McKinley James at The 443

443 Burnet Avenue,Syracuse NY 13203

30 March, 2022

Description

We're super stoked to welcome MCKINLEY JAMES to the 443 for the very first time on March 30 - don't miss this killer show! Still Standing By – by Tommy Womack The first thing you notice about McKinley James’ extraordinary new EP Still Standing By is the serious mix of Motown soul and blues-based guitar playing. It doesn’t sound like the type of “blues” you get from traditional purveyors of the genre, but instead from a guitarist who understands chord theory so well you could swear you’re hearing a horn section sometimes. That’s because he leads a trio, and while guitar stores reverberate with licks from ham-fisted modern bluesmen when they don’t know shuffle from shinola, McKinley would walk into that guitar store, plug in, and summon the spirits of his own idols, nearly forgotten pioneers like Otis Rush and Johnny “Guitar” Watson. Still Standing By is his third EP, all of them fine listens, and here’s the thing… McKinley is 19 years old. Already a veteran before he’s old enough to drink. Still Standing By is a six-song feast. Produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach at his Easy Eye Sound studios in Nashville, it’s soul music with a dash of blues growl, all written by McKinley himself (with Patrick Sweany on “Whatever It Takes [For Love]). “Stuck in the Shadows” sets the tone for the disc. “My early influences, there were no horns,” he says, “and so especially with a trio – I love the sound of horns, but you have to fill in the space without them.” In this way, he channels the great Chuck Berry, whose patented double stops were written to take the place of horns he didn’t have either. “Clear Skies” is Motown and Rank & File put together with a visit from Tom Petty’s ghost if you can imagine that. It’s also actually not unlike what British legends The Jam sounded like as they transitioned from rock to R&B. “Whatever it Takes” follows the same lead and dare one say, shows the direction Hendrix might have gone, had he been able to change his musical setup and grow gracefully old like Clapton. McKinley’s favorite is “Spare Change Blues.” Of it, he says, “It actually revolves around the guitar I play now, an ES-335, because I really wanted to buy that guitar, and it took me about two or three months to pay for it. That’s when I got the idea for “Spare Change Blues” because I couldn’t be like, ‘Here you go, here’s all the money! I’m buying the guitar right now.’ I had to work up to it.” Born and raised in Webster, New York, not far from Rochester, James moved to Nashville with his family not even five years ago. They have always been a musical bunch. His father, former Los Straitjacket and J.D. McPherson drummer Jason Smay, plays with him in his band. And in his younger days, McKinley took a liking to the Hammond organ they had in the house, now manned by trio 3rd member Austin John Doody. He’s a living example of why every guitarist should start with the keyboard; because he learned so much about theory and craft, when he finally moved over the foundation was laid for him to far surpass your average guitar hero, playing simple bar chords punctuated with bits of wheedly wee. He got his feet wet in town fairly quickly, playing the Family Wash and Basement regularly in his first few years, where he and his band grew a steady crowd before shutdown in 2020. His unparalleled musical journey has taken him from the cover art of Eric Church’s critically acclaimed ‘Mr. Misunderstood’ to stages across America and Europe, even to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena where he performed the album’s title track with Church for a sold-out hometown crowd. DOORS: 6PM   SHOWTIME: 7PM The 443 has a $15 per person/seat required minimum purchase for our shows, which can be any combination of food and drink. In order for the 443 to operate at full capacity, we are limiting our guests to those who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Attendees must show proof at the door upon arrival. The 443 is an 18+ venue We have 4 options for our ticketed performances: PREMIUM TABLES FOR TWO Regular height table for TWO PEOPLE (18 available), Back row is bar height tables (4 available) IMPORTANT NOTE: 1 ticket = 2 seats. Each Premium Table admits TWO people to the show. PREMIUM STAGE TABLES FOR TWO Bar height table for TWO PEOPLE directly in front of the stage (3 available) IMPORTANT NOTE: 1 ticket = 2 seats. Each Premium Table admits TWO people to the show. PREMIUM SINGLE  at Bar Single barstool at the bar directly across from the stage (4 available) General Admission SINGLE Our general admission area has 14-15 high-top tables with barstools. If you buy a single GA single ticket, you are guaranteed a stool and table, but you may be seated with other GA ticket holders in order to maximize seating.  The 443 Social Club & Lounge (formerly The Listening Room at 443) is a creative and eclectic live musi venue located in the Hawley Green neighborhood in Syracuse, NY. We feature live original music, with a focus on Americana, roots, folk and bluegrass plus jazz and blues. Our capacity is 85 people.