Chi McClean

It’s been a killer weekend of music here in the San Francisco Bay Area! Had a wonderful time playing at an outdoor benefit for the Marin Recovery Project at the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael yesterday afternoon, then I ran down to San Francisco to perform a showcase set at Rockit Room in the evening along with a couple other acts from the Bay and Los Angeles. Wonderful venues, great crowds, and lots of great music.

The mobile unit is now packed up and I'm en route to Capitola, CA to play some music at my favorite wine bar!

TODAY, I am headed down the coast to my favorite wine bar: Cava Wine Bar in Capitola, CA. I’ll be performing from 4:00pm until 6:30pm and will be playing all of my favorite original material along with some select covers, too. It’s always a fun time at this spot as the acoustics are awesome, the wine is delicious, and the pizzas from the next door Italian restaurant are to die for! Check out my “SHOWS” page here for more details and meet me there if you’re in the area!

The set-up at The Wine Bar in Half Moon Bay, CA. Small, simple, perfect.

I’m pretty excited to get back down to The Wine Bar in Half Moon Bay, CA this evening. I’ve been playing there a ton, lately, but I never seem to get tired of it: great sound, delicious wines, craft brews, Italian sodas, a comfy vibe, and great people. Tonight, I’ll be performing from 9:00pm until 11:00pm. It’ll be a solo acoustic set, and I’ll be performing the usual mix of my original material along with a few of my favorite cover tunes to keep things spicy. If you’re in the area, swing on by and say hello! It’ll be a mellow way to wind down the work week and greet the weekend. For directions and additional details, click over to my show listing here. See you all soon!

Last week was a whirlwind of ultra marathon gigs all over the San Francisco Bay Area. A haggard voice, broken nails, achy hands, and sore finger tips were the result of all the scrambling, but not without more than a few big smiles and laughs. This weekend will be busy, too, but I’m so, so excited to play two of my favorite venues this Friday and Saturday: The Wine Bar in Half Moon Bay, CA and Landmark Vineyards in Kenwood, CA, respectively. If you’re a wine lover and an acoustic music fan, keep reading…

The Wine Bar in Half Moon Bay, CA. Be there this Friday, 9/16/2011 for a performance with me and local artist, Dan Littlefield at 8:00pm.

Friday’s show starts at 8:00pm at The Wine Bar in Half Moon Bay, CA. For just $5.00, you’ll catch over two hours of music from me and local songwriter Dan Littlefield. I’ll be performing a solo acoustic set from 8:00pm until about 9:00pm while Dan will take the stage with his violin player from a little after 9:00pm until close. If you haven’t been to The Wine Bar before, please check it out sometime – even if it’s not this Friday. It’s a great spot focused on local wine, local art, and local music. Claudia, the owner, has put in a lot of time and effort to make this a cool, mellow spot to hang along the coast, and it shows. Come on by and see what the fuss is all about!

Delicious wine, a great outdoor garden patio, warm weather, and acoustic music on Saturday, 9/17/2011 at Landmark Vineyards.

Next up, on Saturday, September 17th, I’ll be performing another solo acoustic set at my favorite winery, Landmark Vineyards. From 1:00pm until 4:00pm, I’ll be playing my favorite originals along with a mix of some select covers in just about the coolest space, ever. This one is all ages, outside, and just a fun weekend excursion for every member of the family (dogs are welcome, too!). Of course, there’s great wine (my personal favorite is the 2008 Grand Detour Pinot Noir), but what you probably didn’t know is that Landmark Vineyards also has an awesome, outdoor “chill” area with comfy chairs, tables, a beautifully manicured lawn, a bocce ball court, and a gorgeous fountain to dip your feet in (don’t tell them I told you to do that, though!) all surrounded by vineyards and mountains, as far as the eye can see. It’s really a beautiful way to spend a few hours on a Saturday, and it’s FREE, so come on up and check it out!

Directions and additional details for both performances can easily be found on my Shows Page, so click your way on over, then make it a date with your favorite people and meet me at one (or both!) shows this weekend. See ya soon!

The Wine Bar in Half Moon Bay, CA at the Harbor Village Mall.

Boy, it’s been a busy couple of days since Thursday at House of Blues in La Vegas, NV! I haven’t even had a chance to update the site, check e-mails, etc. Of course, that’s partly because I’ve been running around from town to town, but also because I’ve been playing so much and seeing a ton of great music, too. Yesterday, after returning from a whirlwind trip including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, I played at a benefit for the Cabrillo School District Education Fund at The Old Princeton Landing from 3:00pm until just before 5:00pm, then hustled over to The Wine Bar next door to perform from 5:30pm until about 7:30pm – both in Half Moon Bay, CA. It was a heck of a day, but I had a ton of fun. As it turns out, The Wine Bar had a cancellation for today, so they asked me to pick up the gig – why not?! I LOVE this place! So, here I am to tell ya about it.

I’ll be performing from 4:00pm until 6:00pm and will be playing solo acoustic renditions of my favorite original songs along with a few select covers. As always, it’s a fun spot to hang your hat for a few hours with good wine, craft brews, tasty small plates, and great acoustics. Come on down and join me! For more details, click on over to The Wine Bar website and meet me there! See ya soon!

House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV

So excited to be performing in Las Vegas, NV tonight at House of Blues with some of my favorite acts from Los Angeles: Josh Damigo and David & Devine! It’s going to be an acoustic show so just me and my guitars, then the rest of those guys with their pianos and acoustic guitars, etc. (Cool, huh?) I go on at 8:00pm sharp, followed by David & Devine at 9:00pm, then Josh Damigo at 10:00pm. It’s a FREE show tonight, so what are ya waiting for? Come on down, Las Vegas! For more information and additional details, click on over to the House of Blues website. Otherwise, let’s get it on tonight! See ya’ll soon. (FREE / 21+ Only)

Pouring over new cover art, inset layout, and disc art for final approval before going to replication.

A few months ago, I was contacted by a company regarding a performance at their annual event and 10 Year Anniversary party here in San Francisco, CA. After some back and forth, we worked out the details and then started talking about party favors and the like. One thing led to another and, before too long, I pitched the idea of doing a signed, numbered, and limited release of a live, in-studio, acoustic, co-branded recording of some of my new material especially for the VIP guests at their event. The idea stuck and, after approving some numbers and processes, I got to work recording a live acoustic record for them with producer/engineer Cookie Marenco at OTR Studios in Belmont, CA. The end result is 10 tracks of live acoustic guitar and vocals recorded in DSD (Direct Stream Digital) that sound absolutely killer.

There are only 1,000 copies of this release – each signed and numbered – and when they’re gone, they’re gone. However, I will be repackaging some of this material along with some other recorded material for another, limited release for sale to the general public, friends, fans, etc. Stay tuned here for news on how and when you can get your hands on that as it will be coming by early October 2011. I’ll also be releasing a high-def version of this recording for you audiophiles, so there’s lots of exciting stuff on the way and loads of different ways to listen to it all, thanks to some ground breaking recording technology.

Huge thanks to Jennifer Zick, Cookie Marenco, Patrick O’Connor, Caleb Brown, Pamm Edwards, my family, my tremendously generous friends who have provided a bed for me over the past eight to nine months all over the United States, the fine folks at Elixir Strings and Taylor Guitars, Tracie Verlinde, BMI, Cydney Tune and her crew at Pillbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, and everyone else who contributed to this project. I can’t wait for you all to hear it and couldn’t have done it without YOU… Stay tuned for the official release date and performance right here.

Tiny stage, tiny sound system, big night.

Playing dinner gigs, while oftentimes the bread and butter for a lot of working musicians, just isn’t always the most fun. You often feel like folks aren’t listening, you may be competing against a bachelorette party, you may be vying for attention against an MMA match on the television… it could be anything and everything under the sun. However, I have to say that I enjoy my sets at Maria Maria in Walnut Creek, CA. Yes, it’s a dinner gig – there’s no denying that. However, it’s a ton of fun. Good people, a decent system (though it looks small), a stage, some lights, and killer food. The people are pretty fun there, too.

On Saturday, August 20th, I played a mix of my own tunes along with some select cover songs for about four hours. Even though my ears are STILL ringing for the volume level from the PA and crowd chatter in the bar area where I played that night, I’ve got a smile on my face.

Chicken enchiladas... Mmm...

Break time (I almost always forget to take one until the last minute) means food at Maria Maria and, for me, it usually means a plate of chicken enchiladas. These things are the perfect mix of spice and flavor and heat and I can’t recommend them enough. Go order these the next time you find yourself at Maria Maria in Walnut Creek, CA. You won’t be sorry (unless you’re vegan or vegetarian… then you’ll feel guilty after realizing you really DO love chicken and cheese and sour cream and… and…). In any case, I’ve got a few performances coming up at this location in Walnut Creek, CA as well as several performances at their Danville, CA location. If you’ve got a hankering for Mexican food and some acoustic music, check out my SHOWS page here and come on by when ya get the feeling. I’ll be waiting!

I absolutely, unequivocally, love this joint: The Wine Bar in Half Moon Bay, CA. Owner, Claudia Marshall, runs a tight ship and is taking that know-how along with a passion for delicious wine and acoustic music and bringing a little bit of culture back to the coastline. Nestled just inside the Half Moon Bay harbor, a safe distance from the world famous big wave break, Maverick’s, this place is an acoustic performer’s dream: cozy, intimate, and warm sounding. Mav’s isn’t the only place making waves around here as Claudia and her team are building momentum with local music and wine fans, both near and far.

The Wine Bar: A Respite from the Hustle & Bustle of the Coastline in Harbor Village Mall, Half Moon Bay, CA.

On Thursday, August 18th, I played a set that was scheduled from 7:00pm untl 9:00pm, but just had so much fun that I kept going all the way through 10:30pm. There was a great group of people in the audience and we had a great time throwing some banter back and forth, doing a coupled sing-along’s for old time’s sake, and more. Love those guys along the coast!

Huge thanks to Claudia and Mike for hosting me again at The Wine Bar. If you’re around the Half Moon Bay, CA area any time soon, be sure to swing by Claudia’s place and say “hi” for me. You’ll fall in love immediately with the venue, the wine, and a little small town charm and elbow grease that just makes this spot so, so special. Enjoy!

Cute lil' guy taking a break from the heat and the altitude on Vail Mountain.

I just got back from a great stint in Colorado. After a handful of gigs, I high tailed it out there to spend some time with my folks and work with my sister a little bit who is now recording her debut album. It sounds great and I’m really proud of her… who knew that, all this time, she was writing songs and singing out at venues from Argentina to the USA? Very cool and VERY sneaky. Ooooh…

An old mining car marking the historic Mineral Belt Trail.

Apart from that, I enjoyed a ton of great hikes and bike rides with the family throughout the Vail Valley and out to Leadville where we visited the National Mining Museum and Hall of Fame. Pretty neat stuff and what a cool tour through the most significant mining town in the history of the United States. Some of those mining stories about the harrowing tales of a collapsing mine, ghosts, gun fights over claims, etc. were pretty wild. The amount of technological developments, environmental damage, and then repair is pretty astounding, too. What a history… Oh, yes… There was also the Leadville 100 (a 100 mile mountain bike race at over 10,000′ in the hot, summer, Colorado sun) which was pretty cool to watch. I’ve made up my mind that I’m going to race that event one day. Maybe next year, if I can get in!

Along the way, I hiked all over the Vail Valley and enjoyed myriad views of the Gore Range just east of the town of Vail. Absolutely beautiful, no matter what time of day!

The Gore Range off in the distance. Awesome.

On the last day of my visit, the family and I headed out past Minturn to hike around the old 10th Mountain Division original training grounds – Camp Hale. These guys are largely responsible for developing many of the Colorado ski areas as they pioneered this terrain and tactics now standard practice for backcountry winter travel in the mountains. Very cool history all throughout the Colorado trail that wound it’s way through their camp and barracks. These guys were bad ass. Period.

The Colorado Trail to Camp Hale: home of the 10th Mountain Division.

Music-wise, I ended up getting some new ideas down and a few songs underway with a little help from the local history and terrain, which is always fun. It was great to have a bed and a single place to stay, shower, relax and catch up on rest and sleep for more than a day, too. It’s amazing how much more productive one can be when one has a home. (Ahem!) In any case, it’s back to California with some exciting news coming shortly about a new, surprise release (I guess it’s not a surprise now that I’ve spilled the beans) and some fun stuff along the way. Stay tuned here, keep in touch, and let’s hang out soon at a performance near you. Just keep yer eyes peeled to my “Shows” here. Until then, I’ll keep on truckin’ along that long, dusty road.

The best playing and sounding strings and instrument cables. Period.

I am thrilled to announce that I have signed on again for another year on the artist endorsement program with Elixir Strings. I have played a few different gauges of their Phosphor Bronze NANOWEB strings for a while now and I can honestly say that I’ve never played a cleaner sounding or easier playing set of strings that lasts as long as these. It’s amazing… I sometimes forget that I’ve had a set on my guitar for months… They just keep sounding so good, not too mention their burly instrument cables – clean, pure, unaffected sound from guitar to PA. Sweet. Anyway, a huge thanks goes out to the crew at Elixir Strings for supporting my career and believing in my music. If you’re a performing musician or even a bedroom rock star, you owe it to yourself to check out their strings and instrument cables for guitar and bass here.