{image1}The walls reflect the sparse light in the dimly illuminated Velvet Room downtown while the fashionable patrons sip pricey cosmopolitans on a balmy Saturday night. The halls fill with insincere conversation as members of the opposite sex try, with their words to make themselves seem bigger than they really are, only to forget the name of the person they are talking to a few minutes later.
All artificiality ceases when a young, bushy-haired gentleman begins singing into a microphone. His words and music cut through with an open and honest charm and groovy funk that gives the patrons something to applaud when his first song is completed. They find something refreshing when their ears meet the sounds of John McCarty.
Tonight, McCarty is celebrating the release of his fourth album "Plans We Made," his first for the Wauwatosa-based label Burst Records. The self-taught guitarist/musician proclaims to the audience, "There are some people here from my past and some from my present, but you are all part of my future."
The listeners' clapping touches his heart, and his music touches theirs.
Probably the biggest influence in McCarty's musical past would be his father. His childhood in Duluth, Minn. was filled with his dad spinning tunes from the golden age of singer-songwriters from the 1970s, such as Bread and Paul Simon.
"My dad was always a music freak. He was never a musician himself, but he listened to music constantly ... I had a thing where I thought my dad knew the words to every song, so it became my mission to learn every word to every song."
But as young boys become young men, everything changes so quickly, which is one of the many prevalent themes of "Plans We Made."
Inspired by his friends who heard him singing the music he loved since a child, McCarty started seeing himself more and more as a musician. He became the frontman for a college band when he was a freshman in high school. When he was 16 years old, he took his love of music one step further by purchasing his first guitar from a neighborhood friend for $30.
Songs began flowing out of him at a rapid rate. At age 21, when most young men have their minds on finally going to get drunk someplace other than the dorms, McCarty released his first collection of songs, titled "Turn It Around," a collection of music which he describes as "a Willy Porter-type of sound, much more personal."
He was playing sold out shows to cheering throngs of his fellow students at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which allowed him to sell over an astonishing 1000 copes of "Turn It Around" and his second and third releases: "I Know" and "Welcome Back."
These later releases allowed him to mature more as an artist, becoming more focused on the song rather than the mechanics of the guitar (McCarty plays fingerstyle.). The result was a display of his more soulful side, a la Steely Dan, and an increased following.
Rather than go back to Minnesota, McCarty came to Milwaukee with a Bachelor's Degree in Music Therapy and a goal to become a performing songwriter. While teaching at the Waukesha County Conservatory of Music, a copy of "Welcome Back" reached Daniel Holter, president of Burst Records.
Production went ahead on "Plans We Made," with Holter producing and assembling an eclectic array of respected studio musicians, including Phil Madeira (Amy Grant, Owsley, Buddy Miller, Garth Brooks), Mark Robertson (Matthew Ryan, Rich Mullins), John Ferraro (David Baerwald, Barry Manilow, Boz Scaggs), and Jerry Hey and Larry Williams (Michael Jackson, Toto, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin).
McCarty is more than pleased with the results, though he was a little wary of seeing them take on a whole new life.
"I was afraid of losing what these songs were," he admits, "I wasn't sure where they were going to go."
The result, however, was something more than he could have imagined. Under Holter's watchful production eye, the 10 tracks were able to reach their full potential.
The move to Milwaukee has helped McCarty, and he sees staying here as part of his future. His teaching job and his girlfriend are here, and the environment has helped him continue to grow as a songwriter.
"I didn't move to Milwaukee to become a musician ... If I moved to Minneapolis, I don't know if I would have the same community of musicians as friends, and I certainly wouldn't be able to run in the circles I am able to run in because of the people I know. I feel real fortunate.
"I really like Milwaukee because I grew up in Duluth, which is also an industrial town. I feel a lot more comfortable here than I do in Madison or Minneapolis or Chicago. I think you can do it anywhere."
As for the future, McCarty is busy planning his tour. His Web site is johnmccarty.com.
