Chi McClean

After more than 15 hours of travel yesterday, I finally made it back to San Francisco with both guitars, safe and sound. What a great trip! I can thank my friends, family and fans enough for their support this past week in New York.

The packed house at The Bitter End on Thursday, September 17th was amazing and it was so great to see all of you out and about at one of New York City’s most historic music venues. While the following morning was a little rough, a beautiful drive up to Hamilton, NY to do a radio interview and live on-air performance on Colgate University’s WRCU was an absolute blast. David Pokorny and James Gerken (along with Will, the engineer) were outstanding and have really turned up the level of college radio up there. Nice work, guys!

Afterwards, I enjoyed a few hours performing at one of Hamilton, NY’s finest coffee houses, The Barge Canal. Great sound system, great venue, and a great crowd rounded out the night. Thanks, Susan! Of course, a few slices from New York Pizzeria pretty much topped the evening along with blocking in the local sheriff at his own driveway (sorry, officer!). To boot, Virgin America and United Airlines treated me really well and took good care of my guitars! Both trips were easy and both airlines made special exceptions to get my gear on board (not down below). Shoot, on the way out, my guitars flew first class while I was in the back with the screaming babies!

In any case, it was a great trip, I met a ton of great folks, and had an absolute blast reconnecting with old friends from home. Right now, I’ll be heading back to New York for a live television interview/performance on the CBS morning show “The Early Show” on November 28th. I’m hoping to book end that date with a few live performances, so stay tuned for more info! Thanks again for all of your support, everyone. See ya next time!

Well, the conference is over! It was a great two days filled with phenomenal panels, workshops, guest performers, and more. I learned a lot, got some great feedback on my material, met some really interesting and helpful folks, and I am already using what I learned while working on some new tunes this morning before heading to New York for a few shows this week. Be sure to check out www.westcoastsongwriters.org for more info. It’s a great organization and a great resource for musicians and songwriters alike here in California. See you in New York!

Day one of two for the West Coast Songwriters Conference is finished! After more than 12 hours of music, panels, workshops, song screenings, and performances, I am tuckered out. I got a chance to play in front of Merl Sanders and Elliot Cahn in the morning, which was so much fun. Afterwards, Elliot introduced me to Steve Seskin (turn on just about any country music station and you’ll hear one of his songs performed by any number of popular country stars) who gave me some great feedback on my songwriting, too. In addition, there were some great voice and performance coaches there and a number of other really great folks from the songwriting community – all available to lend their support to us emerging/aspiring songwriters here in Northern California. At the end of the day, we heard live performances from some great songwriters (Steve Seskin, included). What a great way to cap the day’s events! Looking forward to tomorrow’s panels, workshops, and performances! Check out www.westcoastsongwriters.org for more details on the conference.

Thank you to everyone who voted for me online during the first round of the Taylor Guitars and Elixir Strings sponsorship contest! I ended up in the Top 25 at #21 (but sometimes it’s #22 – it keeps changing for some reason?), thanks to your help! It’s now all a waiting game as the Taylor Guitars and Elixir Strings artist relations teams review the Top 25 artists from the first round and pick the Top 5 to advance to the next and final round. Keep your fingers crossed! However it all shakes out, thank you all so much for your ongoing support and encouragement. Without your help and your votes, I wouldn’t have come this far! Stay tuned for more updates, but the word on the street is that they judging panel should come to a final decision by September 15th.

Just confirmed is a new date back home in San Francisco with the full band! On Friday, August 21st, Chi and the band will be tearing it up at the legendary Red Devil Lounge on the corner of Polk St. and Clay St. in San Francisco, CA. The evening starts at 9:00pm with a guest opener, then KFOG Local Music Scene VI artist Mike Gibbons (click to here to listen to Mike’s tunes) at 10:00pm, and then at 11:00pm, Chi and the band will be rockin’ your socks off with tracks from “Something Out There” as well as some new ones for your listening pleasure. Tickets can be purchased in advance for just $8.00 at TicketWeb or for $10.00 at the door on the night of the show. We expect to sell out the venue as this will be Chi’s first full-band set in San Francisco in some time, so be sure to pick up your tickets now and secure yourself a spot at the show!

PS: Don’t forget to keep voting for Chi at http://testdrive.taylorguitars.com/BandProfile.aspx?c=7664&p=325 so he and the band can win a sponsorship from Taylor Guitars and Elixir Strings! It’s easy to do and your support will be a big help. Remember, you can vote every single day from now through August 31st!

No, I’m not running for president… I am in the running for a sponsorship from Taylor Guitars and Elixir Strings, though! As most of you know, I pretty much play my Taylor 814ce exclusively. The thing rocks, but hey… I could sure use another one with all those alternate tunings! Long story short, Taylor Guitars and Elixir Strings are hosting a contest where indie artists can win a gear and recording sponsorship and you can help by voting for me! Simply visit http://testdrive.taylorguitars.com/BandProfile.aspx?c=7664&p=325 enter some brief information, and click vote! It’s easy to do, takes under a minute to complete the process, and will be a big help for me and the band as we continue to build up steam here in SF and across the US. Note that you can vote every day, now through August 31st, but you can only vote once per day. Sooo…. make sure you add the link above to your “favorites” and be sure to visit it and cast your vote each and every day, now through August 31st! Thanks for your support, everyone! I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

After a fews shows down in Los Angeles and a brief break to spend some time outdoors in Colorado, I’m back and working on some new material. Pro Tools is fired up, the guitars are at the ready, and pen and paper are scribbling away. Looking forward to sharing the new stuff with you guys!

Well, the band has finally made it down to Los Angeles, the troops are rallying, and Chi and the guys are getting excited to rock Club Good Hurt tonight, July 23rd from 11:30pm-12:15am. Be sure to swing on by if you’re in town to see the first full-band performance for Chi and the gang in the Los Angeles area. Tickets are $10 at the door and there are a number of other great acts on the bill beforehand. As always, copies of “Someting Out There” will be on sale and limited edition stickers will be on hand for free while they last. Come on down and say “Chi”.

PS: If anyone knows of any good surf in the area, do tell. The guys are looking to get some waves before the show and, with a new South swell in the water, there’s probably no better spot to be in than Los Angeles!

Chi and the gang are getting excited to head down to Los Angeles for two shows this week. The truck is packed, the gear is loaded, and I-5 doesn’t stand a chance. The first stop is Room 5 Lounge tomorrow (Tuesday 7/21) from 8:00-9:00pm. Check out www.room5lounge.com for show details, location info, directions, etc. This will be a solo acoustic set in an intimate little venue. Cover for the Room 5 Lounge set will be just $6.00.

The second show will be this Thursday, 7/23 at Club Good Hurt from 11:30pm-12:30am with the full band (that’s guitar, bass, organ, and drums). Check out www.goodhurt.net for show details, location info, directions, etc. This will be a rockin’ show. Cover is $10.00 at the door for the Club Good Hurt set and there are 5 other bands playing that night – should be a blast! If you’re in LA, swing on by to one of both of these venues and be sure to say hi!

Next week, Chi is headed to Los Angeles, CA for a two shows: one solo-acoustic set and one with the full band. The first will take place at Room 5 Lounge (www.room5lounge.com) on Tuesday, July 21st at 8:00pm. The second will be at Club Good Hurt (www.goodhurt.net) on Thursday, July 23rd at 11:30pm. Both locations are great venues and phenomenal places to see live music with two entirely different vibes. Be sure to mark these dates on your calendar and check one or both out for two completely different performances. For a mellower, acoustic vibe, check out Room 5 Lounge on Tuesday, 7/21. If you want to rock out and hear the full band, be sure to make it to Club Good Hurt on Thursday, 7/23. Whatever you choose, we’ll hope to see you soon!