Andy McKee
Encyclopedia
Andy McKee is an American
fingerstyle guitarist
, currently signed to the American record label Razor & Tie.
His style of playing and his compositions have earned him a considerable international fanbase. In late 2006, a live performance of his signature song
"Drifting" became a Featured Video on YouTube
and MySpace
, achieving over 40 million views on the former to date and remaining one of its highest-rated music clips. A handful of McKee's other songs have experienced notable success on YouTube, such as "Rylynn" with over 20 million views. Similarly, McKee's cover of "Africa
" reached over 9 million views before suddenly being removed by Candyrat Records
.
nylon string
bought by his father, at age 13. Initially underwhelmed by his guitar lessons, McKee's electric guitar-playing cousin inspired him to continue learning, taking him out for his 16th birthday to see a guitarist named Preston Reed
perform live at a clinic
. McKee later bought an instructional videotape from Reed and began to learn more complex guitar techniques from it, also earning his GED
that year in order to quit attending high school. He began to draw influence from guitarists such as Michael Hedges
, Billy McLaughlin
, Pat Kirtley
, and from Passion Session
by Don Ross
, as he continued studying the instrument on his own.
In 2001, McKee independently released his first album, Nocturne. That same year, he was placed third at the National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in Winfield
, Kansas
. In 2003, McKee toured in Taiwan with Jacques Stotzem
, Isato Nakagawa, and Masaaki Kishibe
, and earned first place in the Miscellaneous Acoustic Instrument contest of the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships with a Ron Spillers harpguitar
he purchased from Stephen Bennett in 2002., The instrument can be heard in a number of his songs, such as "Into The Ocean" and "Gates of Gnomeria". Only 1,000 copies of Nocturne were ever produced and the album is now out of circulation.
McKee released his second album, Dreamcatcher
, in 2004. The album includes his cover of "Africa", as well as "The Friend I Never Met", a song written in tribute to Michael Hedges
. McKee used the title track to win the opportunity to perform with bassist Michael Manring
, with whom he has since toured. Additionally,
he placed second in the Fingerstyle Guitar Competition of the Canadian Guitar Festival that year. The album was later re-released by McKee's label in response to the popularity he garnered on YouTube.
, was released on Candyrat Records in November 2005 and earned considerable praise from established acoustic guitarists such as Don Ross, with whom McKee is currently on the same label, and has noted as one of his favorite artists. Most of the songs that McKee is known for on YouTube appear on the album, which has a handful of tracks carried over from Dreamcatcher as well. During the early stages of McKee's success on YouTube in late 2006 and early 2007, Art of Motion was the only album of his carried by Candyrat Records, and saw the most mainstream exposure as a result. In a couple of his songs he plays a harp guitar shown down and to the right.
. The album contains six new songs, one of which had already been seen on YouTube ("Gates of Gnomeria"), as well as two cover songs. McKee spent the majority of 2008 on tour throughout the world, performing with other Candyrat artists and promoting both Gates of Gnomeria and his collaborative album with Don Ross, The Thing That Came From Somewhere. He released a split DVD that same year with labelmate Antoine Dufour
, each artist contributing eight songs to the disc; two of McKee's from Gates of Gnomeria.
. The album was released digitally only, along with videos available on iTunes that include his performance of his 2 compositions, a video each that either does or does not include commentary.
" by Michael Hedges
and one of my favorite 80's tunes." (That one is Tears For Fears
' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World
".)
The album also features a DVD full of 75 minutes worth of additional video material, including a documentary called Andy McKee: Joyland, and four new performance music videos. All four music videos have been released on YouTube and can be found at:
The documentary is currently only available for purchase as a part of the Joyland album CD/DVD.
who kind of blew up on the Internet about a week before Christmas", McKee became one of Candyrat Records' best-selling artists after their video of "Drifting" was massively upvoted by users at Digg
. In the wake of this exposure, he appeared by invitation on Woodsongs
as well as Last Call with Carson Daly
, and his online store completely sold out of his various guitar
tablature
books. Due to the increased demand, he began to offer sheet music for nearly all of his songs on his official website. He also contributed to Josh Groban
's 2007 Grammy-nominated Christmas album, Noël
, playing guitar on the song "Little Drummer Boy". Groban's album went on to become the best-selling CD of 2007 in the U.S., hitting #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200
.
In 2010 McKee contributed to Lee Ritenour
's highly acclaimed CD 6 String Theory that also features guitarists like Steve Lukather, Slash
, Neal Schon
, Tal Wilkenfeld
, and Mike Stern
.
McKee has, at least once in the past, personally commented on BitTorrent websites hosting his music, chastising downloaders for their actions. Posting to The Pirate Bay
under the name "AlteredTuning" (which is the same handle he uses in all his internet message board appearances as well as on his own website's message boards), McKee sarcastically echoed other commenters' thanks to the original uploader of his album and urged people to purchase his work legitimately. His comments were met with approval while some pointed out that the exposure on The Pirate Bay
might lead to increased sales.
McKee's influences include: Eric Johnson
, Dream Theater
, Michael Hedges
, Preston Reed
, Billy McLaughlin
, Tommy Emmanuel
, Björk
, Steve Lukather
, Metallica
, Joe Satriani
, Iron Maiden
, Pantera
, Steve Erquiaga, Vince Di Cola, Toto
, Peter Gabriel
, Imogen Heap
, King Crimson
, Primus
, Pat Metheny
, and Don Ross
,
McKee began listening to metal, such as Dream Theater, at the age of 13. He described on Woodsongs how he was a "metal freak" during childhood, even performing a Metallica song in his high school talent show. It was not until he saw Preston Reed that his influences began to shift towards acoustic songwriters such as Don Ross and Michael Hedges. Both walks of music continue to influence him, though he has stuck with acoustic music in his professional life.
In response to certain comments regarding the source of his creative talent, McKee has proudly admitted to have never taken any recreational drugs in his life—a fact lauded by many of his fans online, including fellow guitarist Don Ross. Commenting on McKee's MySpace, Ross wrote:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fingerstyle guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, currently signed to the American record label Razor & Tie.
His style of playing and his compositions have earned him a considerable international fanbase. In late 2006, a live performance of his signature song
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
"Drifting" became a Featured Video on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, achieving over 40 million views on the former to date and remaining one of its highest-rated music clips. A handful of McKee's other songs have experienced notable success on YouTube, such as "Rylynn" with over 20 million views. Similarly, McKee's cover of "Africa
Africa (Toto song)
"Africa" is a song by rock band Toto, and one of the band's most recognizable songs. It was included on their 1982 album Toto IV, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1983 and number three on the UK Singles Chart the same month...
" reached over 9 million views before suddenly being removed by Candyrat Records
CandyRat Records
CandyRat Records is an independent American record label and online music store located in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.-Artists:Artists signed to CandyRat include:*Andrew White*Andy McKee*Antoine Dufour*Brendan Power*Brooke Miller*Craig D'Andrea...
.
Life and career
McKee played his first guitar, an AriaAria (guitar company)
Aria is a Japanese manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars and basses.- History :Aria was formed in Japan in 1953 by Shiro Arai as Arai and Company. They began retailing acoustic guitars in 1960, although the company didn't actually start manufacturing their own until 1964. Aria arranged for...
nylon string
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
bought by his father, at age 13. Initially underwhelmed by his guitar lessons, McKee's electric guitar-playing cousin inspired him to continue learning, taking him out for his 16th birthday to see a guitarist named Preston Reed
Preston Reed
Preston Reed is an American fingerstyle and tapping guitarist.- Biography :Preston Reed learned guitar as a child on his father's guitar and, for a short time, classical guitar with a too-severe teacher. When he was 16 his interest was rekindled by Jorma Kaukonen's acoustic guitar-playing in Hot...
perform live at a clinic
Clinic (music)
A musical clinic is an informal meeting with a guest musician, where a small-to-medium sized audience questions the musician's styles and techniques and also how to improve their own skill. The musician might perform an entire piece, or demonstrate certain techniques for the audience to observe.The...
. McKee later bought an instructional videotape from Reed and began to learn more complex guitar techniques from it, also earning his GED
GED
General Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
that year in order to quit attending high school. He began to draw influence from guitarists such as Michael Hedges
Michael Hedges
Michael Alden Hedges was an American composer, Acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Background:...
, Billy McLaughlin
Billy McLaughlin
Billy McLaughlin is a new age acoustic guitarist, composer and producer from Minnesota, United States.McLaughlin is a five-time Minnesota Music Award winner with 11 CD releases and Billboard Top-Ten Chart history. He has recorded on the Narada label....
, Pat Kirtley
Pat Kirtley
Pat Kirtley is a US-American fingerstyle guitarist, composer and guitar teacher.- Biography :Pat Kirtley grew up in a musical Kentucky family...
, and from Passion Session
Passion Session
Passion Session is the seventh album by Canadian guitarist Don Ross and his first on the Narada/Virgin label. It was recorded in Berlin, Germany in the confines of the Passionskirche in Berlin's Kreuzberg neighborhood....
by Don Ross
Don Ross (guitarist)
Donald James Ross , commonly known as Don Ross, is a Canadian fingerstyle guitarist noted for the emotion and intensity of his playing as well as his use of extended technique....
, as he continued studying the instrument on his own.
Nocturne (2001)
Winfield, Kansas
Winfield is a city situated along the Walnut River in the west-central part of Cowley County, located in South Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,301...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. In 2003, McKee toured in Taiwan with Jacques Stotzem
Jacques Stotzem
Jacques Stotzem is an acoustic fingerstyle guitar player. He has recorded 3 vinyl albums and 11 CDs, and collaborated with numerous musical projects and other artists....
, Isato Nakagawa, and Masaaki Kishibe
Masaaki Kishibe
Masaaki Kishibe , is an acoustic guitarist from Japan.- Biography : Masaaki Kishibe was born in Osaka and began studying piano at a young age, eventually picking up the guitar by the time he was 14...
, and earned first place in the Miscellaneous Acoustic Instrument contest of the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships with a Ron Spillers harpguitar
Harp guitar
]The harp guitar is a stringed instrument with a history of well over two centuries. While there are several unrelated historical stringed instruments that have appropriated the name “harp-guitar” over the centuries, the term today is understood as the accepted vernacular to refer to a particular...
he purchased from Stephen Bennett in 2002., The instrument can be heard in a number of his songs, such as "Into The Ocean" and "Gates of Gnomeria". Only 1,000 copies of Nocturne were ever produced and the album is now out of circulation.
Dreamcatcher (2004)
Dreamcatcher (Andy McKee album)
Dreamcatcher, released in 2004, is Andy McKee's second studio album. This album features three tracks re-released on Mckee's third album, Art of Motion, as well as two songs re-released on his 2009 EP Common Ground.-Track listing:...
, in 2004. The album includes his cover of "Africa", as well as "The Friend I Never Met", a song written in tribute to Michael Hedges
Michael Hedges
Michael Alden Hedges was an American composer, Acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Background:...
. McKee used the title track to win the opportunity to perform with bassist Michael Manring
Michael Manring
Michael Manring is an American electric bassist from the San Francisco Bay Area, .-Biography:...
, with whom he has since toured. Additionally,
he placed second in the Fingerstyle Guitar Competition of the Canadian Guitar Festival that year. The album was later re-released by McKee's label in response to the popularity he garnered on YouTube.
Art of Motion (2005)
McKee's third CD, Art of MotionArt of Motion (album)
Art of Motion, released in 2005, is Andy McKee's third studio album. This album features four tracks from Nocturne, McKee's debut CD, as well as most of the YouTube tracks such as "Drifting", "For My Father", "Rylynn" and "Into the Ocean"....
, was released on Candyrat Records in November 2005 and earned considerable praise from established acoustic guitarists such as Don Ross, with whom McKee is currently on the same label, and has noted as one of his favorite artists. Most of the songs that McKee is known for on YouTube appear on the album, which has a handful of tracks carried over from Dreamcatcher as well. During the early stages of McKee's success on YouTube in late 2006 and early 2007, Art of Motion was the only album of his carried by Candyrat Records, and saw the most mainstream exposure as a result. In a couple of his songs he plays a harp guitar shown down and to the right.
Gates of Gnomeria (2007)
After his popularity due to his performances on YouTube and touring extensively throughout much of 2007, McKee returned to the studio to record his fourth CD, Gates of GnomeriaGates of Gnomeria
Gates of Gnomeria, released September 10, 2007, is Andy McKee's fourth studio album. This album features six new tracks, two of which are covers...
. The album contains six new songs, one of which had already been seen on YouTube ("Gates of Gnomeria"), as well as two cover songs. McKee spent the majority of 2008 on tour throughout the world, performing with other Candyrat artists and promoting both Gates of Gnomeria and his collaborative album with Don Ross, The Thing That Came From Somewhere. He released a split DVD that same year with labelmate Antoine Dufour
Antoine Dufour
Antoine Dufour is a French-Canadian acoustic guitarist currently signed to CandyRat Records.-Biography:Dufour started playing guitar at the age of fifteen. He went on to study at the CEGEP in Joliette, where he listened to the music of Leo Kottke, Don Ross, and Michael Hedges at the behest of his...
, each artist contributing eight songs to the disc; two of McKee's from Gates of Gnomeria.
Common Ground EP (2009)
In between touring extensively, and helping promote his duo guitar record with Don Ross, McKee recorded an EP of 2 re-recordings of songs from his Dreamcatcher album, and a cover song by Japanese guitarist Masaaki KishibeMasaaki Kishibe
Masaaki Kishibe , is an acoustic guitarist from Japan.- Biography : Masaaki Kishibe was born in Osaka and began studying piano at a young age, eventually picking up the guitar by the time he was 14...
. The album was released digitally only, along with videos available on iTunes that include his performance of his 2 compositions, a video each that either does or does not include commentary.
Joyland (2010)
McKee announced in May 2009 that he was intending to finish touring in the second half of the year and concentrate on recording his upcoming album. He stated in July 2009 that it will most likely be titled "Joyland", the title track of the album which originally went under the name "Music For A Vacant Amusement Park". The album was completed in November 2009 and was released in iTunes on March 23, 2010, and in stores on March 30, 2010 on Razor & Tie Records. According to McKee, "On this album I've branched out a bit and included some instrumentation on a couple of songs. There's also a new harpguitar tune and a couple of covers such as "LayoverLayover
In transportation, a layover, also known as lays over or stopover, is some form of a break between parts of a single trip.-In mass transit:...
" by Michael Hedges
Michael Hedges
Michael Alden Hedges was an American composer, Acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Background:...
and one of my favorite 80's tunes." (That one is Tears For Fears
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears are an English new wave band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith.Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, they were initially associated with the New Wave synthesiser bands of the early 1980s but later branched out into...
' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by the British New Wave band Tears for Fears.It was the band's ninth single release in the United Kingdom and seventh UK Top 40 chart hit, peaking at number two in April 1985...
".)
The album also features a DVD full of 75 minutes worth of additional video material, including a documentary called Andy McKee: Joyland, and four new performance music videos. All four music videos have been released on YouTube and can be found at:
The documentary is currently only available for purchase as a part of the Joyland album CD/DVD.
Career progression
Self-described as "just this guy from Topeka, KansasTopeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
who kind of blew up on the Internet about a week before Christmas", McKee became one of Candyrat Records' best-selling artists after their video of "Drifting" was massively upvoted by users at Digg
Digg
Digg is a social news website. Prior to Digg v4, its cornerstone function consisted of letting people vote stories up or down, called digging and burying, respectively. Digg's popularity prompted the creation of copycat social networking sites with story submission and voting systems...
. In the wake of this exposure, he appeared by invitation on Woodsongs
Woodsongs
The WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, produced and hosted by folksinger Michael Johnathon is listened to by over 1 Million radio listeners on over 493 radio each week all over the world. It is provided free of charge to public and community radio stations anywhere in the world. It had been available...
as well as Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late night talk show that is broadcast on NBC. The show is hosted by Carson Daly, the half-hour show featuring celebrity interviews, documentary-style coverage of a topic, and musical performances. Last Call airs weeknights at 1:35 a.m. Eastern / 12:35 a.m....
, and his online store completely sold out of his various guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
tablature
Tablature
Tablature is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches....
books. Due to the increased demand, he began to offer sheet music for nearly all of his songs on his official website. He also contributed to Josh Groban
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
's 2007 Grammy-nominated Christmas album, Noël
Noël (Josh Groban album)
Noël is a Christmas album by singer Josh Groban that was released on October 9, 2007. In the United States, the album is available as a single CD release in most retail stores...
, playing guitar on the song "Little Drummer Boy". Groban's album went on to become the best-selling CD of 2007 in the U.S., hitting #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
In 2010 McKee contributed to Lee Ritenour
Lee Ritenour
Lee Mack Ritenour is an American jazz guitarist who has recorded over 42 albums, appeared on over 3000 sessions, and has charted over 30 instrumental and vocal contemporary jazz hits since 1976. One of his most popular songs was the smash hit, “Is It You” in 1981. Ritenour is considered to be a...
's highly acclaimed CD 6 String Theory that also features guitarists like Steve Lukather, Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
, Neal Schon
Neal Schon
Neal George Joseph Schon is an American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist best known for his work with the band Journey. He is the only member to have recorded on all of Journey's albums...
, Tal Wilkenfeld
Tal Wilkenfeld
Tal Wilkenfeld is a bass guitarist who has gained worldwide attention performing alongside some of rock and jazz music's most notable artists...
, and Mike Stern
Mike Stern
Mike Stern is an American jazz guitarist. After playing for a few years with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he landed a gig with Billy Cobham and then broke through with Miles Davis' comeback band from 1981 to 1983, and again in 1985. Since then, he launched a solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums...
.
Response to filesharing
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay is a Swedish website which hosts magnet links and .torrent files, which allow users to share electronic files, including multimedia, computer games and software via BitTorrent...
under the name "AlteredTuning" (which is the same handle he uses in all his internet message board appearances as well as on his own website's message boards), McKee sarcastically echoed other commenters' thanks to the original uploader of his album and urged people to purchase his work legitimately. His comments were met with approval while some pointed out that the exposure on The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay is a Swedish website which hosts magnet links and .torrent files, which allow users to share electronic files, including multimedia, computer games and software via BitTorrent...
might lead to increased sales.
"Yeah thanks a lot for uploading! It's not like I need to make a living with my music or anything. 8,676 thieves. If you really appreciate what I am doing, buy my CD legitimately so I can continue to compose music rather than work at K-Mart. I'm not Metallica. I don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars, much less millions.
Andy McKee"
Equipment and influences
McKee currently uses the following equipment:- Greenfield G4 and GB Guitars
- Greenfield HG1.2 Harp Guitar
- Lance McCollum Baritone Guitar
- Ron Spillers Harp Guitar
- K&K Sound Pickups (internal)
- DTAR Solstice Pre-Amp
- D'Addario Phosphor Bronze Medium Gauge
- Shubb Capos
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson is an American guitarist. Though he is best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, gospel and country and western music into his recordings...
, Dream Theater
Dream Theater
Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
, Michael Hedges
Michael Hedges
Michael Alden Hedges was an American composer, Acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter.-Background:...
, Preston Reed
Preston Reed
Preston Reed is an American fingerstyle and tapping guitarist.- Biography :Preston Reed learned guitar as a child on his father's guitar and, for a short time, classical guitar with a too-severe teacher. When he was 16 his interest was rekindled by Jorma Kaukonen's acoustic guitar-playing in Hot...
, Billy McLaughlin
Billy McLaughlin
Billy McLaughlin is a new age acoustic guitarist, composer and producer from Minnesota, United States.McLaughlin is a five-time Minnesota Music Award winner with 11 CD releases and Billboard Top-Ten Chart history. He has recorded on the Narada label....
, Tommy Emmanuel
Tommy Emmanuel
William Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...
, Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Steve Lukather
Steve Lukather
Steve "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a composer, arranger, and session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums...
, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
, Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
, Pantera
Pantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...
, Steve Erquiaga, Vince Di Cola, Toto
Toto (band)
Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Imogen Heap
Imogen Heap
Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap is a Grammy Award-winning English singer, composer and songwriter from Havering, Essex. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes...
, King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, Primus
Primus (band)
Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...
, Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
, and Don Ross
Don Ross (guitarist)
Donald James Ross , commonly known as Don Ross, is a Canadian fingerstyle guitarist noted for the emotion and intensity of his playing as well as his use of extended technique....
,
McKee began listening to metal, such as Dream Theater, at the age of 13. He described on Woodsongs how he was a "metal freak" during childhood, even performing a Metallica song in his high school talent show. It was not until he saw Preston Reed that his influences began to shift towards acoustic songwriters such as Don Ross and Michael Hedges. Both walks of music continue to influence him, though he has stuck with acoustic music in his professional life.
In response to certain comments regarding the source of his creative talent, McKee has proudly admitted to have never taken any recreational drugs in his life—a fact lauded by many of his fans online, including fellow guitarist Don Ross. Commenting on McKee's MySpace, Ross wrote:
- "I too have never touched weedCannabis (drug)Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, pills, blowCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
or needles. I'm always insulted when people find that hard to believe. 'How can you write such insane music straight?!?' Frick! Some of us are just creative using only the chemicals already present in our bodies. That goes for almost any musician I've had a close association with, contrary to the stereotypes. Hell, ZappaFrank ZappaFrank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
was sober all the time! - Bravo, Andy. I appreciate the fact that when you and I tour together, there's no junk going around, no smokes, no nothing. Keeping it clean. And we always have a fabulous time."
Discography
| Album Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Nocturne | 2001 |
| Dreamcatcher Dreamcatcher (Andy McKee album) Dreamcatcher, released in 2004, is Andy McKee's second studio album. This album features three tracks re-released on Mckee's third album, Art of Motion, as well as two songs re-released on his 2009 EP Common Ground.-Track listing:... |
2004 |
| Art of Motion Art of Motion (album) Art of Motion, released in 2005, is Andy McKee's third studio album. This album features four tracks from Nocturne, McKee's debut CD, as well as most of the YouTube tracks such as "Drifting", "For My Father", "Rylynn" and "Into the Ocean".... |
2005 |
| Gates of Gnomeria Gates of Gnomeria Gates of Gnomeria, released September 10, 2007, is Andy McKee's fourth studio album. This album features six new tracks, two of which are covers... |
2007 |
| Split DVD with Antoine Dufour Antoine Dufour Antoine Dufour is a French-Canadian acoustic guitarist currently signed to CandyRat Records.-Biography:Dufour started playing guitar at the age of fifteen. He went on to study at the CEGEP in Joliette, where he listened to the music of Leo Kottke, Don Ross, and Michael Hedges at the behest of his... |
2007 |
| The Thing That Came From Somewhere with Don Ross Don Ross (guitarist) Donald James Ross , commonly known as Don Ross, is a Canadian fingerstyle guitarist noted for the emotion and intensity of his playing as well as his use of extended technique.... |
2008 |
| Common Ground EP Common Ground (Andy McKee EP) Common Ground is an EP by guitarist Andy McKee. It was released on August 25, 2009, and was offered digitally only on sites such as iTunes, Amazon, and Lala. The iTunes package for it included four videos. Two of each video were of the same song, with each corresponding video either with or without... |
2009 |
| Joyland Joyland (album) -Track listing:-Andy McKee: Joyland:Andy McKee: Joyland is a documentary film, released on the DVD portion of the album. The documentary follows McKee as he returns to the music store in which he taught guitar lessons, tours his home recording studio, and leads up to the release of Joyland.The... |
2010 |