Ted McKee
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Ted McKee

Charleston, South Carolina, United States | SELF

Charleston, South Carolina, United States | SELF
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"Band keeps the Western Swing Genre Alive"

Special to The Post and Courier
Thursday, February 26, 2009

While introducing his band, Swing Soup, on Saturday night, guitarist and singer Ted McKee lamented the fact that "there isn't a big call for Western swing music here in Charleston."

That's a shame, because compared to the pop drivel that is packaged as country music these days, the Western swing genre is a breath of fresh air, despite the fact that the style peaked back in the late '30s just before World War II.

Combining elements of country, jazz, swing, polka and blues, it can be heard being preserved these days by bands such as Asleep at the Wheel and Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys.

I discovered Western swing in the early '90s after seeing Asleep at the Wheel on "Austin City Limits," and through that band, I became familiar with the genre's best-known performer, Bob Wills, who did more to popularize Western swing than any other performer before or since.

While I haven't exactly immersed myself in the style since discovering it, I do enjoy listening to Western swing, and so when I heard that Gage Hall would be presenting a band that actually played the stuff live, I had to check it out.

Swing Soup has apparently been doing its thing for a while. Although the band's members all play in other bands around town, they all share a common love for Western swing.

Guitarist and singer Ted McKee warmed up the audience at Saturday night's show, playing an easygoing set of originals, including "Hit the Ground Running" and "Rhythm of the Island."

The crowd, which sat at tables spread around the hall in the style of a coffee house, was very receptive of McKee's solo material. After a short break McKee returned to the stage, accompanied by bassist Rodney Stone, drummer Brian Compton and keyboardist Ron William.

Joining Swing Soup that evening was fiddle player Alan Thompson, who regularly plays with the local bluegrass outfit Blue Plantation. I honestly expected the band to play some covers of well-known Western swing songs, but the band surprised me by playing an evening's worth of original music that spanned the genre.

From gypsy swing to waltz to country, the band rolled through more than a dozen originals with titles such as "Desert Moon" and "When the Blue Heron Flies"

During another tune early in the set, "Just a Little Closer," two couples could be seen waltzing in the open space in front of the stage. Highlights from the set included the instrumental "Hummingbird Express," as well as the set closer, "Cowboy State of Mind."

Most of the songs played Saturday night can be found on the band's self-titled CD, which has already won a couple of awards from Western swing and country music groups. Many of the songs sounded as if they could have been covers of older tunes, but that just shows off the songwriting talent of McKee and the individual musician's mastery of their respective instruments.

Kudos to the folks at Gage Hall for continuing to bring a variety of eclectic acts to their monthly coffee house shows. They happen the third Saturday of each month, and you're almost always guaranteed to see an act that expands your musical horizons.

- By Devin Grant


"Ted McKee Review"

By Col. Tamar Alexia Fleishman


"You can’t get more Southern than Ted McKee: his South Carolina ancestor, George Haynesworth, fired the first shot of the Civil War. Ted’s acoustic guitar has a rootsy-Americana feel, with a good deal of bluegrass influence. You can definitely hear this in songs like “Hummingbird Express”. Some of his songs have a more mellow feel, kind of like Gordon Lightfoot.

Ted is certainly versatile: he plays guitar, piano, flute, bass and pennywhistle. In addition to his solo work, Ted plays in 8 (!) bands of different musical genres.

For more information, check out http://www.teddymidnite.com."

- Southern Fried Magazine


"Sneakin’ Around Town with Teddy Midnite"

By Skye Suarez

When Folly Beach resident, singer songwriter, Ted McKee (aka Teddy Midnite) took an early out from his corporate job some years ago, his plan was to make a living with his music and live on the marsh. Heading up 8 different bands of various genres including Sneakers, Swing Soup, Bojamma Blues, Moon Dog, Windwalker, McKee & Stone and Boss Hawg, Ted might be the hardest working musician on the Charleston scene. In addition to playing live gigs 6 to 7 nights a week (sometimes 2 or 3 in one day), he finds time to write songs, arrange music, record in his own studio and still keep a slight hand in the financial planning business that allowed him to ditch the coat and tie. Born in Atlanta to an Army officer, McKee comes from a long line of musicians. He started out playing guitar in a folk duo with his brother on banjo before the boys progressed to rock and roll. The line doesn’t stop with Ted. His 21 year old niece, Bonnie McKee, recently on tour with Ryan Adams, signed a multi-million dollar deal with Sony when she was still in her teens. Bonnie has an album of all original tunes called “Trouble” that is finding a niche on pop stations nationwide.
I first heard Ted McKee play at the Sand Dollar over twenty years ago with his long-time group, “The Silver Dollar Band”. The band played great rockabilly tunes by The Flying Burrito Brothers, Waylon Jennings, Emmy Lou Harris, etc. and featured Deenie McKee on lead vocals. Through the years Ted toured the Southeast playing with various artists such as John Brannen and Jack Williams.
Admirably, McKee has stayed true to his heart in a very tough business. He recently made time to talk about the craft of songwriting and his experiences in the music industry.
SS: What inspires you to write songs?
Ted McKee: “I write a lot about the human condition, people that I meet, mostly about my own conditions. If I have a friend who is in trouble, I can actually feed off his troubles and write a song about it or I’ve also written songs about girls that have come out and danced, just the way that they dance…”

SS: I know you play a lot of original material when you perform, why do you think its worth people’s time to listen?
TM: “I feel like I have a gift of imagery, that I can create colors and images in people’s heads when they hear the lyrics. And people have told me that, and I totally enjoy writing like that because it gives me the same type of sensation. I guess that’s why. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a top hit or anything, at this point in my life it really doesn’t matter to me. It’s an art form and I think it’s the colors that are on my palette at the time.”

SS: How has your songwriting evolved from your early attempts to your latest?
TM: “Well I felt my earlier stuff was more “immaturish” actually. I didn’t consider myself as being an in-depth songwriter and after living through some things and some different influences, I felt that I matured a little. So yeah there’s gonna be a difference and I hope the songs that I write in the next 10 years are different than the songs I just wrote in the last ten.”

SS: Do you have a favorite song that you’ve written?
TM: “I think one of my favorite songs is “Where the Blue Heron Flies” just because I like the way the melody goes. It makes me think of the Low Country and how much I love it here.”

SS: Is that a song you feel could be commercially successful?
TM: “Nashville told me it wasn’t. I had a professional songwriter listen to the song and he wrote a critique. He said he didn’t think it was commercial enough to be successful. But that doesn’t really mean that much to me, you know they have a certain formula. If it doesn’t fit into that formula or that niche, it’s not going to work.”

SS: Do you have any regrets about your music career?
TM: “Yes of course I do. I would like to be in a place where I traveled around and did my own songs and that’s all I did. I guess the biggest regret is that I didn’t educate myself on songwriting as a craft until later on in life. I wish I had done it a lot earlier.”

SS: Who has had the most influence on you as a songwriter and musician?
TM: “Lately it’s been Tom Waits, Steve Earle, and Cole Porter… Bob Dylan, certainly some of my wilder things that I’ve written he kind of inspires me. I like the way Cole Porter puts music together, melodic lines. For the jazz songs that I write, I kind of like it.”

SS: What advice do you have for young singer songwriters just starting out?
TM: “I’d just say listen to a lot and try a lot of different things. You know I do a lot of different genres of music and I write in every genre because I get bored with the same one all the time. It’s like I run out of ideas, then if I go to something else, it renews my inspiration to the one that I just left. Now I’m in another genre, that kind of works…for me. I think everybody’s different.”

In regards to the craft of songwriting and the Nashville formula for a commercial hit, Ted points out that creative writers like Tom Waits and Steve Earle have ignored all the rules and still found success. In his own style, McKee’s prolific songwriting seems to flow as effortlessly as the ocean breeze. This verse from one of the new Swing Soup songs will touch the cowboy in every music lover’s heart:
“There’s a feelin' I get when I look to the west,
And I still hear it callin' to me
With landscapes painted as big as the sky,
The clouds are horses with wild in their eye.
The soft scent of a cactus flower,
Blends with the still of the wind,
The melody of a coyote's call
Haunts me like a long lost friend
Call it a fantasy, call it a dream
Call it a campfire tune
Riding along singing cowboy songs
Howling at the desert moon”
From “Desert Moon” By Ted McKee © 2005

Creating imagery in the minds of listeners with lyrics like those has brought national recognition to McKee and his Western Swing band, “Swing Soup” for their self-titled CD released in 2002, co-produced by Rodney Stone, recorded at Charleston Recording Studio and mastered at The Kitchen in Chapel Hill. Ted was nominated for Best New Male Vocal by The Academy of Western Artists and the band received multiple nominations in 2002 & 2003. “Swing Soup” (www.swingsoup.com) played live at The Boone Hall Bluegrass & BBQ Festival in July and will play at the upcoming PGA tournament on Kiawah. A CD Release party is being planned at The Charleston Music Hall with a local charity in the spring. McKee’s party band, “Sneakers” in tuxedos and black high top Converse is the favorite of “brides to be” around the city. “Bojamma Blues” is a rockin’ blues band regularly playing gigs at Freshfield Farms on Kiawah.
The band members consist of the very kicking rock and roll piano player, Ronnie Williams, and one of Charleston’s most talented musicians, Rodney Stone, on bass guitar, vocals and percussion. Other members of the band include expert drummer, Frank Cothran, talented saxophonist, John Phillips, and Allan Thompson master of the fiddle, mandolin, harmonica, Dobro, & banjo. This group of guys has played with the likes of BTO & Kansas to name a few. All have paid more than their share of dues in what can be a grueling life of load-ins, nameless faces, crappy food, cheesy hotel lounges and long nights on the road…all for the love of music.
As a solo act, “Teddy Midnite” can be heard rippling the ivory every Thursday at The Village Chop House on Shem Creek singing jazzy covers and originals. The eclectic new grass trio “Boss Hawg” with Allan Thompson & Rodney Stone is playing at Seabrook Island regularly. The popular acoustic island duo, “McKee & Stone” play Wednesdays at Jake’s Place. Their following of long-time fans love to sing along to Ted’s song “Rhythm of the Islands” about leaving the corporate world… “No thanks I’m cool, I got a buzz that’ll floor a mule and I’m kickin’ right back waitin’ on my brain to chill”. Cruise by and check it out, chances are your brain needs to chill with some good time island music.


Note:
The Nashville Songwriters Association International meets monthly to go over different techniques and tools for writing songs. The Association is not just for country music writers, it’s for all kinds of writers. They meet monthly at the library on Calhoun St. (532-6160 for details)
Ted McKee’s CD’s are for sale at Cat’s Music, Monster Music, on-line at www.cdbaby.com and www.outboundmusic.com.


- Charleston's Free Time


"CD Review"

CD Review
Mike Gross / WVOF-FM / Fairfield, CT
“The beautiful SC beach country is home to a new and very enjoyable Western Swing band called Swing Soup. They have recorded a fine album of 11 original tunes, all written by the band’s very talented lead vocalist, guitar and mandolin player and album co-producer, Ted McKee.”
“The album opens with a very swinging Magic in the Moonlight and then goes to a smooth local Western Swing atmosphere for Where the Blue Heron Flies. The album contains touches of all moods of western Swing but still stays beautifully in the genre…The final tune is a dandy with a southwest theme titled Cowboy State of Mind.”

CD Review
Joe Baker / KWES FM / Ruidoso, NM
“I can remember the first time I ever heard this style of “Swing” music several years ago, I was introduced to a sensational group called Hot Club of Cowtown. SWING SOUP has a distinctive and refreshing up beat style, all their own. My ears really perk up when I hear swingin’ original music. There’s no standard cuts on this CD, folks.”
“My very first thought as I heard this CD was “Lookout for Number Two!” I am very impressed with SWING SOUP as this great group finds a place on Joe Baker’s Backforty Bunkhouse Show. The self-titled CD “Swing Soup” needs to be in your library today.”


- Western Artists


"Party 411"

The Sneakers, “The Ticket For Great Entertainment” are a 4 piece professional party band that performs over 100 weddings or private parties annually dressed in tuxedos and black high top Converse tennis shoes (hence the name “Sneakers”).
Year Band Formed: 1989
Current Members:
Ted McKee (Teddy Midnite) – Guitar/Vocals
Rodney Stone – Drums/Vocals
Ronnie Williams – Keys/Vocals
Jon Phillips – Sax/Vocals
Genre: Party Cover Band
Ted: “Our sound is full… full of energy and originality. If the party is going strong, we start one song as the previous one ends. We cover all the genres. Reading the crowd is an art in itself and I feel we excel in that department. We are there to work, but having fun at work is the secret to it all.”
CFT: What led to the transition from clubs to private gigs?
Ted: “I actually started the band with Max Moore and Robert McNeill back in 1989. We were playing clubs but because Robert and I were in the Counts (a popular beach band across the state), we started picking up parties that could not afford the Counts. After years of cultivating the, weddings, debutante balls, birthday parties, reunions and any excuse to have a party business, we found ourselves playing less club gigs and making more money.
Advice for those looking to break into the Party circuit:
Ted: “My advice to any band that wants to get into this circuit is to learn a lot of material and deliver it with dynamic energy and hand out cards.”

- Charleston's Free Time


"SONGWRITERS TALK, PERFORM TONIGHT AT THE C of C"

The College of Charleston's songwriters series sprang out of the annual writers conference hosted by the English Department throughout the 1990s. When folkie legend Tom Paxton passed through twice in the middle of the decade, Creative Writing department founder Paul Allen decided to begin hosting an annual songwriters' series. Up to this point, the series has played host to some of the more outstanding contemporary songwriters around, notably New England tunesmiths Josh Ritter and Bill Morrissey.
This year's installment will be a round table featuring four songwriters to take place tonight at Physicians Auditorium on the College's campus. Local talents Ted McKee, Jay Miley, Michael Flynn and Frank Carlier will all perform tonight.
I spoke with Allen, the concert organizer, about the show.
Preview: How did you decide on these four guys?
Paul Allen: "Michael (Flynn) is a songwriter's songwriter. He is one of the best lyricists and musicians I know. His songs are surprising, funny and heart wrenching. Besides, he is a former student from the College of Charleston. After graduating, he went to the famous Berklee School of Music in Boston and played Boston and New York a lot. Now, he has moved back down here, and I'm glad. His lyrical twists and turns remind me of a cross between Paul Simon and Randy Newman. That's as high a praise for songwriting as I can offer. But he still is all Michael.
"Ted's (McKee) newest album 'Swing Soup' is a terrific turn for him. He'd been doing a roots/acoustic thing and has moved more into western swing. He's incredibly versatile.
"Jay (Miley) plays a bluesy folk with some jazz and rock progressions thrown into the mix. It's a true here's-what-it-is kind of thing. He lays it out simply but not simplistically.
Good lyrics with a 'real' quality to the music. Nothing fake or artificial there. His just released album, 'Last Man Standing,' is terrific.
"Frank Carlier's music is well known here and abroad. He's a multitalented musician, stunning in his mastery of several instruments.
He teaches lessons at Mount Pleasant Music. Frank is the kind of music man that in another time we might see in roadhouses and on foyers to bawdy houses -- a gruffness polished by years on the road and playing for folks who need someone to mirror their rough lives."
P: What makes the event special?
Allen: "These guys are true pros. You might get this sort of treat in Nashville regularly, but it's rare in Charleston that four such pros can get together for a single night's performance. A couple of them had to turn down gigs just to do this show."
P: Where will it be and how much does it cost?
Allen: "It's in the Physicians Auditorium in the Science Center at the College of Charleston at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday (tonight). It's $8 general admission and $5 for students of any kind."
P: Don't you teach a songwriting class?
Allen: "Not a 'Song Writing' class, but a class on 'Writing Song Lyrics,' in the summer. That grew out of what I saw might be a need for our students, trying to help them with some poetic elements of song lyrics. I've been stunned at how much the students have taught me. We've got some terrific songwriters.
Before he went on to Berklee, Michael Flynn did some of his songs as his senior symposium project. Owen Evans, of Beverly Owens, is another. There are too many to name. But that course is a matter of all of us teaching each other. I'm very proud of them."
By Ashford Tucker

- Post & Courier


"In Search of the Nashville Skyline"

Singer songwriter Lorna Roberts is the local coordinator for the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) group along with Danny Meadows. Lorna recently took the time to explain the details of the organization as well as the benefits.
CFT: First off, let’s dispel the myth. Is NSAI just for songwriters who write "country" songs?
Lorna: NSAI is actively working to protect the rights of ALL songwriters, in ALL genres, so in that respect, no, NSAI is for everyone. Having said that, Nashville is still
predominately a Mecca for songwriters writing country or gospel or Americana
music, although a host of other folks live in Nashville now, including
Sheryl Crow and Donna Summers.
CFT: What is NSAI and what are the benefits of membership?
Lorna Roberts: Nashville Songwriter's Association International is the largest songwriting organization in the country. One of its main objectives is to help protect the legal rights of professional songwriters. NSAI was instrumental in Congress passing
the Songwriter's Capital Gains Tax Equity Act in Jan., 2007; so that
songwriters now pay 15% instead of the 40% they were paying in taxes when
they sold their catalogs. Another of its main goals is to help develop and
educate people so they can become better songwriters. Current members can send up to 12 songs a year to be evaluated by pros. We also do critiques in our local workshop. NSAI has monthly "Pitch to Publisher" nights in Nashville that all members can participate in and yearly song contests anyone can enter.
CFT: You recently attended a week long event called Tin Pan South in Nashville. How do you feel it helped you?
Lorna: It was awesome! I saw ten shows in five days! I always love Tin Pan South shows, because the actual songwriters sing their songs and tell the stories behind the songs. I come back inspired to write MORE songs and BETTER songs, to work HARDER and not give up. One of the Saturday night shows featured a guy named Barry Dean, who has had cuts by Martina McBride and Reba. He and I went to Song Camp 201 together and here he was sitting on stage, singing his hits. What's the difference between him and me? First of all, he's hugely talented, but besides that, he was really DRIVEN to succeed - he's worked really hard on his writing AND he moved to Nashville. Seeing him inspired me to take it more seriously.
In addition to Lorna, several other Charleston based songwriters stepped up to the plate to provide their insight. Carroll Brown is the previous owner of Charleston Recording Studio now owned by singer songwriter Jay Miley. Carroll started the Monday Songwriter’s Night at his restaurant, The Oceansong Café. After it closed, Chad Luik at Sunfire Grill & Bistro encouraged the group to move West Ashley. David Moulton, a regular participant on Mondays is a published author and a songwriter. His experiences in life lend an interesting twist to his many songs. Steve Schultz is a relatively new face on the NSAI scene but his exceptionally positive attitude is inspiration itself. Ted McKee is a Charleston based musician who as noted in past issues of CFT writes and plays in almost every genre of music on guitar and piano. His all original CD, Swing Soup was nominated for 5 awards by the National Academy of Western Music. Ted himself was nominated for Best New Male Vocalist. The CD continues to sell worldwide on CD Baby.
CFT: Why did you become involved with NSAI?
Lorna: I was impressed with the number of programs that NSAI offered to aspiring songwriters; especially, I liked the fact that we could establish a LOCAL workshop and learn more right here in Charleston without having to go to Nashville, L.A. or New York.
Carroll Brown: I joined in Nashville to help with networking and meeting writers. My friend Richard Leigh was president at the time and encouraged me to join.
David Moulton: I first joined NSAI in Southern California in the late 1980s in an effort to learn all I could about songwriting and the music business.
Steve Schultz (Dr. Steve): To learn proper songwriting formats in order for the listener to better connect with the lyrics and melody line. Also to be more integrated with serious songwriters developing a craft based on proven techniques.
Ted McKee: To make contacts, get inspired, and get professional feedback on my songs.
CFT: What impact has it had on you as a songwriter?
Lorna: I feel like I'm a stronger writer and able to write more commercial songs now because of the NSAI classes, “Songposiums” and song camps I've attended. I also love the feedback I've gotten from people in the business who are affiliated with NSAI -
people I would not have access to if not for NSAI.
Carroll: The local monthly meetings are difficult for me to attend, and the "lessons" are a bit 'general' but the fun and kinship are a great source of support. When I'm in Nashville, the meetings there are very specific and useful, especially at the "pro" level. (There are two types of membership, amateur & pro)
David: Songwriting like all art forms has a craft side. NSAI is one place where you can learn that craft.
Dr. Steve: Very positive. An educated songwriter is an empowered songwriter.
Ted: NSAI has motivated me to write and listen to other songwriters. As a result I’ve learned to develop my lyrics into songs that paint a picture and have commercial appeal.
CFT: How do you promote your songs?
Lorna: The ten-million dollar question! If you're trying to capture a publisher's attention, the BEST way to promote yourself and your music is to MOVE to either Nashville or L.A. or New York, depending on what genre you write, or visit as often as you can, because networking and meeting people is hugely important to success in the music business. It goes without saying that you don't want to make that move until you understand how to write the best songs you possibly can, which is where NSAI can help.
Carroll: On the internet and at gigs mostly on the local level. But I pitch songs to artists and producers and publishers when I go to Nashville.
David: I am working on a 15 song CD, but had to postpone it due to an accident last December. I hope to resume later this year.
Dr. Steve: I hit the local scene, do private parties, and "crawl out from under my rock" to do shows like Piccolo Spoleto and charity events which are in line with my musical path. I occasionally back up my wonderful fiancé, Skye Paige, our local rockabilly& slide blues guitar diva.
Ted: I've sent out songs to Taxi, a service that sends out songs to publishers for a fee and returns professional critiques. I also enter songwriting contests that might give me more exposure. One of my agents has set up a website for me and a Sonicbids account. Although there are associated costs, Sonicbids offers EPK’s (Electronic Press Kits) and that is becoming the preferred method for a lot of festivals and contests.
CFT: What kind of response have you received to your songs from NSAI?
Lorna: They're getting more favorable all the time, but I don't have any cuts yet. You have to be able to handle rejection and criticism if you're going to attempt to get your songs heard by a national audience. It helps to have a sense of humor… and to have a support system, for when things don't go the way you want them to. Actually, our local NSAI chapter is a big part of my support system.
Carroll: They seem to be well received by fellow writers locally, but I've never really gotten past first base in Nashville, with the NSAI or otherwise. I'm not there enough to attend enough meetings to become known at NSAI.
Ted: The feedback I’ve gotten is for the most part very constructive but no contract (yet). Locally we have started a small support group aside from NSAI that is also helpful. Like Lorna I came back from Tin Pan South with renewed determination to write and promote my songs. NSAI will review 12 songs a year for members and I plan to make better use of my membership this year.
CFT: What original song of yours should we look for to hit the charts?
(Lorna wasn’t asked this question but she’s got a great bluesy pop song about Elvis hiding in a limo eating fried chicken and ham.)
Carroll: I don't now expect to hit that mark, but I've written a few good enough to be a hit......"Footloose & Nancy Free" and "Man in My Mirror"
David: A song called “Traveling Light.”
Dr. Steve: There's one called "Swish" that could be used by the NBA or the Cheeto’s guys. Then there's one called "Street Meat" that I'm looking at cutting and putting into the parody song market...the song is about eating “roadkill”. I think Ted's gonna hit first, maybe Jay Miley, but I've got a good shot at making this stuff work.
Ted: I would say, "If I Could" or "Its Over". With the right break maybe one will land on a Kenny Chesney CD. I have written songs in a lot of genres and I’m currently pushing some of my Island Rock songs to a contact on Sirius radio.
CFT: What advice do you have for aspiring songwriters?
Lorna: Keep writing! Learn as much as you can about the craft - there are tons of good books that can help. Join organizations of like-minded people - learn about the business -
travel to the music Mecca’s (Nashville, L.A., New York City) if you can and scope out who's there, learn what people are listening to, analyze lyrics and melodies and what
makes them work, and most importantly, KEEP IT FUN!!!!
Carroll: Spend a lot of time on each song and write a lot of songs. Then compare your songs (structure and content) to the kind of song you wish you'd written. Its the only way to hone the craft. Getting good feedback from others and taking it objectively is very useful. That's where NSAI shines.
David: Hang out with other songwriters who are better than you are. When I decided to take songwriting seriously I moved to Los Angeles.
Dr. Steve: Learn the craft of songwriting. Know that you'll write 5 good songs out of your first 50...then about one out of every four songs thereafter have potential, know that you might have a better chance to produce a good song by collaborating with another writer, keep your day job, don't be too serious - people want to have a good time too, invite the listener into the song - don't shut them out with artsy, poetic, personal stuff, and lastly, at songwriter nights - play your three and get the hell off the stage unless your asked to do more by the host or crowd.
Ted: Keep plugging, you never know what might catch the right ear. Visualize your success and go for it.
CFT: Where can people go on-line to find out more about you & listen to a song?
Lorna: www.arpstudio.com/Lorna Carroll: http://www.carrollbrownmusic.com or www.myspace.com/carrollbrown
David: I am a writer with a published novel called “Prodigal Child” in addition to being a songwriter. My website is www.ProdigalChild.net. My song lyrics are on the website.
Steve: www.myspace.com/originaldrsteve
Ted: www.teddy.midnite.com, www.myspace.com/tedmckee, Sonicbids Artist www.sonicbids.com/tedmckee. Three of my CD’s are also for sale on www.cdbaby.com.
Note: Other local writers were asked to participate like Jay West, David Owens, Jay Miley, Skye Paige, Chris Tidestrom, Jeep White and Bob Tobin but they did not have time to respond this time. Catch them on Mondays at Sunfire or around town at various gigs. To find out more about the local NSAI chapter, contact lornarob@bellsouth.net.

By Skye Suarez
Copyright 2007 CFT

- Charleston's Free Time


Discography

Ted McKee - Restless Ones
Ted & Eddie - Live at Manny's
McKee & Stone
Swing Soup
Ritual
Teddy Midnite

Photos

Bio

Ted Haynsworth McKee (AKA Teddy Midnite) is the son of SC born parents, Elizabeth Yeadon of Sumter and Edgar Stanton McKee of Darlington. He currently resides on Johns Island SC with his wife, Skye Ocean, who in addition to being a free-lance writer, promotes Ted's musical career.
Born in Atlanta, the middle son of 7 children, Ted grew up traveling the world during his father's career as an Army officer. He started playing guitar at 13 in a folk duo with his brother, Bill before the boys progressed to rock and roll. He played his first club gig at age 14 at The Branding Iron, a notorious dive in Ft. Smith, AR. After he finished high school in Atlanta, Ted attended college in Georgia and did a stint in the Army. Still playing music, Ted moved to the Lowcountry in the 70’s after much time on the road. Locally, Ted is well-known as one of the most prolific songwriters of our time and one of Charleston’s noteworthy guitarists. His latest endeavor is described as "Americana". Although some have not made their way to the Ted's studio, he has performed these new songs publicly to great response. A local tv show featured Ted on piano under his alter-ego, "Teddy Midnite" or as some say: the "Dr John of John's Island". Some of more recent his performances include George's Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, AR, The Red Light in Atlanta, Joe Riley Stadium, Fiery Ron's Home Team BBQ, Gage Hall, Playa del Sol at Zancudo, CR and The Piccolo Spoleto Festival. In addition to his solo act, Ted leads 10 bands of different genres and successfully makes a living playing in the Charleston, SC area. Ted has been featured in publications such as Charleston’s Free Time, Southern Fried Magazine, The Post & Courier, West Of and The Charleston City Paper. Ted's song “Desert Moon” was a finalist in American Songwriter's Lyric Contest this past summer. As an NSAI and ASCAP member, he performed several road shows as part of the Just Plain Folks Tour. Currently you can hear Ted's songs on many radio shows including Calling All Cowboys (Bend, OR), CELTIC Radio (England) The Critic's Choice Show (Charleston SC), Joe Baker's Backforty Bunkhouse (NM), BLUZ Radio, Desert Highway Radio and Free Radio Charleston.
Ted’s music association memberships include NSAI and ASCAP PLUS.
RECENT PRESS:
http://www.charleston.net/news/2009/feb/26/band_keeps_western_swing_genre_alive72980/

WEBSITES:
www.teddymidnite.com
www.myspace.com/tedmckee
www.myspace.com/swingsoup
Discography*
Ted McKee - Restless Ones
Ted & Eddie - Live at Manny's
McKee & Stone
Swing Soup
Ritual
Teddy Midnite
*Ted's CD's are for sale at www.cdbaby.com/tedmckee, iTunes and his own website.
CONTACT INFO:
Ted McKee
843-729-7053 / tmckee6176@aol.com
or Skye 843-343-8130 / skyedaisy@gmail.com