Biography

McDermott started performing in Chicago coffeehouses in the early 1990s, incorporating elements of Irish music into 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...

 sound. His 1991 single "A Wall I Must Climb", from the album 620 W. Surf, reached #34 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock tracks chart. McDermott released several albums in the 1990s and toured extensively behind them, opening for Van Morrison

Van Morrison

Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...

, Cracker

Cracker (band)

Cracker is an American alternative rock band featuring founders/songwriters singer David Lowery and guitarist Johnny Hickman. They are best known for their platinum-selling 1993 album, Kerosene Hat, featuring the hit songs "Low", "Euro-Trash Girl", and "Get Off This".Founders Lowery and Hickman...

, The Cowboy Junkies, 10,000 Maniacs

10,000 Maniacs

10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups.-1981–1993:...

, and The Wallflowers

The Wallflowers

The Wallflowers is a rock band from Los Angeles, California, fronted by Jakob Dylan. Formed in 1989 and originally known as The Apples, the ensemble has gone through numerous personnel changes with Dylan the only constant....

. His lyrics were quoted in the Stephen King books Insomnia

Insomnia (2002 film)

Insomnia is an American psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank. The film, released on 24 May 2002, is a remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name.-Plot:...

, and in the book Rose Madder

Rose Madder (novel)

Rose Madder is a 1995 novel by Stephen King. It deals with the effects of domestic violence and, unusually for a King novel, relies for its fantastic element on Greek mythology...

, one of the characters constantly wears a shirt of his. His album, Noise From Words, was released August 28, 2007.
He got married to singer/songwriter Heather Horton in Ferrara, Italy on the 3 of May 2009. His new album, Hey La Hey was released in 2009.

Discography

• 620 W. Surf (Giant Records/Reprise Records
  Reprise Records
  Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
  
  , 1991)
• Gethsemane (SBK Records
  SBK Records
  SBK Records was a record label of the EMI Group that was founded in 1988.Stephen Swid, Martin Bandier, and Charles Koppelman formed the production company SBK in 1989 after they purchased the music publishing division of CBS Records in 1986....
  
  , 1993)
• Michael McDermott (EMI Records
  EMI Records
  EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...
  
  , 1996)
• Bourbon Blue (Wanted Man Records, 1999)
• Last Chance Lounge (Koch Records
  Koch Records
  E1 Music , the primary subsidiary of E1 Entertainment LP, is the largest independent record label in the United States. It is also distributed by the Universal Music Group in Europe under the name E1 Universal...
  
  , 2000)
• Live Sampler (Self-released, 2003)
• Ashes (Pauper Sky Records, 2004)
• Beneath the Ashes (2004)
• Noise From Words (One Little Indian, 2007)
• Hey La Hey (Pauper Sky Records 2009)

Other Releases

• Seeking Solace
• And in the Meantime
• In a Godless Night (2xCD)
• My Soul's Unfettered
• Best of Michael McDermott

External links

• Michael McDermott Official Web Site
• Michael McDermott Myspace
• Paupers Sky Michael McDermott Fan Forum
• {http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Mcdermott/31384295724?ref=ts