Chris McKay (vocals, guitar, songs, keyboards), Frank DeFreese (bass), Joe Orr (vocals, guitar) and Joshua Harrison (drums)
Influences
The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Cheap Trick, Prince, Pink Floyd, Isley Brothers, David Bowie, The Cure, Duran Duran, Ty Tabor, Dug Pinnick, Jerry Gaskill, Jellyfish, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, The Sex Pistols, Johnny Cash, Mike Garson, The Moody Blues, Queen, James Brown, Drive-By Truckers, Electric Light Orchestra, Kiss, Big Star, Lindsey Buckingham, Todd Rundgren, Frank Zappa, The Rolling Stones, King Crimson, kd lang, Neil Young, Pop Music Radio from 1955 - 2005 and all of our friends that we've learned from.
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Chris McKay & The Critical Darlings
Hailing from South Carolina and choosing Athens as his home, nationally known photographer Chris McKay earned a couple of handfuls of ASCAP Music Awards for his solo work but had wanted to be back in a group since his days with Q-Sign, which was named “one of the best unsigned bands in America” by Musician Magazine.
In 2004, McKay and his bass-playing high school friend Frank DeFreese formed The Critical Darlings. When word started to spread, the offers for shows came. “For the first year, we never booked gigs. We only accepted invitations,” McKay said. “I thought that was a great sign.”
Eventually, the Darlings went into the studio to record C’mon, Accept Your Joy! Before the CD was finished, leaked tracks had garnered airplay in 3 states. Since the official release of Joy, the songs have been picked up by over 150 stations around the world (from Poland to New Zealand to London and back to the States).
In 2007, the Critical Darlings expanded to a quartet (with the addition of guitarist / vocalist Joe Orr and drummer Josh Harrison) and have started work on their second album, tentatively titled Satisfactionista with GRAMMY nominated producer David Barbe (R.E.M., Drive-By Truckers, Betty LaVette) behind the board. Of special interest is the collaboration with David Bowie’s inimitable pianist Mike Garson (Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, Young Americans) who appears on the track “Something Unseen” (which also finds Drive-By Truckers’ Brad Morgan on drums).
If that’s not enough, The Darlings are one of the first to employ Pete Townshend’s Lifehouse Method in “co-composing” several tracks with The WHO’s songwriter / guitarist via software that produces a unique song based .. input.
It's no wonder that Lee Valentine Smith of Creative Loafing has named the Critical Darlings “a great little buzz-worthy band” and dubbed McKay “power pop potentate.”
For more info, mp3s, photos and the archive, visit...
www.criticaldarlings.com
Chris McKay & The Critical Darlings's Friend Space (Top 20)
Chris McKay & The Critical Darlings has 1878 friends.
Joe and Chris, It was so great seeing y'all last night! I wasn't sure how y'all were gonna pull off the whole acoustic thing (b/c of the complexity of y'all's songs), but ya freaking knocked it out of the ballpark! Y'all fucking rock and it was so great hearing y'all live (playing your own music... although Chris, I would've gladly lent you my lipstick if you felt compelled to sing Bowie... Haha!) I'm so glad y'all were able to make the trip to the ATL and I look forward to hearing the whole band rock out. Thank you SO much for being SO generous and SO sweet to me... I really and truly had a lot of fun, which is something I definitely don’t get enough of these days. Y'all made me feel totally welcomed and I very much appreciate that. Plus, I really enjoyed helping make up the set list- by way of yelling out what I wanted to hear next- because I got to hear those songs that I especially love. (Oh, and Chris, you totally won the morose award... I don't know if that's good or bad, but congrats anyways. :) Joe, dude, you didn't even try! I guess you just like those happy songs too much...) Y'all definitely need to get down here more often and soon! (And you can even bring Joshua and Frank along too if ya want) :)
I see you like the rock! Actually it has something to do with Stonehenge now don't ask me what as I have NO IDEA! I barely remember that day other than we got up really early.
I must say I love how the great shirt debate appeasrs to be going. Reading people's comments is quite entertaining! So many satisfashionistas. Haha, couldn't resist.
Been away from the web last few days, just came back and heard 'Rage On' for the first time in over a week. It still sounds awesome and fresh! I'd go as far to call it one of my all time favourite songs.
