HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pat McCurdy is a singer-songwriter from
Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
,
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
.


Biography

McCurdy was influenced at an early age by the first appearance of
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...
''. After teaching himself guitar and participating in several high school bands, he went on to front
Yipes! Yipes! is an American rock music, rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. History Band members Pat McCurdy, Mike Hoffmann, and Pete Strand had been playing together since 1971, but formed Yipes! in 1977 after the addition of Teddy Freese and Andy Bar ...
in the late 1970s, formed with fellow
University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
students. Often described as a
power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
or new wave band, Yipes! enjoyed some moderate success after being signed to RCA/Millennium in 1978. However, the label dropped the band after only a few years. He has two sons, Julian and Miles.


Career

McCurdy spent most of the 1980s fronting several bands. The Men About Town (which included several members of
Yipes! Yipes! is an American rock music, rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. History Band members Pat McCurdy, Mike Hoffmann, and Pete Strand had been playing together since 1971, but formed Yipes! in 1977 after the addition of Teddy Freese and Andy Bar ...
), Mankind, and The Confidentials all enjoyed minor success touring the Midwest. It was not until late in the eighties, when McCurdy decided to take tentative steps into performing solo, that he managed to find his real niche. Performing initially for sparse audiences in small bars, he honed his act to what could be described as "interactive goofiness". For example, one of his most popular segments are his tributes to the 1980s and 1990s. These medleys, consisting largely of
one-hit wonders A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...
from those respective decades, invoke a sort of
call-and-response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...
with the crowd, where McCurdy sings a line or two from each song, cueing the audience to continue that bit. This style quickly attracted a devoted cult following of fans, many of whom would (and still do) attend his shows on a weekly basis. McCurdy's act has also brought increased involvement of his sound and light man, Jim "Pipe Jim" Schafelburger, an entertaining aspect in its own right. Over time, the audiences became less sparse and the bars became less small, thanks mainly to word-of-mouth marketing. He regularly tours the upper
midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
part of the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
with regular stops in Milwaukee,
Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...
,
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Green Bay, and
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
. His shows usually consist of just him and his guitar and include improvised interaction with the audience. While the majority of his audience is made up of a college-age crowd, McCurdy appeals to a large number of people of all ages. Performing well over 300 shows a year, his large catalog of original songs (over 600 and growing) covers a variety of topics such as lost loves, politics, family vacations, hair styles, the joys of Asian cuisine, the sex organs of long-dead French Emperors, how the world cannot live without Sex & Beer, and wishing to have a Monkey Paw. He even successfully makes humorous the mundane daily cycle of waking up, going to work, getting drunk, and going to sleep. In 2008, he was asked by the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
to write a song to play in their stadium. Originally objecting because he did not like sports songs, he went on to write "I Love the Green and Gold," eventually making it into a music video starring himself and featuring
Larry the Cable Guy Daniel Lawrence Whitney (born February 17, 1963), known professionally as Larry the Cable Guy, is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, actor, and former radio personality. He was one of the members of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, a ...
. After the Packers won
Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
, he wrote a follow-up song entitled "The Trophy Song." During the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, McCurdy performed 15 consecutive Friday evening "Shelter in Place" shows on Facebook. The shows were streamed live from his home in Wisconsin for tens of thousands of viewers from all around the world. Each show lasted about 90 minutes and featured a different drinking word, unique song requests (including several that Pat had not played in over 25 years) and shout outs and thank yous to fans. The performances often featured cameos by longtime manager Brian "Murf" Murphy, sound wizard Jim "Pipe Jim" Schaufelberger, Kimmy Unger from The WhiskeyBelles and members of McCurdy's family.


Discography

;with
Yipes! Yipes! is an American rock music, rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. History Band members Pat McCurdy, Mike Hoffmann, and Pete Strand had been playing together since 1971, but formed Yipes! in 1977 after the addition of Teddy Freese and Andy Bar ...
*''Yipes!'' (1979) *''A Bit Irrational'' (1980) *''Yipes!!!'' (2018) ;with The Confidentials *''How To Love And Be Loved'' (1985) *''The Good Life!'' (1988) ;Solo albums *''Memorial Day'' (1989) *''The Sound of Music'' (1991) *''Pat in Person'' (1992) *''Show Tunes'' (1995) *''The Big Bright Beautiful World of Pat McCurdy'' (1997) *''Pat in Person Volume 2'' (1998) *''Fainting With Happiness'' (2000) *''My World of Love'' (2003) *''15 Favorites'' (2007, compilation) *''Love is a Beautiful Thing'' (2012) *''Pat McCurdy Now!'' (2014) *''Souvenirs'' (2017, compilation) *''Now is Not the Time for Sad Songs: A Pandemic 2020 Souvenir'' (2020)


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCurdy, Pat American male singer-songwriters Living people Musicians from Milwaukee Place of birth missing (living people) University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Singer-songwriters from Wisconsin