The McLovins

The McLovins

The McLovins 2013 (left to right) Jake Huffman, Jason Ott, Atticus Kelly, & Justin Berger
Background information
Origin East Granby, Simsbury, New Britain, Philadelphia
Genres Progressive rock, jam band
Years active 2009–present
Labels Triple J Records
Website mclovins.band
Members Justin Berger
Jake Huffman
Atticus Kelly
Jason Ott
Past members Jeff Howard

The McLovins are an American jam band formed in 2009. The band's lineup consists of bass guitarist Jason Ott, drummer Jake Huffman, lead guitarist Justin Berger and keyboardist Atticus Kelly. The McLovins specialize in the creation of dynamic and improvised sound, influenced by the members' disparate and eclectic musical influences. The Mclovins embrace simultaneous and intricate improvisation with a more versatile front line in which all members are singing in four-part harmony, writing lyrics & music, as well as expounding on one another's musical ideas. The band is currently based out of the University of Hartford.

Personnel

History

The band was founded in the summer of 2008 after a series of chance meetings between the trio at local music camps. The band toured locally in Southern New England playing a mixture of covers and their own original compositions, though it was a video cover of Phish's "You Enjoy Myself" that gained them attention on YouTube. In the spring of 2009 they released their first studio album Conundrum, which featured original songs inspired by the Norton Juster novel The Phantom Tollbooth. Conundrum featured graphics by Ink Design Studios, which is also responsible for the band's psychedelic skull logo. The band was featured in Rolling Stone magazine.[1]

In the summer of 2009 the band performed on the Green Vibes tent at the Gathering of the Vibes where they played to a crowd of over 1,000 people. The McLovins commissioned a pair of posters from poster artist AJ Masthay to commemorate The McLovins Phish Pre-Shows in Hartford and Satatoga Springs as part of the celebration for Phish's 2009 reunion tour. During the fall of 2009 and Winter of 2010 they continued to tour regionally throughout New England, including their first appearance at Moe.'s spring festival Snoe.down as well as playing Nectar's in Burlington, Vermont. They have managed to cultivate a loyal following due to multiple appearances at Keene State College. The McLovins have done several shows at Troy, New York's Revolution Hall including a double bill with 7 Walkers on the venue's closing night. In the spring of 2010 the band released their second studio album, Good Catch, featuring original songs written by the band.

In the summer of 2010 the band scheduled numerous festival appearances including StrangeCreek, Mountain Jam, the inaugural Nateva Music Festival,[2] Gathering of the Vibes, Bella Terra Festival and WormTown. The band continued to play locally and regionally with favorite venues including Black Eyed Sally's, The Main Pub and they have made several appearances at Brooklyn Bowl as well as Sullivan Hall in NYC. In the fall of 2010, The McLovins collaborated with Phish lyricist Tom Marshall and his partner Anthony Krizan (of Spin Doctors fame) to co-write "Cohesive", which they recorded with Marshall and Krizan at Krizan's Sonic Boom studios.[3] They debuted the song during a performance at Brooklyn Bowl[4] where they were joined onstage by both Marshall and Krizan. The band also released a commemorative poster of this show, produced by AJ Masthay. They set an aggressive touring schedule for 2011 with return trips to Nectars, Fairfield Theatre Company, Infinity Hall and the band's first trip to The IronHorse Music Hall in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Moving into spring of 2011, the band continued to tour and scored opening slots for Buddy Guy and Bill Kreutzmann's 7 Walkers among others. They also began work on their third album utilizing Marshall and Krizan to co-produce with the band. Marshall also contributed two songs to the disc along with their previous collaboration, the single "Cohesive", with all songs recorded at Krizan's Sonic Boom studios. The summer tour included stops at Strangecreek, Camp Creek and their first ever Main Stage performance kicking off Saturday's Gathering of the Vibes festivities. In the fall, the band's academic pressures began to limit their touring schedule until just after Thanksgiving when founding guitarist Jeff Howard decided he was leaving the group. Jeff finished the year out with four shows in December, his last concert with the band was December 30, 2011 at Pearl Street in Northampton.

The debut show featuring new guitarists Justin Berger and Atticus Kelly was New Year's Eve 2011 at Arch Street Tavern in Hartford, Connecticut.[5] The McLovins also released their third studio album, Who Knows, on January 14, 2012 as a digital only download. The band was asked by ESPN2 to appear as a house band on three episodes of their afternoon variety show, SportsNation.[6] The appearances were originally broadcast on June 27–29. The band will reprise these appearances the last week of August.

In January 2014, the band set off on their first Mid-Atlantic/Southern tour playing venues from Baltimore Maryland to Miami Florida. January 2014 also saw the release of the bands 4th full-length album Beautiful Lights, the first to feature Justin Berger and Atticus Kelly. Beautiful Lights also featured a cover photo by Nick Sonsini of Sonsini Media.

In November 2014, the McLovins were featured with Earphunk, a New Orleans prog funk band, at Live and Listen's (http://www.liveandlisten.com) inaugural event in Montgomery, AL, also the first musical act at a new venue in the area, The Warehouse at Alley Station. The McLovins brought on vocalist Kara Kirkland to end their set, with a memorable cover of Lettuce's “Do It Like You Do."

Discography

Conundrum

Released in 2009, produced by Dave Colbourne of New Vizion Studios

Virtual Circle

An EP released by the band in 2009 produced by Dave Colbourne of New Vizion Studios

Good Catch

Released in 2010, produced by Dave Colbourne of New Vizion Studios

Cohesive

A single released in 2010, produced by Tom Marshall & Anthony Krizan at Sonic Boom Studios

Who Knows

Released in 2012, produced by Tom Marshall & Anthony Krizan at Sonic Boom Studios

Beautiful Lights

Released in 2014, produced by Anthony Krizan at Sonic Boom Studios. This is the first album to feature Atticus Kelly and Justin Berger.

Funk No. Uno

Released during Summer Tour 2014. This album was entirely produced by the band themselves.

Live recording

The McLovins subscribe to a free and open taping policy. They allow taping of any show where the venue also allows live taping. Matrix recordings of shows, a mix of soundboard and audience recordings, are available for many shows and all recordings are posted at Archive.Org for free download and sharing.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "DYNNE by McLovins: Sweet Sound Don’t Leave Me Now". Jamtopia. March 16, 2009. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Schedule". Nateva Festival. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  3. ↑ "The McLovins, Tom Marshall and Anthony Krizan: The Making of "Cohesive"". Relix.com. June 10, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  4. ↑ "The McLovins! FREE SUNDAY!". Brooklynbowl.com. March 7, 2010. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Need We Say More? > Reviews > Shows > The McLovins, Arch St. Tavern, Hartford, CT - 12/31". Jambands.com. January 17, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  6. ↑ "McLovins on ESPN 2's SportsNation". Frequency.com. June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  7. ↑ "The McLovins". Archive.org. Retrieved June 19, 2012.

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