BIOGRAPHY

Contemporary, sing-a-long, melodic, crossover appeal- original music

Don McAvoy and the Great Whatever ® (DMCGW) aren’t your everyday rock band.  As a matter of fact, they aren't a rock band at all.  They might be better characterized as a talented musical experience who cannot be pigeonholed to a specific genre.  They are a tight knit group.  They play songs about life in an honest and upfront way that everyone can relate to.  Their music is eclectic (in a non-gen x coffee house way), energetic and infectious.  Whether you are 9 or 90, Don McAvoy and the Great Whatever ® have something for you!

Fronted by Don McAvoy (lead vocals & various instruments), backed by long time friends:  Marc Arot (Bass & Vocals), Jim Walsh (Guitar & Vocals), and occasionally brothers Mike McAvoy (Drums, Percussion and Vocals) and Joe McAvoy (Guitar and Vocals), this band is a solid team that plays together as one.  The band's roots go back well over a decade in one form or another.

The band began with Don's solo effort “Sometimes the Characters Speak Louder than the Lesson of the Story”, a 27-song epic that displayed Don's ability to write songs prolifically and in a wide variety of styles.  The album produced two radio hits in Belarus, Russia “Like it Like That” and “All She Wants Is Just to be Happy”. “Like it Like That” was also recently featured as the MP3 Song of the Week on WebEntertainmentAwards.com, and the band was also named as one of its TOP 5 Independent Bands on this site.  “For The Want Of Money” is featured in the Syndicated TV Series “Rosarito Weekend” in episode #7.  “At Third Base And Heading For Home” was used as the theme song for the minor league baseball team the St. Catherine Blue Jays.   While the band was touring for this CD, Canadian music star, Kim Mitchell, personally selected the band to open for him in 4,000 seat arenas.  This CD was named a top 5 CD by Out On The Town Magazine.

Their Second release, “Peace, Love and Scrapple” yielded a top ten hit on MP3.com (Nov. 1999 – Holiday Music Chart) for the song “Best Little Christmas” performed with vocal greats The Encounters.  Texas music producer Phil York calls this song a “future American classic”, and WSNI 104.5 FM in Philadelphia continues to play this song in their holiday rotation.  This song was also included on Volunteer Records “Holiday Heart” compilation in 2005.  The song “Strike (On Strike)” was used as a rally cry for striking Red Cross workers.  This release also earned the band a regional Mid Atlantic hit with “Scrapple”, a song about certain breakfast meat indigenous to the region.

While sitting and talking with the band and listening to them play, you get a full sense of what this band is about.  They are about music... they are about life... they are about family.  They play together in-sync like each knows what the other is going to do.  They are talented musicians and perform meaningful songs.  Their sound is constantly evolving, and nowhere is that more apparent than their live shows.  "We try to play to our audience," Don points out.  He says that they play a coffee shop in a completely different way than they would a bar.  They change everything from their equipment to their set list depending on venue.  The band’s energetic material has caught the attention of fans that have written or stated, “They’re dynamic, personal and enthusiastic… They have wonderful voices possessing heart, soul and melody…their guitar players have their own unorthodox way of playing… They use a lot of different chord structures and formations.”   Further reviews from live shows concluded that the band had “great guitar playing ability and a nice blend of musical styles…. They are strong singers who sing with enthusiasm and effort… They also possess excellent harmonizing ability.” 

Don McAvoy is constantly writing music.  He's writing on the train to work, he's writing when he gets home from work, he's writing before he goes to sleep at night.  And by all accounts, he will be writing music for years to come. Don has written over 2100 copyrighted songs.  

DMCGW are currently mixing their third album, “There’s Time Between The Bridge And The Water”, which they hope to release soon.  One of their songs from this upcoming release, “Caught in Traffic”, is featured in the motion picture Rubbernecking, starring, Corbin Bernson (Major League) and Renee O'Connor (Xena).  While, “Have I been on your Mind” received an honorable mention award in Billboard Magazine 2003 world songwriting contest. 

In 2003 , DMCGW performed for 15,000 people in Nottingham, PA – its largest crowd to date!

This is a high energy, fun to watch band!

Portions of this bio were printed with permission of Bruce Sarte – Web Entertainment Awards .com Contemporary, sing-a-long, melodic, crossover appeal- original music .com

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DMCGW are presented to you by Ribsy Records & EKIM Management.