Damon McLaughlin

Frontman for alternative group Red Star Rebellion, Damon McLaughlin is an artist whose moody music ranges across genres, staking its claim only as his own. While an audience will hear folk in his music, will hear rock and jazz, he maintains a lovely flavor of song that rarely strays into the stereotypical and predictable. Some listeners prefer his straight-ahead pop tunes, others his progressive work. Influenced by bands such as the Grateful Dead and Blind Melon, by solo artists such as Tom Waits and Larry Meyers, McLaughlin is an original mix of the many artists who have come before him.

Originally a singer in a host of college bands, McLaughlin picked up the guitar when one such group collapsed, and he was suddenly in need of a new guitarist. Like many musicians, McLaughlin is self-taught. As a consequence, his feel for rhythm and melody is rooted solidly in his fingers and throat -- not in tablature -- and you can hear it in his music. His songs are idiosyncratic and interesting while maintaining good ear-appeal.

Although McLaughlin has not put out any albums of his own, several of his bands have, as recently as November 2009, released full length and EP length albums. Additionally, he is a well-published poet with work in several anthologies -- such as "The Best New Poets of 2005" and "Red, White, and Blues: Poets on the Promise of America." His first poetry collection, "Exchanging Lives," was published in the Spring of 2008 by The Backwaters Press.