TJ McCloud

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TJ McCloud

Background information
Origin	Oklahoma
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Years active	1999 – present
Label(s)	Martingale Music
Website	TJ's music website

TJ McCloud is an indie/folk singer and songwriter. Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1980, he lived in Perry, Oklahoma until 1990, then moved with his family to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he finished high school. In 1999, he co-founded the group Doubting Thomas with Jenks High School buddies Ab Colby and Rockwell Ryan Ripperger. While a student at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, McCloud and Ripperger later morphed into the successful indie group Stephen Speaks. After surprise success in Manila, Philippines, McCloud relocated to Nashville, TN in order to pursue a solo career as an indie singer and songwriter.

His first album Kind of Life was produced in 2003 by Nashville indie producer Donald Boutwell. It featured McCloud's hit single "Out of My League", a re-recording of the track which, along with the song "Passenger Seat", Stephen Speaks took to #1 on Filipino radio stations in Spring of 2003. "Kind of Life" is available on iTunes and through online distributor CDbaby. In 2006 he wrote and sang an album of children's music for Parable Bookstores called "Playground- A Place I Know", published by Martingale Music, which he has described as "kids' songs that moms won't hate". A follow-up collection was released in Summer 2007, called " Playground-I Want to Shine". His latest release is 2008's "Long Live Love-EP", a collection of love songs that includes a version of the popular indie hit "Out of My League" in its' original arrangement.

In 2006, TJ and his wife, Holly, moved to the Dominican Republic to start a Christian youth outreach center in the town of Rio San Juan.