Pat McCurdy

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Pat McCurdy
Pat McCurdy

Pat McCurdy is a singer/song writer from Wisconsin. He tours the mid-western part of the USA, his shows usually consisting of just him and his guitar. While the majority of his audience is made up of a college-age crowd, McCurdy manages to appeal to a large number of people of all ages with his interactive shows. Performing well over 300 shows a year, his large catalog of original songs (nearly 600 and growing) covers a variety of topics such as lost loves, politics, family vacations, the joys of Asian cuisine, and the sex organs of long-dead French Emperors.

Classifying McCurdy's style has long been a problem since he tends to follow wherever his muse takes him. Many of his songs could be classified as rock/pop, though he's been known to wander into folk, jazz, country and even Gilbert and Sullivan. Whatever style he chooses, his songs often include memorable lyrics.

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[edit] Biography

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pat McCurdy was influenced at an early age by the first appearance of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. After teaching himself guitar and participating in several high school bands, he went on to front Yipes! in the late 1970s. Often described as a power pop or New Wave band, Yipes! enjoyed some moderate success after being signed to RCA/Millennium in 1978. However, the label dropped the band after only a few years.

Pat McCurdy spent most of the 1980s fronting several bands. The Men About Town (which included several members of Yipes!), Mankind, and The Confidentials all enjoyed minor success touring the Midwest. It wasn't until late in the eighties, when McCurdy decided to take tentative steps into performing solo, that he managed to find his real niche.

Performing for sparse audiences in small bars, he honed his act to what could be described as "interactive goofiness". One of the most popular things that he does is sing little pieces of widely popular songs, usually from the '80s or '90s. In this, he gets entire audiences to sing along. This style quickly attracted a devoted cult following of fans, many of whom would (and still do) attend his shows on a weekly basis. Over time, the audiences became less sparse and the bars became less small, thanks mainly to word-of-mouth marketing. Still following this formula to this day, McCurdy has managed to create a successful and prosperous existence for himself without the support of a record label.

[edit] Discography

  • Yipes! (1979) (with Yipes!)
  • A Bit Irrational (1980) (with Yipes!)
  • How To Love And Be Loved (1985) (with The Confidentials)
  • The Good Life! (1988) (with The Confidentials)
  • Memorial Day (1989)
  • The Sound of Music (1991)
  • Pat in Person (1992)
  • Show Tunes (1995)
  • The Big Bright Beautiful World of Pat McCurdy (1997)
  • Pat in Person Volume 2 (1998)
  • Fainting With Happiness (2000)
  • My World of Love (2003)

[edit] References

[edit] External link

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