Chi McClean

The Japan Relief Benefit Show. It's all happening on Sunday!

I’m honored to be a part of this event. Friend, booking agent, event planner, and miracle bartender Mihaela from LoungeFly Presents has put together a killer night in an effort to raise funds to aid Japan in its recovery from the litany of natural disasters it has recently experienced. Hosted at Rockit Room, perhaps my favorite live venue in San Francisco, the night will feature music from four different acts starting at 7:00pm, Sunday, April 17th with Kanoa Blodgett, then local house concert legend KC Turner at 8:00pm, me at 9:00pm, then Dustin Saylor and the Band of Prophets from 10:00pm until close. In addition, Mihaela has lined up a ton of great auction items from local artists, restaurants, businesses, and clubs. 100% of the proceeds from the night will be donated directly to the Japanese Cultural Community Center of Northern California that is orchestrating donation and relief efforts for those most in need in Japan. The cover is just a $5.00 donation at the door (again, all proceeds will support the relief effort), so come on out, have some fun for a good cause, and let’s make a difference. For directions and more information, visit my “shows” page here. See ya soon!

Want more of this? Come support Surfrider Foundation at Bloomingdale's on Wednesday evening, April 13th and support their efforts to preserve our oceans, beaches, and waves!

Pretty excited to set up and jam for a bit in the Bloomingdale’s store this evening at 845 Market Street in San Francisco, CA. They are launching a surf-inspired line of clothes in partnership with Surfrider Foundation featuring designs from Marc of Marc Jacobs, RLX Ralph Lauren, Sea Bags, and more this evening from 6:00pm until 8:00pm. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of this line will directly benefit Surfrider Foundation’s efforts to preserve the world’s oceans, waves and beaches, which is awesome. Admission is free, and so is the food and beer! Yes! Just look for the men’s department and follow the music to hang out, shop, listen to some tunes form yours truly, re-live your glorious (and inglorious) moments in the water, and have some fun. For more information, click on over to my “Shows” page here. Otherwise, call (415) 856-5769 to RSVP or just show up! See ya’ll soon.

Mini stage setup at Bloomindale's on the 5th Floor in San Francisco, CA.

Getting REALLY excited to perform at the Sonoma International Film Festival this weekend! Once a year for the last thirteen years, majors, indies, and everything in between in the film industry have descended upon the quaint town of Sonoma, CA for a five days of film, food, and wine. This year will be the fourteenth year running and it looks like it’s going to be a blast.

Now in its 14th year, this year's festival promises to be better than ever.

I will be performing outside in a tented area in the main plaza on both Friday and Saturday afternoon. Check my Shows Page for more information and meet me up there for some fun! On Friday, I’ll be performing solo acoustic renditions of songs from my debut album “Something Out There” as well as some of my newer favorites slated for my second release from 3:00-6:00pm, and on Saturday, I’ll be playing from 1:30pm-4:30pm. So, get your tickets to the 14th Annual Sonoma International Film Festival and meet me in wine country this Friday and Saturday!

Well, the back, knee, shoulder, and head are starting to feel better. After testing the waters with a really fun gig on Wednesday at The Hotel Utah Saloon in San Francisco, CA with Matthew Santos and Chris Gelbuda on the bill, and a few, casual dinner gigs here and there around the Bay Area, it looks as though I can get back on a limited basis to some performing. So, in that can-do spirit, I’m headed to The Wine Bar down in Half Moon Bay, CA this evening to perform an acoustic set of my original music from 8:00pm until about 9:00pm with local artist, LizAnah, to follow from 9:00pm’ish until 10:00pm or so. I really like this place… it kind of reminds me of one of those cool listening rooms down in LA where people actually, well… listen! Of course, they have tons of great wine, beer, good food, etc. but the vibe is pretty neat and the acoustics just right for this cozy little spot. If you find yourself along the coast near Half Moon Bay this evening, swing on by, treat yourself to a glass of wine, and say “hello”. It’s sure to be a fun evening…

Well, it had to happen… you can avoid it for so long, but sooner or later, the snow snakes will getcha. That’s what happened to me a short while ago up at Squaw Valley USA in Lake Tahoe, CA. Long story short, it was a beautiful sunny day, the snow was great, I was hanging with friends, and then I apparently made a wrong turn, then woke up in the ambulance en route to the emergency room.

Yes, that is silk underwear and those cuts/scratches were from rocks that cut through my ski jacket, liner, and insulated layers during my fall. Photo from the ER, courtesy of friend, Chuck Peters.

I don’t remember anything other than coming through a chute, making a big right hand turn to burn off some speed, and then… the ambulance. Apparently, I was pretty comical when I came to. The ski patrol went through the usual routine (How old are you, where do you live, what’s your birthday, etc.) and when they got to the question of “Do you know what you were doing?”, I responded plainly: “Shredding the gnar!” Ha… I DON’T remember that one, but my buddy Chuck does who stopped my fall after about 75-100 yards of tumbling, while unconscious, over rock, snow, and ice. (Thanks, Chuck!)

Lots to look forward to upon my full recovery in just a few months like this perfect, peeling left-hander somewhere along the Central Coast of California!

The end result after many visits to the doctors is this: torn MCL in my right knee, slight tear in my rotator cuff in my right shoulder, three broken transverse processors on my spine and plenty of bruising, and a nasty concussion from knocking myself out for 8-10 minutes. I can move around (painfully), and while I can’t ski, ride, surf, run, etc. at the moment, I consider myself pretty darn lucky that I WILL be able to return to doing those things in a few months and that, for now, at least I can play guitar, sing, and write when my head isn’t in a fog. So, with that in mind, I’m looking towards blue skies and gettin’ busy with the recovery mode. Hope you’re all well and thanks for listening! See ya back out there on the road soon…

It’s been a long day today! I’ve been working here at OTR Studios with Cookie, Patrick, Mike and the crew and tracking some additional vocal overdubs for “Build Me Up”, “It Don’t Matter”, and “Would You Love Me” while doing some edits on “Hole In My Heart” and a few other items. There’s been lots of singing, lots more listening, and more than a few good laughs along the way.

"Back in your corner!" Yeah, that's where I've been most of the day today.

Every day I spend here at OTR Studios is a learning experience. So much cool stuff is going on and Cookie and the gang are making it sound pretty slick while coaching, editing, etc. As much as I hate to spill the beans (’cause I want these guys all for myself), if you’re a Bay Area musician or, shoot… a musician from anywhere, you owe it to yourself to check out OTR Studios for your next project. I’m constantly amazed by how hard these guys work and how they can pull the very best performance out of the artists they work with. Plus, they work on 2″ tape, so you know it’s going to sound good.

Cookie Marenco listening back and fine tuning a rough mix of "Build Me Up".

Right now, the crew is making some edits to “Hole In My Heart” while I update this blog, sip some chai tea and plan my drive down to Santa Barbara for the Durango Songwriters Expo starting tomorrow night. It’s going to be another mini trek down the coast on minimal sleep, but I’ll be performing an industry showcase and attending several listening sessions down there, so I’m psyched. And, that’s been enough these days to overcome any lack of sleep. If you’re interested in checking it out, click on over to the Durango Songwriters Expo website and, heck, if you’re a songwriter in California and you have some time on your hands, see if you can register! This will be my second time attending and I can’t wait.

Okay… that’s all I’ve got for now. Have a great night, take it easy, and keep on rockin’.

So, I told you that I missed my flight to Memphis, TN the other day, right? Yeah… Well, here’s a pretty good reason why! On Tuesday morning, I was invited to perform as part of the local CBS television station’s (KPIX-5) Friday edition of “Eye On The Bay”. We taped a musical intro, a brief interview, another performance, then a few song snippets here and there followed by a background performance to support the closing remarks of the host, Thuy Vu, before panning back to me for a verse and a chorus of one of my new, favorite songs, “Hole In My Heart” to wrap the show. Apparently, they don’t usually record so much music during these programs, but they liked what I was doing and we just kept rolling. As a result, we spent a few hours setting up, recording, etc. and before I knew it, I had an hour to get to San Francisco International Airport, catch a parking shuttle, check in, get to the gate, etc. Yeah, that just wasn’t happening…

Hanging with the host of "Eye On The Bay", Thuy Vu, and Daniel, the camera guy after the shoot on location.

In any case, we all had a great time and it was an amazing experience to be a part of another television program. The crew, host Thuy Vu, the interns, and everyone who was involved in the production were so tremendously easy to work with and supportive. [Heck, I say we do this every week!]

The show airs on Friday, February 25th, 2011 at 7:00pm PST. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, just tune in to CBS KPIX-5 on your television to watch the show. If you’re out of town, the station is going to post the show on their website, so check back here after the 25th and I will be sure to post that URL so you can watch it from wherever you are in the world. Until then, have a great rest of the week and keep on keepin’ on. I’ll be down here in Memphis, TN at the 2011 International Folk Alliance working it during the day, showcasing at night, and eating lots of barbeque while I can! Mm, hmm… Tasty!

Getting psyched to head out east to Memphis, TN (never been there!) to attend this year’s Folk Alliance Conference. I am really looking forward to a lot of barbeque, good music, good folks, and playing ten acoustic, industry showcases.

2011 Folk Alliance International Annual Conference in Memphis, TN

This will be my first time at this conference and I really have no idea what to expect. I do know, however, that I have a lot of showcases, lots of panels I want to check out, a few meetings lined up and more, but no idea whether it’s like SXSW, CMJ, or a tamer, more user friendly event. I guess I’ll find out when I get into town tomorrow morning. Yeah, that’s right… I missed my earlier flight this morning, but I have a great excuse! Keep on checking back to figure out what it is… in the mean time, I’ll be hitching a ride at 10:45pm out to Memphis, TN. Two visits in one day to SFO are two, too many, in my book. In any case, stay tuned here for updates from the conference and my showcases! I’m sure there’s going to be lots to share… Until then!

A nice little Neumann with my B&J Serenader in the background at OTR Studios. This was my view for about 8 or so hours!

After a short little run down the coast that comprised my Mini California Tour this early February, I got back in the studio with producer/engineer Cookie Marenco to record some additional vocals for my new record. When I arrived, we set up a few mics and got crackin’. Time is money, folks! Cookie and her crew are totally pro and have been great performance coaches in the studio throughout all of my sessions. I couldn’t do without them! We had a great time and focused on vocals for “It’s Alright”, “I Know”, “I Save You”, and “Life Got In The Way”. We worked for about eight hours and, finally, with bleary eyes, raspy voices, and no more juice, we called it a night at around 11:00pm. Lots of good work that day from everyone and I can’t wait to get back in there on February 23rd!

Madatory tools for a full day of performance level singing... Honey, water, tea, vitamin C, and a good headphone mix.

After wrapping things up in Long Beach, CA on February 5th, I drove up the coast to my next gig at Live Culture Lounge in Santa Barbara, CA. Along the way, while looking for surf, I got a call from my buddy James who invited me up to hang at his pad to watch the Super Bowl. The surf wasn’t doing anything exciting, so I cruised up and east to his pad where I met up with him, his wife, and kids and enjoyed some hang time and football. Now, I’m not much of a ball fan, but I have to say that it was a pretty good game. I thought for sure that the Steelers were out of it, but they fought back tooth and nail after half time and made for some good competition. Congrats to the Packers for hanging in there and pulling it off! But, seriously… the commercials this year were, eh… what happened? Did all the agencies lose their creative juices? I was not impressed. Oh, well!

A banner near the stage of Live Culture Lounge in Santa Barbara, CA.

When I got to Santa Barbara, folks were having a good time and recounting the plays from the big game. Lots of fun, and a couple of really cool acts were playing that night. When I finally went on, I got to play an extended set and went through almost everything in my song catalog. Lots of fun playing on an 11′ high stage! Love it… Big thanks to friends Darin and Sierra for doing such a great job at supporting independent acts in Santa Barbara. Please go support these guys and their venue if you’re in town. They make great food, offer up a tasty menu, always have some cool live music on stage, and just provide a really cool environment to be in for a while. Check ‘em out and tell ‘em I said “hey”!

Darin from Live Culture introducing me before my set. Booya!

After the show, I cruised over to Darin and Sierra’s spot to hang for a bit before hitting the hay. When I finally crashed, I slept so, so well. I must have been wiped! In any case, when I woke up, I headed out to my favorite spot to grab a breakfast burrito in town (Cantwell’s Market on State Street), mowed that thing down, then did some work over a chai latte. Of course, it was a beautiful, sunny, Santa Barbara morning as it almost always seems to be down there, but no surf was breaking at Rincon this time. I guess once was enough for this tour! So, when I wrapped things up, I packed up the truck again and started the trek back to the Bay Area once again with an  unexpected pit stop along the way…

Just about one of the most beautiful drives anywhere: heading north on 101 from Santa Barbara, CA.

Turns out a cup of chai in Templeton, CA turned into an interview with writer Katz Bryan for her column in Glide Magazine. Katz saw me performing earlier on the tour in San Luis Obispo, CA at Steynberg Gallery and followed up about some press. (Yay!) We started off with tea and coffee, then got shut down by closing time at the coffee house, so we kept chatting and met up over dinner at this cool little Greek/Italian place in downtown Templeton. Great conversation, good laughs, and good food… Katz is a great writer and Glide Magazine is a neat publication, so definitely check it out when you have some time! I’ll be sure to let you all know when the article is published.