John McVey is an American folk rock

Folk rock

Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...

 singer songwriter from Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton, New Jersey

Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...

. His style of music is part of the new folk acoustic movement, bringing elements of pop, rock and folk music to modern audiences. Now living in Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, local magazine 5280 describes McVey by saying, "McVey’s smooth yet lightly smoky voice create a soft rock, adult contemporary sound that draws worthy comparisons to Marc Cohen

Marc Cohen

Marc Cohen is a radio personality who has spent over 30 years as a prominent Southern California announcer. He has performed on both television and radio and has a long running technology show, which is not only well respected, it is one of the most listened to shows on technology in the country...

, Shawn Colvin

Shawn Colvin

Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...

, and Daryl Hall

Daryl Hall

Daryl Hall is an American rock, R&B and soul singer, keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of Hall & Oates . Hall scored several Billboard chart hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, and is regarded as one of the best blue eyed soul singers...

".

Beginnings

John began playing guitar and writing songs in grade school, and was a regular performer in high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

. He was completely self-taught until college, where he majored in music, studying guitar with classical performer Edward Flower at Ithaca College

Ithaca College

Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...

. Later he studied under jazz guitarist Ted Dunbar

Ted Dunbar

Ted Dunbar was a jazz guitarist, composer, and educator. He published four volumes on jazz. He trained as a pharmacist at Texas Southern University, but by the 1970s only did pharmacy work part-time. He was also a trained numerologist and had studied other aspects of mysticism...

 at Rutgers University

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

, who played with jazz greats Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins

Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...

, McCoy Tyner

McCoy Tyner

McCoy Tyner is a jazz pianist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet and a long solo career.-Early life:...

, Tony Williams and Gil Evans

Gil Evans

Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...

. McVey graduated from Rutgers with a BA and immediately began pursuing music professionally. He worked as a piano tuner while launching his songwriting and performing career.

In 1991, he and his first band won the Marlboro Music Talent Roundup in Philadelphia. The band won a trip to Nashville

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

 to compete with winners from other cities and open for Joe Ely

Joe Ely

Joe Ely is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist whose music touches on honky-tonk, Texas Country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll....

.

John released his first independent CD, Circle of Friends in 1994. The album was produced by Alain Mallet, then husband of Jonatha Brooke

Jonatha Brooke

Jonatha Brooke is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Illinois.Her music merges elements of folk, rock and pop, often with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies...

. Brooke and McVey became friends and the connection would prove to be enduring. The two would collaborate on multiple recordings throughout the years. Most notable on Circle of Friends is a duet of I Want to Hold Your Hand

I Want to Hold Your Hand

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment....

, a cover of the Beatles song.

Nashville and Beyond

In 1995, he moved to Nashville to engross himself in the songwriting community. There, he quickly gained recognition as an emerging talent. Country Music Television

Country Music Television

Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...

 reflected on McVey’s arrival by saying, “When John McVey decided to become a full-time musician, he kicked down the doors of the songwriting community”. He was soon asked to play an ‘in the round’ at the famed Bluebird Café

Bluebird cafe

The Bluebird Cafe is a music club in Nashville, Tennessee that opened in 1982. The club is famous for intimate, acoustic music performed by its composers...

. His regular gigs at the Bluebird continued to help him build and network in the Nashville community. Although his style was more folk rock than country, he was chosen to be part of the touring band for country star Lari White

Lari White

Lari Michele White is an American country music artist and actress. She first gained national attention in 1992 as a winner on You Can Be a Star, a talent competition which aired on The Nashville Network...

. As her acoustic guitarist and background singer, McVey and White headlined with and opened for acts such as Travis Tritt

Travis Tritt

James Travis Tritt is an American country music singer from Marietta, Georgia. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 2000s, he released two albums on Columbia Records and one for the defunct...

, Marty Stewart and Vince Gill

Vince Gill

Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...

.

In 1996, he won the Kerrville Folk Festival

Kerrville Folk Festival

The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The event has run on a yearly basis since 1972. In November 2008, the Kerrville Folk Festival and Kerrville Wine & Music Festival were acquired...

's New Folk Contest, and was discovered by BWE Music. He was signed by the Salt Lake City based independent label (a subsidiary of Bonneville Worldwide Entertainment) and Circle of Friends was re-released in 1997 on the BWE label, with the addition of a few new songs, including, perhaps oddly, the title track. This brought Johns music to a broader audience and allowed him to establish connections which would lead to future collaboration. During the late 90s, he was a finalist in several other festival contests, including the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Colorado and the Napa Valley Music Festival in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. In 1997 he was named Artist of The Year by The National Academy of Songwriters

National Academy of Songwriters

The National Academy of Songwriters, originally "Songwriters Resources and Services" was a music industry association which provided a support network for songwriters, and gave out awards in various categories. It was founded by Helen King, who was working as a secretarial/answering service for the...

.

Christian Artist?...Well, No.

After being signed to BWE, John moved to Park City, Utah

Park City, Utah

Park City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake City's east edge of Sugar House along Interstate 80. The population was 7,558 at the 2010 census...

. His touring schedule was extensive, but he maintained a studio presence and did session recordings with artists such as: Felicia Sorenson, Nancy Hanson, Jenny Frogly, Sam Cardon

Sam Cardon

Sam Cardon is an Emmy Award winning composer whose credits include 9 large-format films:Texas, The Big Picture, Lewis and Clark, The Legendary Journeys, Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure, Mysteries of Egypt, Olympic Glory, Whales, Building the Dream at Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California;...

 and Kurt Bestor

Kurt Bestor

Kurt Roland Bestor is an American composer, arranger, and performer.-Biography:Bestor was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and raised in Orem, Utah, graduating from Orem High School in 1976. His grandfather played trumpet in Tommy Dorsey's band and his great uncle played trombone in Jack Benny's band...

. He also penned songs for True North

True north

True north is the direction along the earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole.True geodetic north usually differs from magnetic north , and from grid north...

 and several EFY (Especially for Youth)

Especially for Youth

Especially For Youth is a week long youth-oriented seminar focused on fellowship and teaching the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

 projects. All of this was work done for hire. In spite of this fact, since artists and record companies were eager to use his name as well as his talents on their projects, McVey has been listed as a “Christian

Christian music

Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....

” artist even though his music and message have never been religious in nature.

Who’s the Daddy?

McVey has also been a major presence in the world of children’s music education

Music education

Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...

. In 1988, John met Ken Guilmartin, founder of Music Together

Music Together

Music Together is a music and movement program for children aged newborn through kindergarten. First offered to the public in 1987, the program is now offered in over 1700 communities in the United States1, as well as in 28 other countries around the world. This expansion has been accomplished...

, Inc, and was asked to be a part of an early recording. Since then, McVey has been part of every CD released by Music Together, and is the "daddy" in the virtual family depicted on the CDs. He has also participated in live shows at the Director's Conferences. This music has touched the lives of millions of families around the globe, and is a resource for musical education across borders and in many languages.

Artist and Producer

In 2000, McVey released his second CD, Jigsaw. He again worked with producer Alain Mallet, guitarist Duke Levine

Duke Levine

Duke Levine is an American guitarist known primarily for his rock and country music playing as a session musician. He has recorded and performed with Shawn Colvin, Lucy Kaplansky, Bill Morrissey, Jonatha Brooke, John Gorka, Jeanie Stahl, Ellis Paul, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Slaid Cleaves and many...

 (Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...

, Ellis Paul

Ellis Paul

Ellis Paul is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Aroostook County, Maine, Paul is a key figure in what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, a literate, provocative and urbanely romantic folk-pop style that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s...

) and bassist Mike Rivard (Paula Cole

Paula Cole

Paula Cole is an American singer/songwriter. Her single "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and the following year she won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.-Early life:...

), this time adding drummer Dave Mattacks

Dave Mattacks

Dave Mattacks is a rock and folk drummer. Best known for his work with Fairport Convention, Mattacks has also worked both as a session musician, and as a performance artist...

 (Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

, Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention

Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...

). This CD was released by Native Language Music

Native Language Music

Native Language Music is an independent contemporary jazz record label based in San Clemente, California.-Artist roster:* Four80East* Jeff Kashiwa* Warren Hill* Dan Siegel* Andy Snitzer* Turning Point* Sara Gazarek* Gerry Niewood* Adam Niewood...

 and distributed by NAVAR.

Throughout the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, while touring extensively, John had begun producing albums for local and national artists in the folk rock genre. He was noticed by Coupe Studios, and in 2002 was hired on as a producer and engineer. McVey settled in Boulder, Colorado

Boulder, Colorado

Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...

 and has produced hundreds of projects, working with CO artists such as Chuck Pyle, Angie Stevens, Driftwood Fire, Paper Bird

Paper Bird

Paper Bird is an eight piece Folk/Americana band based in Denver, Colorado. The band is composed of: sisters Genny and Esme Patterson , brother and sister Mark and Sarah Anderson , Tyler Archuletta , Macon Terry , Paul DeHaven , and Caleb Summeril...

 and Hazel Miller. Known for his vocal coaching and arranging skills, he also plays guitars, bass, keyboards and other instruments on these projects.

John has also created original music and done production for commercials. He’s written and performed in national ad spots, including the TELE award winning Umpire spot, a 60 second PSA for The Foundation for a Better Life. He has also written and produced commercials for The US Ski Team

United States Ski Team

The United States Ski Team, operated under the auspices of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association , develops and supports men's and women's athletes in the sports of alpine skiing, adaptive alpine, freestyle skiing, cross country, adaptive cross country, ski jumping, and nordic combined....

, Dish Network

Dish Network

Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...

, The Idaho Lottery

Idaho Lottery

The Idaho Lottery, which began on July 19, 1989, is run by the government of Idaho. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association...

, Ford and many more.

The Present

In 2008, between producing projects for other artists, McVey began writing and producing songs for his third CD, Unpredictable. The CD was released in 2010. It is self produced and has gained much critical acclaim for the artist/producer. The Planet Weekly stated that, "John McVey's Unpredictable…is Americana with heavy soul and folk influences". Denver’s Westword

Westword

Westword is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Denver, Colorado.Westword was established independently in 1977. In 1983 it was bought by New Times Media. In 2005, New Times acquired Village Voice Media, and changed its name to Village Voice Media...

newspaper was quoted as saying, "Not only does Unpredictable sound remarkable, but the album feels unhurried".

Discography

Title	Producer	Label	Date
Circle of Friends	Alain Mallet	BWE	1997
Jigsaw	Alain Mallet	Native Language	2000
Unpredictable	John McVey	Self	2010

Background Information

Birth Name	John McVey Criscitiello
Born	November 18, 1959 Princeton, NJ
Genres	Folk Rock
Occupations	Musician, Songwriter, Producer, Sound Engineer
Instruments	Guitars, Vocals
Years Active	1970s - Present