Jake McVey

Jake McVey is working his way to the big time.

Friday, McVey and his new band will perform at the Stockyard, 302 E. Highway 78, in Wayland, filming a live performance video. A professional film crew from Indianapolis, Ind., will be on site to shoot two videos.

The first video will be used for promotional purposes and for the Web. The second will be a music video, "Anything is Possible," McVey's first single to be released from his new album. This song will be released to the radio in early spring with a CD to follow in late spring.

McVey, a Nashville recording artist, has been named to the "Top 10 Touring Acts" chosen by Billboard Magazine, and his song "Unknown Highway" was No. 1 on the Indie Charts for five weeks. McVey and his band tour full-time across the United States, and performed more than 300 shows in 2008.

Friday's concert begins at 9 p.m., with McVey performing fan favorites as well as some from the new CD. There will be drawings for free T-shirts and merchandise throughout the night.

Cover charge is $7.

For more information, visit www.the-stockyard.com or call (319) 548-1999...

Deb Bean contributed to this report. - The Hawkeye - February 12, 2009

August/September Issue
2009 The Cream Of The Crop
Nashville's Unsigned Country Artists

By Staff & Affiliated Writers of Nashville Music Guide

All rights reserved
Copyright August/September 2009 Nashville Music Guide

Jake McVey has been touring professionally for 3 years and he performs over 300 shows per year touring with his band all over the country. Jake has opened shows for many national acts including: Darius Rucker, Sugarland, Ty Herndon, Jason Aldean, Martina McBride, Pat Green and Dierks Bentley. In additon Jake has started a "Pay it Forward" tour in which he performs free shows for nursing homes, hospitals, veterans, and other deserving organizations to give back to the communities he visits while on tour. His new Album ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE will be released in August 2009 with the first single release to radio entitled, “Red Lined And Wasted”. Jake McVey is truly a star on the rise and an artist to watch as he pursues his career in music.

http://www.nashvillemusicguide.com/nmg_007.htm - Nashville Music Guide

Local rising country music star Jake McVey likes to smile a lot.

Maybe it's just his nature. If his please-and-thank-you manners aren't enough to make random strangers grin, then his open boyish face usually does the trick.

But it's more likely McVey keeps grinning because he smells mainstream success just around the corner. His upcoming music video, which is set to debut on Country Music Television sometime in March, offers proof.

"In five years, I see us on the big stage down at Steamboat Days doing the main Friday night or Saturday night show," McVey said. "I see us as a mainstream country act, doing 300 shows a year."

McVey and his band spent Friday and Saturday shooting their first music video in Wayland with the help of Brenton Murray Productions of Indianapolis, Ind. The concert portion of the video was shot Friday night at the Stockyard, while the rest was shot at the J & J Dairy Den.

"We had the opportunity to shoot it anywhere, and I just wanted to bring something new to the area," McVey said. "I don't know if a music video has ever been shot here."

The video will be used to promote McVey's first single "Anything is Possible" from his upcoming album of the same name. McVey said the idea for the video came from the movie "Pay it Forward," where little acts of kindness culminate into something bigger.

"It's a really neat set-up in a diner. We're going for all those subtle things that lighten your day," McVey said. "One scene is an old man sitting in a booth who has lost his wife, and a little boy gives him a scarf and runs away."

McVey insisted local residents be used in the video.

"We have a neat scene at the end where a guy from the military just got back and is sitting in the diner, and there's his gal in the booth, and we do the old run-and-meet scene. The old classic," McVey said.

McVey discovered his passion for music at an early age, and became well-known through southeast Iowa area thanks to his diligent work schedule. Wherever there was a show or event featuring local music, you were almost guaranteed to find McVey there.

"I sang at weddings and funerals, and wherever I could get my foot in the door. I hammered the area," he said with a laugh. "I was in a lot of bands. At one point in time, I was in five different bands. I had three different versions of my own band."

McVey made it a point to play 300 shows a year, every year, while working a full-time job at LJ Roth Construction of Olds.

"I burnt the candle at both ends for a while. It was rough. You get real tired," he said.

After a few years, McVey decided to pursue his dream. He sold nearly everything he owned -- except a collection of classic guitars, quit his job, bought a bus and started touring the Midwest -- doing 300 shows a year.

"I said forget it, 'I'm just going to jump in the water.' It was the best thing I ever did," he said.

Those first years of touring weren't pretty. McVey was constantly broke and had to sell his classic guitars to keep the tour afloat. He also cycled through a lot of band members who weren't up for McVey's hectic schedule.

"That's the nature of the business," he said. "I've seen a lot of the country. I'm pretty much the only bus driver. I get to the show, help set up, catch an hour catnap and then perform."

McVey became well-known with his band Unknown Highway, which also is the name of his first album. The song was No. 1 on the Indie charts for five weeks and led to McVey's success as a Nashville recording artist. He has written more than 400 songs himself, has co-written with John McCollum, and has written songs for Toby Keith and John Michael Montgomery.

But no matter how big his britches get, McVey feels most comfortable taking them off in southeast Iowa. He graduated from Mediapolis High School in 1999 and made his home in Olds for a number of years.

These days, McVey doesn't really see himself as having a home. He has offices in Wayland and Franklin, Tenn., but his touring schedule leaves him little time to see his family.

"Last year, it was six months before I got to come home and see my family. You miss a lot of holidays and birthdays. But as things get better, you get more freedom," he said.

It should come as no surprise that Billboard Magazine described McVey and his band as the hardest workers in the music industry. It's a title McVey is proud of, and his hard work is starting to pay off with name recognition and fame. During his interview with The Hawk Eye at Perkins restaurant, McVey was spotted by local fans in less than an hour.

"I can't even go into Wal-Mart anymore without somebody recognizing me," he said with a grin.

McVey said those familiar with his first album should feel right at home with "Anything is Possible," which draws from his musical influences that range from Metallica to Johnny Cash to Ray Charles.

"You can definitely tell it's the new Jake through the whole thing. It's got that aspect of an Eagles album, where they touch on everything, and then you have that one stand-out 'Desperado' track," he said. "Part of it is country pop, part of is like today's country, and it gets a little bluesy."

wsmith@thehawkeye.com

- William Smith - The Burlington Hawkeye - February 15, 2009

In July 2007, Mount Pleasant native Jake McVey bought a bus and began touring. He's been hitting the pavement ever since.

"Things have really been busy," said McVey, 27. "We have been touring all over."

McVey is in South Dakota through Saturday, in Montana by Tuesday. He'll be back in Iowa Dec. 19-20. Two shows are planned at the Diamond Jo's Casino in Northwood.

"He has the right attitude, the talent and the looks to become a star," said Rich Bentler, Riverside Casino and Golf Resort entertainment manager. "We could be looking at the next big talent to hit the national market."

McVey tries to play locally as much as he can. He often plays at the Riverside Casino.

McVey's been playing professionally for six years. Since summer 2007, music has been his sole occupation.

He independently recorded his debut album, "Unknown Highway," in Nashville in 2006. The album features such songs as "Love being Loved," "Unknown Highway," "Next to My Ex-Wife's Heart" and "I Like That."

The rising country star has had the privilege of opening for some big stars; McVey played with Martina McBride in 2007 and Sugarland in 2008.

"We work really, really hard and it pays off," McVey said. "Last year, we did about 300 shows."

It isn't easy. McVey has missed out on several friends' weddings and other special events. He has to be on the road building a fan base.

"I see a lot of guys, very talented, who just give up," McVey said. "There's a reason they didn't do it."

One of these days, if he's lucky, a break will come. He's been in discussions with a number of record companies.

McVey grew up around music. His father played drums, his mother piano. McVey began singing publicly at age 9.

Though McVey always knew he wanted to make his living as a singer, following the advice of family, he attended the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix. There he learned how to build and repair acoustic and electric guitars. McVey still builds guitars on the side, when he can find spare time.

McVey performs with Scott Lange on drums, Brian Lowe on guitar and vocals, and Barth Walter on bass.

McVey refers to his style as "new country."

"It is the sound of today, what you are going to hear on the radio," he said. "It's country with a little bit of rock."

In 2005, McVey was nominated for the Illinois Country Music Association's new male vocalist award.

McVey plans to release a sophomore album in late winter.

"It will be a lot different, a lot more of what is going on now," McVey said comparing albums. "My first was more traditional."

The title track of the first album, "Unknown Highway," charted No. 1 for five weeks on the Indie Music chart. "Love Being Loved" charted No. 10.

To date, McVey's sold about 4,000 copies of "Unkown Highway," a number that is good for an independent album.

With no plans to slow down, McVey aspires to sell even more copies of his sophomore release.

"I've always worked hard," McVey said. "It's the Iowa way."

- Deanna Truman • Iowa City Press-Citizen • October 16, 2008