Ralph Lee "Mac" McCaughan (; born July 12, 1967) is an American musician and record label owner, based in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

. His main musical projects have been

Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of t ...

since 1989 and

Portastatic Portastatic is an American indie rock band founded in the early 1990s as a solo project of Mac McCaughan, singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Superchunk. The project has since expanded into a full band, sometimes including Superchunk gui ...

since the early 1990s. In 1989 he founded the independent record label Merge Records with Superchunk bandmate Laura Ballance.

Musical history

McCaughan is a founding member of the rock band

. Formed in 1989, they are one of the bands that helped define the Chapel Hill music scene of the 1990s. Their energetic, high-velocity style and

do-it-yourself ethic "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

s is influenced by punk rock. The band released a string of full-length albums and compilations throughout the ‘90s. After releasing their eighth studio album in 2001, the band went into a period of reduced activity. In 2010, the band released a new studio album Majesty Shredding and followed it up in 2013 with their tenth studio album, I Hate Music. He also heads the band

, which began as a lo-fi side project from Superchunk and has blossomed into his main musical project. Prior to this, he was the head of another lo-fi band named

Bricks A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

with Andrew Webster of

Tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

, Josh Phillips and

Laura Cantrell Laura Cantrell (born July 16, 1967) is a country singer-songwriter and DJ from Nashville, Tennessee. Biography Cantrell moved to New York City from her native Nashville to study English at Columbia University. She briefly recorded songs with ...

. Other bands he played with prior to Superchunk include Slushpuppies, Wwax and Metal Pitcher (with Ballance). In the early 1990s he was also the original drummer in the band

Seam Seam may refer to: Science and technology * Seam (geology), a stratum of coal or mineral that is economically viable; a bed or a distinct layer of vein of rock in other layers of rock * Seam (metallurgy), a metalworking process the joins the ends ...

, which was formed in 1991 with former Bitch Magnet front man Sooyoung Park. He played on their debut album

Headsparks ''Headsparks'' is the debut studio album by the American indie rock band Seam, released on March 11, 1992 by Homestead Records. Recording and release ''Headsparks'' was recorded by Jerry Kee at Duck-Kee Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina in Augu ...

and the Kernel EP. In 2002, McCaughan teamed up with Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices to form the group Go Back Snowball. The duo recorded and released an album in 2002, titled ''Calling Zero''. In the same year, he composed the score for Matt Bissonnette and Steven Clark's film ''

Looking for Leonard ''Looking for Leonard'' is a Canadian crime comedy-drama film, directed by Matt Bissonnette (director), Matt Bissonnette and Steven Clark and released in 2002.Rick Groen, "Leonard's quest finds both vice and virtue". ''The Globe and Mail'', Novemb ...

''.

Merge Records

Along with his Superchunk band mate Laura Ballance, he founded the successful independent record label Merge Records in 1989 as a way to release music from Superchunk and music created by friends. The label has expanded to include artists from around the world and records reaching the top of the Billboard music charts, including the highly successful band

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...

. McCaughan was a co-contributor to the book ''Our Noise - The Story of Merge Records'' by John Cook, released in 2009.

Other activity

On October 24, 2007, McCaughan gave expert witness testimony in the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on the topic "The Future of Radio".

Personal life

McCaughan lives in

Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange, Durham County, North Carolina, Durham and Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 United States Ce ...

with his wife and children. He graduated from

Columbia College Columbia College may refer to one of several institutions of higher education in North America: Canada * Columbia College (Alberta), in Calgary * Columbia College (British Columbia), a two-year liberal arts institution in Vancouver * Columbia In ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in 1990.

Discography

Superchunk

* ''

'' (1990) * '' No Pocky for Kitty'' (1991) * '' On the Mouth'' (1993) * '' Foolish'' (1994) * '' Here's Where the Strings Come In'' (1995) * '' Indoor Living'' (1997) * ''

Come Pick Me Up ''Come Pick Me Up'' is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Superchunk, released in 1999. It is marked by the presence of co-producer Jim O'Rourke, a well-known figure in underground circles. Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster said ...

'' (1999) * ''

Here's to Shutting Up ''Here's to Shutting Up'' is the eighth studio album by American indie rock band Superchunk. Brian Paulson Brian Paulson is an American musician, record producer and audio engineer from Minnesota, best known for recording albums by Slint, Uncl ...

'' (2001) * '' Majesty Shredding'' (2010) * '' I Hate Music'' (2013) * '' What a Time to Be Alive'' (2018) * ''Foolish AF'' (2019)

Portastatic

All releases on Merge Records. *'' I Hope Your Heart Is Not Brittle'' (CD/LP) (1994) *'' Slow Note From a Sinking Ship'' (CD/LP) (1995) *'' The Nature of Sap'' (CD/LP) (1997) *'' Summer of the Shark'' (CD) (2003) *'' Bright Ideas'' (CD) (2005) *'' Be Still Please'' (CD) (2006)

Mac McCaughan

*''Non-Believers'' (CD/LP) (2015) *''New Rain Duets'' (LP/digital) (with

Mary Lattimore Mary Lattimore (born 1980) is an American classically trained harpist based in Los Angeles, California. In addition to her solo work and collaborations with fellow Philadelphia musician Jeff Zeigler, she has performed with prominent indie musici ...

) (2019)

References

External links

portastatic
- Mac McCaughan's blog
Superchunk
- official website
Merge Records
- official website {{DEFAULTSORT:McCaughan, Mac 1967 births Living people American male singers American rock singers Singers from North Carolina People from Chapel Hill, North Carolina Merge Records Superchunk members Columbia College (New York) alumni