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Live Review
McGrath Goes out as trio at the PooP DecK in FtWorth
Prepping for their upcoming tour to promote the release of their latest SonyCD , McGrath did a strip down show , at the Poop Deck sporting a smaller more rock /blues style lineup and doing many of the song's off the new CD. The band that has been known for it's pop sound ,gave a great example of it's ability to rock!.Gary on guitar smoking up a mean lick.
On bass Jay is a white boy with soul , did some great singing on some, motown, and disco tunes, as well as laying down some very kick ass licks on his 5 string bass. Putting the beat behind this whole (wall of sound )was jake on drums. Solid steady and always on time,these guy's put out a big sound for a small line up.
This premiere of Gary McGrath's latest project, a 3-piece band . Made a sultry, but energetic show, full of energy and charisma.On this night they were a real dance band. Both guitarist and bassist sang, and without a female singer, they were less pop, and more like a real rock band. All three of them displayed a tremendous amount of talent- Gary even used a beer bottle as a slide which the crowd loved. They covered songs by Robert Palmer and Eddie Cochran. They also did The Violent Femmes' "Blister in the Sun," The Black Crows' "Hard to Handle Now," The Beatles' "Dear Prudence," Sublime's "What I Got," Aerosmith's "Walk This Way," KC and the Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight," John Lee Hooker's "Mustang Sally," Jerry Lee Lewis' "Johnny Be Good," and McGrath's own "Hey Baby, Ho Baby." He gave his voice a rest with the instrumental, ' "Wipeout," and they finished with "Play that Funky Music, White Boy," which they added some tricks to, making it a grand finale.
-Grady Smith, Ftworthmusic.com Editor .
Dallasmusic.com - Grady Smith, Ftworthmusic.com
A kick ass band!!!
author: Dallasmusic.com
Local Show band MCGRATH brought something extra fun to the pre game shows parties for the Ft. Worth Cats this season. The Cats were very lucky to have been able to have gotten such a kick ass band! The band must be baseball fans because they were kicking ass with hits from the 50's to present along with originals in 100 degree heat. The bands fine selection of songs toped with four part harmonies made them my new favorite live band in Texas.
- Dallasmusic.com
Live review of McGrath:
Review by: FNU LNU
November 6th brought the original members of "McGrath" back to Cowtown!
The room was pumped for the return of this perennial bar band. With the first chord of Santana's "Evil Ways" you could almost smell the straight scotch in the air.
Or I guess I could, because that's what the jerk next to me spilled on me when he jumped up to dance. (Does scotch stain?) At any rate, the band was rocking! Of course with a line up like: Drummer Steve Froese (Quazi and the Motos, Sofa King), Keyboard wizard Andrew , Bass and guitarest Andy P. (Greg Westfall and the Texas Theater) and McGrath's original female vocalist Katherine Hackett, the vocals were outstanding and incredibly tight. The energy was high and you could tell that these folks were comfortable with each other. The one surprise of the evening was the announcement by McGrath that he was giving away his new CD which he had made in LA. In a bizarre turn of events Ms. Texas Latina took the stage and thanked everyone she could think of. All I remember is; I think that McGrath himself said it best: "Her crown is bigger that my ego!" The real treasure of the evening was the vocal performance of Drummer Steve Froese. He was nailing vocals as diverse as "Brickhouse", "Brown eyed girl" and "Margaretaville". He needed to sing more. The real let down of the evening was McGrath's guitar playing was random, at times inappropriate to the song; lack-luster at best. Vocals were his strong suite. Having seen McGrath before I found him much more engaging than in shows past, so maybe the move to LA was good for him in that respect. Andrew was in great voice as well as his Keyboard playing it was phenomenal! I was surprised to see local guitar hero Pooch Amy (Quazi, Pooch and Me ) in the crowd. I went over and talked to him, and he remarked that Andy was excellent on bass! I had seen him with Greg Westfall before so I was surprised when I realized that it was the same dude that plays lead guitar with Texas Theater! He and Gary switched off on bass and guitar which was cool. As they were getting ready for the last set my reporter's spidey senses went into high gear! - Dallasmusic.com
Discography
Music, Education? 2002 GB Records, Inc.
Insomniatic Daydream GB Records, Inc. / Sony 2003
Beginnings GB Records, Inc. 2007
songs on Ungly Radio.com "Read Your Mind" and "Where You Belong" videos for both songs also on You Tube.com
Photos
Bio
Originally formed in 2000, McGrath began their career by opening for The Loving Spoonful, Foghat, and Firefall at the Muscle Car Ranch in Chickasay, Oklahoma.
A year later, they did the same venue with Jefferson Airplane headlining the show. They followed up that success with a US Military tour of South Korea as the backup band for Penny Gilley. For their patriotism and ability to cheer the troops, the band was bestowed the Military Welfare and Recreation Award for Excellence
In 2002, the band did a tour of Indian reservation casinos throughout the United States in support of their original CD "Music, Education?" and sold a total of approximately 4,000 units out of the back of a Jeep Cherokee.
2003 brought with it opening for random acts throughout the United States, including Blues Traveler, The Outfield, Foghat, and Peter Tork and the Monkees. Their second CD, "Insomniatic Daydream," was released and videos for their singles "Where You Belong" and "Read Your Mind" were put into rotation on MTV 2.
After a two year hiatus from touring while they worked on writing and recording, the band is looking forward to heading back out on the road to perform for their fans and support their third album. With a total of over 20,000 units sold of their first two original discs, they are hoping to surpass that success and reach even more potential audiences around the world.
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