Album Notes

James McVay
BIO



Born from the seeds of Stephen Stills, Leo Kottke, Dan Fogelberg and Jackson Browne, James McVay blends his powerhouse guitar chops with lyrics that speak with an honesty and social insight sorely needed in the world today. His life in music spanning 40 years has taken him from the street corners of New York to concert halls and all points in between.

Raised in the heart of America, James McVay began playing guitar at the age of 7, writing songs at 10 and by 13 was performing solo in coffee houses for extra money. His family played their role with parents passionate about classical music and older sisters opening the doors to the likes of Hendrix, Joplin, Dylan, James Taylor, CSN and others, as a tapestry of influences began weaving their threads through his life of music.

By 18 he was playing in night clubs, traveling from city to city making his living on the road. His travels would take him to New York City where by day he chauffered an icon in the record business through the gridlock of the city, playing music at night and in the wee hours of the morning hearing impromtu concerts from the musicians he had grown up listening to. A family crisis and a sister's plea would move him to California where he would sell his first song as a main title for an award winning movie and the next chapter in his life began.

One song led to another and in the next two years he would find himself launched on a career spanning 18 years as a composer for more than 30 movies and hundreds of television shows as well as writing many of the songs in the movies he scored. Drawing on his early exposure to classical music and private study he honed his skills as a writer and arranger as well as conducting the orchestras for his movies.

In between scoring assignments James continued arranging and producing songs for many of LA's best indie songwriters and branching out, created the "concertino" for guitar and orchestra, "The Industrial Day".

In 2003 the love of the song led him back to his own path as a songwriter and performer and the result was Heroes On The Homefront. His debut is an album of music at once edgy, powerful, delicate and passionate. Enlisting the help of old friends and collaborators, Heroes plays host to the talents of Doane Perry (Jethro Tull), Kate Markowitz and Arnold McCuller (James Taylor),
Valerie Landsburg (Fame),and David Schwartz (Northern Exposure, Deadwood).

With Heroes On The Homefront available on the net and finding its place in record stores across America, James McVay hits the road much as he did at 18 with a guitar on his back bringing his music to the world.