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The ArmyNoah Harris ~ pianos, vocals, guitar Noah is one of the, if not the most talented person with whom I have ever played music. He has a solo project under his name. He and his wife Adriel have a band called Elanors. They are greatness. Noah and I met in Champaign, IL in 2005, and he has played on all my recordings and in all the various band incarnations since then. He is a sweet man, musician, and friend. Darren Garvey ~ drums I met Darren through Manny Sanchez at the IV Lab in Chicago. His drumming reputation preceded him. It is no wonder, now that I know him. His feel and timing are effortless. Not to mention, he always plays for the betterment of the song. He is one of kindest souls I have met, and it is a pleasure to simply play music with him behind the kit. He is the drummer for the Chicago band Buddy Nuisance and percussionist extraordinaire for the Andreas Kapsalis Trio. Charlie Koltak ~ drums More effortless timing here. I met Charlie the same evening that I met Rodrigo, as Charlie was the drummer for Detroit's Judah Johnson. Charlie has kindly offered his services to sit in with us whenever our schedules work out. Like Noah and Dan, he currently plays with Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons. A student of the drums, Charlie is as kind a man and inventive a drummer as they get. Rodrigo Palma ~ electric bass I met Rodrigo many years back, methinks 2003 or so in Champaign, IL. His band at the time, Judah Johnson, and I were on a bill together at the Iron Post. I remember asking him what kind of stuff they did...Rodrigo's reply was "chicks, coke, and x mostly." He was either a complete jackass or just had a great sense of humor. Luckily it was the later. He is the most musical person I know. He has a vast knowledge of both the art and science of music, spanning across genres, international datelines, timezones, styles, etc. One of the best bass players I have heard. Bill Lowman ~ upright/electric bass Well. Well. Well. Let's see...I met Billy again through Manny Sanchez. His reputation on the string bass preceded him, much like Darren. Bill and I met in 2006 and had originally started talking about adding string bass in with the quartet. When we started working on songs from the MI demos, Bill was the perfect upright bass player to join us. He currently fronts a project called W.W. Lowman, based out of Chicago, and run his own label called Who Hey. Bill happens to be a badass on the electric bass as well, but that is for another time. Jason Brammer ~ electric bass I met Jason through a mutual friend, Matt Suhar, many years ago. 2001 maybe. He says it was at the Hideout; I say the Pontiac. Either way, Jason has come to be one of my best friends, in music and in life. He was in a great band called Old Pike back in the mid-late 90s. Jason first played on the song "Long Way Back To California" off of my first record. He played bass on the most recent Army record and toured with me for years. I love him dearly and we were sad to have him bow out last year, but his other genius for painting/muraling was calling him full-time. See for yourself @ www.jasonbrammer.com. One of my favorite bass players and people. Jeffrey Kmieciak ~ guitar I met Jeff in late 2004 when I was putting together the first Army lineup. He is one of the most visceral guitar players I have known. He has a wonderful ear and can find his way into a line for any song, in any style. He is the lead guitar player for the Chicago band Tenki. He is currently working on and recording demos of his solo material. Jeffrey is a friend, a kind soul, a great cook, and a uniquely talented guitarist. Plus, he has the uncanny ability to make his guitar sound like a seagull. Kathleen Bracken ~ voice Katie has one of those voices that makes you jealous. She can look at you and know what harmony to sing immediately. We met in the winter of 2005 when the Army was doing a show in MI with her band, Those Transatlantics. I had returned from a solo tour in late 2006 and Kate was visiting Chicago around that time. We were having a drink at Johnny's on Lincoln, and she suggested that we do a record of the Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris variety. I took it as a dare and spent the next few weeks writing a group of songs to be performed as duets. Those are the songs that we ended up demo-ing in Mt. Pleasant, MI in early 2007, hence the MI demos references. Those are the songs that now make up the forthcoming, Cameron McGill's Warm Songs for Cold Shoulders. I am glad the Katie helped me make this album possible. Daniel McMahon ~ guitars, dobro, accordian, B3 Dan makes everything sound better. Period. His guitar playing is always tasteful and catchy as hell. He is so schooled in the greats, yet does an amazing job blending styles to form his own approach to songs. He can pretty much play anything with a string on it and or a keyboard, or drums, etc. etc. etc. He is that guy that you can bring into the studio, and he IS the band. I love him dearly and am happy that he graces the tracks of the newest record. Nate Powell ~ mandolin I met Nate, because he was Katie's next door neighbor in Mt. Pleasant, MI. When we were working on the demos, Kate suggested that Nate come over and play mandolin. And he did...on almost every song on the album. He just would do something great and melodic on every song. He is an amazing part player like Dan and Noah. Certainly one of the best mandolin players I have had the pleasure to join on stage and in the studio. We hope he moves a little closer to us so that he can join us on stage again. |
The Quartet OffensiveNathan Swanson ~ first violin Where to start? Nathan and I met on a gig in 2003, unbeknownst to us, we were second cousins. He has more musical knowledge than I could hope to accumulate in 3 lifetimes. Nathan and I had an opportunity to play together in the Army, where Nathan played cello and percussion. In January of 2006, Nathan and I debuted our string quartet project, Cameron McGill & The Quartet Offensive. We have since played many shows with various string players from Chicago and from any given city through which we might be touring. Nathan's string scores for the songs on Street Ballads & Murderesques are breathtaking. We are in the process of capturing that on tape, and I will let his genius speak for itself. Kristina Dutton ~ second violin I met Kristina through Nathan when we were looking to put together a steady string quartet in Chicago. I can't say enough about her abilities on the violin. I am honored that she joins our band when she has the time. She fronts a wonderful Chicago band called Smallwire, where she also sings (beautifully) and plays guitar. When not playing shows or recording, she teaches violin lessons to the kiddos and gets in arguments with Kevin Davis. Kevin Davis ~ cello Sweet southern charmer. I love Kevin Davis, and so does the rest of the quartet. Kevin has been a staple of the Chicago improv/experimental scene for years; playing cello, upright bass, and piano in many projects. He has a great energy for the science of music and loves to talk about it. He recently has been playing keys with Bobby Conn. Andra Durham ~ viola I met Andra through Nathan and Kristina and she has graced us with her presence on the viola for the last year or so. Either the most quiet or the most outspoken, Andra always wants to work to better the quartet. In the studio she would tirelessly keep track of the string takes and keep an ear out for all parts played. I always appreciate her willingness to be involved. A pleasure to play music with. |