community of artists and musicians along the coast in Half Moon Bay, CA. Tomorrow night, sadly, will be the last shindig at this wonderful place. Claudia is closing up shop and moving on.

The front door at The Wine Bar in Half Moon Bay, CA.

We’ll be sending The Wine Bar off in style with a few hours of live, acoustic music including performances from me, Mark K., Marty Atkinson & Katy Boyd, Jay Howlett & Rolf Wyer, Teddy Randazzo, and Kimberlye Gold & Steve MacKay and Mike McKevitt. The doors open at 8:00pm, wine starts pouring immediately thereafter, and the first act hits the stage at 8:30pm. I go on around 9:00pm, so be sure to get there a little bit beforehand as it’s sure to be pretty crowded. Tickets are just $10.00 for an entire night of music and it is highly recommended that you purchase yours in advance, so visit www.thewinebarhmb.com or call the venue directly at (650) 726-0770 now and lock yours in today. Happy New Year and see you very soon! (21+ ONLY / $10.00)

I met Erica Sunshine Lee just before Thanksgiving 2011 at a songwriter night in San Francisco, CA at one of my favorite venues, Rockit Room. We traded some songs, talked about doing some writing together and, finally, we made it happen. Since we’re both on the road quite a bit as working musicians without much in the way of a permanent home, we found some interesting spots to write: an outdoor park, a back room in a friend’s boutique, a friend’s house (or three), and more… crazy locations, but fun (and surprisingly productive) times given all the moving around. As it turns out, we ended up touring together through Georgia and Tennessee shortly after Thanksgiving, then sharing the stage at a few venues in Northern California, just before Christmas. It’s been a really fun collaboration and we’ve come up with some great songs, including a few duos - one of which actually won an award at the legendary Eddie’s Attic songwriter night in Decatur, Georgia while we were on tour.

Co-Writing session with Erica Sunshine Lee via Skype from New Zealand.

In late December, Erica Sunshine Lee headed over to New Zealand to do her annual tour, but that didn’t stop the writing. Just the other night, we finished an idea I had been toying around with and, then, we dusted another one last night. I hadn’t really used Skype all that much prior to this, but with the slight audio delay aside, it’s a pretty incredible way to be able to keep in touch and, of course, WRITE when two people aren’t in the same town, never mind the same country. So, we’ve been having some fun and cranking though some new tunes including a few duos. Keep your eyes peeled for something pretty special in the next few months. We just might be on to something… In the mean time, be sure to check out Erica’s music at www.EricaSunshineLee.com and stay tuned for her new release, I’m Still Me, which will be dropping in early 2012.

Gimme a room, a guitar, a capo, a tuner, some scratch paper and a laptop and it's on...

Don’t forget to check out my recently released, live, in-studio, solo acoustic album, A Thing Or Three, on iTunes, DownloadsNow! and CD Baby. It’s a raw, real, and intimate recording that’ll make you think you were sitting right there in the studio with me during the session. For super high quality, high resolution downloads to get the most out of the unique, DSD recording technique we used, be sure to visit DownloadsNow! where you can download CD quality audio, ultra high resolution .wav files, or even the highest in quality, DSD audio (for all you audiophiles out there).

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Here’s wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from Colorado. Be safe, have fun, be well, and see you all soon!

10 live, in-studio, solo acoustic tracks. Raw, real, and rootsy.

Well, it’s been out on CD Baby for a little while now, but for all you iTunes fans out there, I’m happy to say that my newest release “A Thing Or Three” is now available on iTunes for your listening pleasure. If you’re ready to check it out, just click right here and watch as you are magically whisked away to Apple’s iTunes purchase page for “A Thing Or Three” where you may stream, preview, purchase, and even write a review! So, what are ya waiting for? Don’t ya want to hear what I’ve been up to recently? Then get on over to iTunes and check this thing out, won’t ya? And then let me know what you think! Thanks to everyone who made this recording possible by attending my performances this past year. “A Thing Or Three” is the best possible recreation of an intimate, live, solo acoustic performance I could make. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed recording it…

So pleased to announce that my new acoustic release “A Thing Or Three” is now available for sale (physical copies and digital downloads) from CD Baby, just in time for the holidays! Check it out online, preview all ten (10) live, in-studio, solo acoustic tracks, and then buy ‘em up! It’s a perfect gift for the acoustic music lover on your holiday shopping list.

Enjoy, happy holidays, and see ya soon!

Totally psysched after winning the songwriters contest at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, GA with our new co-write "Live It Up Now (Free and Easy)".

With a night off during our touring schedule, Erica Sunshine Lee and I decided to head up to Decatur, GA to Eddie’s Attic to try our luck at their song contest series. They were completely booked with the exception of one spot, so we shared it and performed my song “It Don’t Matter” and then Erica sang one of her newest songs “The South Will Rise Again”, which brought the house down. To our surprise, we were asked back up by Tommy, the evening’s host, whereupon we were told “I hope you two have a song together, because you’re up!” We looked at each other, laughed, and then decided to give a new co-write called “Live It Up Now (Free and Easy)” a try… It went off really well and, at the end of the night, we were so pleased to have been named the contest winners! (Photo after being awarded the prize above.) It was a terrific evening, lots of fun, totally unexpected, and well worth the drive up to Decatur, GA!

Erica Sunshine Lee singing her song "The South Will Rise Again" at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, GA.