Gabrial McNair (born September 8, 1973) is a musician and composer, most famous for his work in

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, ...

since 1993 as a

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical inst ...

, and

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

. He recorded and toured with

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...

during the ''

Nimrod Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...

'' and '' Warning'' tours, playing

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

and

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

. In 2003, he was one of the co-founders the California-based rock band

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

where he plays the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

Early life and studies

McNair attended Glendora High School in

Glendora, California Glendora is a city in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County, California, east of Los Angeles. As of the 2020 census, the population of Glendora was 52,558. Known as the "Pride of the Foothills", Glendora is nestled in the foothills ...

. He played trombone in the

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, o ...

and

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

in the Scottish Pipe Band. After graduation, he went on to study

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and Music Composition at

Citrus College Citrus College is a public community college in Glendora, California. The Citrus Community College District, which supports the institution, includes the communities of Azusa, Claremont, Duarte, Glendora and Monrovia. Founded in 1915 by educa ...

, before moving on to

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

to continue his studies with

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

Alex Iles Alexander Iles is an American trombonist who teaches at the California Institute of the Arts, Azusa Pacific University, and California State University, Northridge. He has toured as lead and solo jazz trombonist with Maynard Ferguson, with whom h ...

Joe LaBarbera Joseph James LaBarbera (born February 22, 1948) is an American jazz drummer and composer. He is best known for his recordings and live performances with the trio of pianist Bill Evans in the final years of Evans's career. His older brothers are ...

, and David Roitstein.

Collaborations

Outside of

, he has written and recorded with bandmate/producer, Tony Kanal, in the studio on various recordings for

Elan Atias Elan Atias (born September 21, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter, reggae singer.Brown, MarisaElan Biography, Allmusic, retrieved May 20, 2011 Atias performed with The Wailers, which had been the backing band for Bob Marley, on and off fro ...

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderweb ...

, and Pepper. Gabrial composed additional music for the 2012 animated TV series "Action Dad", as well as the main title theme. Gabrial collaborated with

Garbage Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produ ...

frontwoman,

Shirley Manson Shirley Ann Manson (born 26 August 1966) is a Scottish musician and actress. She is best known as the lead singer of the American alternative rock band Garbage. Manson gained media attention for her forthright style, rebellious attitude, and dis ...

on a song for the 2014 feature film "Dark Hearts" Directed by Rudolf Buitendach In 2014, Gabrial contributed additional music to the score of the children's animated feature "The Hero of Color City" with Zoë Poledouris and Angel Roche. McNair has also composed music for various TV shows including Cartoon Network Asia's, "The Afterschool Adventures of Paddle Pop" and "Animal Control".

With Oslo

His band

, which includes Mattia Borrani on lead vocals and Kerry Wayne James on bass, with McNair on guitars, toured with

Blue October Blue October is an American rock band originally from Houston, Texas. The band was formed in 1995 and is currently composed of singer/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye, bassist ...

in the Fall of 2006 on the Foiled Tour in the US and Canada. Oslo released their second full-length album, called ''The Rise and Fall of Love and Hate'', in 2007. Oslo released an EP titled "The Morning After" in 2017. On April 9, 2017, Oslo opened for

Dreamcar Dreamcar (stylized as DREAMCAR) is an American new wave supergroup from Los Angeles, California. Background and musical style When news first broke of Davey Havok working with No Doubt members, many believed he would be replacing Gwen Stefani ...

, a band featuring members of

and the lead singer of AFI at the

Great American Music Hall The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre. It is known for its decorative balconie ...

in San Francisco, and at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood.

Appearances

In the late 2005, McNair went on tour with fellow band member

on her solo Harajuku Lovers Tour. He joined Gwen once again on " The Sweet Escape Tour" in 2007. He continues to perform with Miss Stefani on her Las Vegas Residency "Just a Girl" at the Planet Hollywood Casino, as well as other various performances. He joined the

Smashing Pumpkins Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer Ar ...

on their 20th Anniversary Tour in 2008, playing the trombone, backing vocals, and percussion. He also joined

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male R ...

on his "Black and White America World Tour" in 2011 & 2012, playing the trombone and percussion. In 2013, he lent his vocals to the track "Desert Lullaby" on the original soundtrack of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, composed by

Naoshi Mizuta is a Japanese video game composer and musician. He is best known for his work on ''Final Fantasy XI'' (with Nobuo Uematsu and Kumi Tanioka), but has also composed music for ''Mega Man & Bass'', ''Street Fighter Alpha'', and ''Parasite Eve II''. H ...

. The soundtrack was released on November 21, the same day as the release of the game in Japan; the North American and European release followed in early 2014. In 2016, he began touring and playing keyboards for the band Tegan and Sara alongside drummer Brendan Buckley, and Bassist Eva Gardner. He joined them on their 2016 world tour in support of their new record '' Love You To Death''. He also continued performing with Tegan and Sara on the 10th Anniversary tour celebrating their classic album The Con. Since the Fall of 2017, Gabrial has been recording and performing with

Sublime with Rome Sublime with Rome is a musical collaboration between Eric Wilson, formerly of the American ska punk band Sublime, and singer and guitarist Rome Ramirez. The group's name is not only a reference to the singer's first name, but to the fact that ...

, playing Keyboards, Trombone, and Backing Vocals. He contributed Keyboards and Trombone to their 2019 album Blessings (album). They are currently working on a new album, which is planned for a release in 2022.

Selected discography

*'' Beacon Street Collection'' (

, 1995) *'' Tragic Kingdom'' (

, 1995) *

A Very Special Christmas 3 ''A Very Special Christmas 3'' is the third in the '' A Very Special Christmas'' series of Christmas-themed compilation albums produced to benefit the Special Olympics. The album was released on 23 September 1997, and production was overseen by B ...

(Various, 1997) *'' Hang-Ups'' ( Goldfinger, 1996) *''

'' (

, 1997) *''

The Nixons The Nixons are an American alternative rock band formed in 1989. They found commercial success during the mid-1990s, releasing two albums through MCA Records in 1995–1997. The band is best known for the hit singles "Sister" and "Wire" from ...

'' (

, 1997) *'' Americana'' (

The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guit ...

, 1998) *'' Rugrats: The Movie'' (Original Soundtrack, 1998) *''

Hitler Bad, Vandals Good ''Hitler Bad, Vandals Good'' is the seventh studio album by the southern California punk rock band The Vandals, released in 1998 by Nitro Records. Composition Much of the album is characterized by the pop-punk music and humorous lyrics for wh ...

'' ( The Vandals, 1998) *''Showoff'' ( Showoff, 1999) *'' Darrin's Coconut Ass: Live from Omaha'' ( Goldfinger, 1999) *''Senza Motiva'' (Senza Motiva, 1999) *''

Playmate of The Year This is a list of models who were chosen as a Playboy Playmate of the Year for the American edition of ''Playboy'' magazine. List of Playmates of the Year *1953: Marilyn Monroe *1954: *1955: *1956: *1957: *1958: *1959: *1960: Ellen Stratton ...

'' (

Zebrahead Zebrahead is an American rap-punk band from La Habra, California. Formed in 1996, the band has released thirteen studio albums to date. History 1996–2001: Formation and early years Zebrahead was formed in La Habra, California in summer ...

, 2000) *'' Return of Saturn'' (

, 2000) *'' Atomic'' ( Lit, 2001) *'' Destination Unknown'' ( Mest, 2001) *'' Rock Steady'' (

, 2001) *'' Tune In, Tokyo...'' (

, 2001) *Action Figure Party (Action Figure Party, 2001) *''Clear'' (The Color Red, 2002) *''Thank You, Uncle Tom'' (Caramelize, 2003) *''

50 First Dates ''50 First Dates'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It follows the story of Henry, a womanizing m ...

'' (Original Soundtrack, 2004) *Everything in Time: B-Sides, Rarities, Remixes (

, 2004) *'' True Love'' ( Toots & the Maytals, 2004) *'' Lit'' ( Lit, 2005) *'' One Love'' ( Kimberley Locke, 2005) *'' Disconnection Notice'' ( Goldfinger, 2005) *'' Look at All the Love We Found: A Tribute to Sublime'' (Various, 2005) *''

'' (

, 2005) *''

Wikked Lil' Grrrls ''Wikked Lil' Grrrls'' is Canadian singer Esthero's second album, her first full-length in seven years. It was released on June 28, 2005 in North America by Reprise Records. The album elicited mixed reviews upon its release, with contemporary mus ...

'' ( Esthero, 2005) *'' Together as One'' ( Elan, 2006) *'' Harajuku Lovers Live'' (

, 2006) *'' No Shame'' ( Pepper, 2006) *''

Songs We Sing ''Songs We Sing'' is an album by singer/songwriter Matt Costa. It was originally released on July 26, 2005, and then re-released with a new track list by Brushfire Records on March 28, 2006. 2005 independent release ''Songs We Sing'' was origina ...

'' (

Matt Costa Matthew Albert Costa (born June 16, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter from Huntington Beach, California, United States. He has 13 independent releases: 7 self-recorded EPs, 6 complete LPs, 4 of which are released via Brushfire Records. ...

, 2006) *'' The Sweet Escape'' (

, 2006) *'' The Rise and Fall of Love and Hate'' (

), 2007 *'' The Greatest Remixes'' (

Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of twin brothers Joel Madden (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (guitar and vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin ( ...

, 2008) *'' Pilar Diaz'' ( Pilar Diaz, 2009) *'' Glee'' ( Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, 2011) *'' Push and Shove'' (

, 2012) * Man on the Run ( Bush, 2014) *

The Hero of Color City ''The Hero of Color City'' (also known as ''The Hero of Colour City'' in the UK) is a 2014 computer-animated musical adventure comedy film directed by Frank Gladstone and written by Jess Kedward, J.P. McCormick, Kirsty Peart, and Rich Raczelowski ...

( Zöe Poledouris, 2014) * Sorry I'm Late ( Cher Lloyd, 2014) * Shine (

, 2015) *Rocks & Straws (

Anneli Drecker Anneli Marian Drecker (born 12 February 1969, in Tromsø, Norway) is a Norwegian singer and actress from the city of Tromsø. She is the frontwoman for the dream pop band Bel Canto. Life and career Drecker's father Peter, a German from Biele ...

, 2015) *The Morning After EP (

Oslo (band) OSLO is an alternative/ indie rock band who emerged on the Los Angeles music scene in 2005, consisting of the songwriting trio of Mattia Borrani on lead vocals, Kerry Wayne James on bass, and Gabrial McNair on guitars. Famously, McNair was a t ...

, 2016 *

(

, 2017) *''Mass Manipulation'' ( Steel Pulse, (2019) *'' Blessings'' (

, 2019) *"Forwards Bound" (Single) (Iya Terra feat. Steel Pulse, 2021)

References

External links

Gabrial's Official WebsiteOfficial No Doubt Website
*

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNair, Gabrial African-American rock musicians No Doubt members American multi-instrumentalists American ska trombonists American rock keyboardists Male trombonists Living people 1973 births Citrus College people 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century trombonists Dreamcar members