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 The Northwest
is fortunate to have a musical survivor such as Bob McGraw in its midst.
Times changed, bands and solo artists came and went, clubs transitioned
from live music to disc jockeys and Karaoke and back again. Somehow
an "electronic musician" found an audience who enjoys listening
to great songs done by an individual who obviously loves what he is
doing on stage.
For over
47 years, McGraw has performed songs to enthusiastic audiences either
in a band, a duo, a solo act and as an electronic musician throughout
the Northwest. Whether he's performing songs in Oregon, Washington,
Idaho or Canada, as a tried and proven musician, McGraw has found his
calling. He entertains a diverse group of people from all age groups
and lifestyles with his superb instrumentation and vocals.
McGraw's
years in professional music have been a rocky roller- coaster, to say
the least, riding high on the ups and surviving all the downs. Some
say he has incredible staying power and a solid streak of stubborn determination
that he's "gonna make it or else" that keeps him thriving
in this unpredictable business. Others claim that the real truth of
his long and enduring tenure on stage is that music is part of his soul;
he'd be lost trying something else.
Today,
McGraw is anxiously preparing for the unveiling of his recording projects
to the public. The first will be a two-song cassette followed with a
CD to be released by 1999. Both will feature original songs.
At the
age of 15, McGraw began his foray into music. Forty-seven years later,
reflecting back to countless numbers of stages, one-night gigs and too
many roads, he realizes that he still loves what he's doing.
While
living in California during his early high school years, McGraw picked
up a cheap, hollow-bodied electric guitar, learned a few chords and
formed his first band known back in those days as a "combo."
This garage band was a trio called The Bishop. Armed with two guitars
and a drumset, they performed at school dances and weddings and even
appeared on television on Ted Mack's Amateur Hour. It didn't
take long before McGraw learned that he was more at home on a stage
than anywhere else.
The Bishop
performed the music of California. This was surf music, including the
captivating electric tunes of The Ventures, that filled the airwaves
of those times. It was basically instrumentals, with few or no vocals.
After
two years performing music in the California high school scene, McGraw
and his family moved to Longview, Wash. Here, snuggled between the thick-timbered
forests and the mills that turned these resources into lumber, he discovered
the fresh sounds of Northwest rock and was determined to become part
of it.
McGraw's
California stint began to perfect his skill as a musician. Once in Longview,
he formed a number of garage rock bands like the three-piece Children's
World that featured the songs of Jimi Hendrix. He then joined The Panics,
who played rock music of the time, followed by a number of other bands.
"In Longview,
there was always the Battle of the Bands at Captain Yogi's Restaurant,
a cruise spot where everyone (who played music) went to show off their
skills," says McGraw. "It was a musician's showcase."
The highlight
of McGraw's teenage rock'n'roll career was the formation of the band
Smack. Performing strictly cover tunes, the band's popularity soared
with the release of a freshly re-worked Suzy-Q on a 45 rpm. In
the late '60s, this band took first place in the Battle of the Bands
at KISN Radio's Annual Teen-Age Fair. The victory crowned them as the
best in all the Northwest.
Smack's
win at the Teen-Age Fair took McGraw and his bandmates on tour throughout
the Northwest. In addition, they opened for top leading acts like Paul
Revere & The Raiders, The Wailers, Don and the Goodtimes and a host
of other top-notch acts of that era.
After
graduating from high school, McGraw's musical career took a three-year
detour. With the Vietnam War raging, he entered the military. He never
got close to Southeast Asia, but found himself at Fort Bennings, Georgia,
teaching music to other military personnel for the next few years. He
also counseled drug addicts who were returning home to the states from
the war zone.
After
McGraw's military career came to an honorable close, he returned to
the professional music scene. He moved to Seattle and performed with
Diamond Rio, a Top 40 band. Next came Arrival. In this particular band,
two female vocalists were backed by four musicians. They toured Canada
and performed Top 40.
Later,
with two keyboardists and the African-American drummer from Arrivals,
McGraw formed Twister. With this particular band, McGraw says this was
the first time he started performing what he called innovative music
that would influence him the rest of his life. It was Top 40, but it
had a musical character to it that seemed to be rare during those times
in Seattle.
From
Twister emerged another Top 40 band that McGraw and company called Pilot.
With the same drummer and another female vocalist from the former Arrival,
they burned up the stages in the Seattle clubs until their equipment
was claimed by a nightclub fire. With no insurance, they walked away
with little or nothing.
After
the club fire, in the early '80s, McGraw and the former keyboardists
with Twister formed the Deuces Wild. Utilizing a drum machine and left-hand
key bass, keyboards and guitar, they hit the road. This duo performed
Top 40s tunes in the Red Lion Circuit and stayed together for close
to eight years before McGraw set out on a new musical adventure.
By the
time 1991 eased itself onto the calendar, McGraw had moved to the Oregon
Coast. Armed with his guitar and an auto orchestrator (a machine that
had built-in drums, bass, and keyboards and operated by a pedal), he
started performing Top 40 country officially as an electronic musician.
It was at this time that things started to take off for him.
Today,
McGraw lives between the beach towns of Rockaway and Garibaldi on the
Tillamook Jetty. His music has come a long way from his early electronic
musician days. He has branched out his performances from just Top 40
country to a variety of music, and is now supported by a midi sequencer.
Interestingly,
today, 47 years after first performing in a garage in California, he
is now performing in clubs throughout the Northwest. He is a regular
at such Oregon Coast establishments as Terry's Ivory Keys in Lincoln
City, Morgan's in Depoe Bay and Ghost Hole Tavern in Garibaldi, as well
as in a variety of places in the Portland area and in Southwestern Washington.
He also performs at private parties, corporate functions, wedding receptions
and any place needing an outstanding musician and singer.
The
music that McGraw performs today on stage has multiple influences. In
his songs, traces of everything from Reggae to African and even Latin
may find their way into the various musical venues that he performs.
The effect is subtle and non-glaring, which may explain why people from
such diverse age and backgrounds enjoy his music.
McGraw's
performances are filled with a variety of music that encompasses some
450 sequenced tunes, enabling him to work just about any kind of venue.
If the audience wants rock, rhythm and blues, country, jazz or whatever,
he can probably perform it.
Yet,
McGraw stresses that he's no one-man band. He's an electronic musician
who creates and performs every single note in each and every song that
plays on stage. To get his 450 song list, he had to literally invest
1000s of hours.
"I'm
an electronic musician, not a one-person band who has cymbals between
my knees, a pedal to beat a drum and a harmonica around the neck while
strumming a guitar," explains McGraw. "I utilize a sequencer
and a lot of technical computer equipment to back me up while I'm up
on stage playing my guitar and singing. I'm no different than a four-
or five-piece band, except I don't have to deal with a lot of personalities
and people getting stars in their eyes to interrupt the flow of music."
McGraw
also stresses that what he does not do is Karaoke. He says that whenever
someone identifies his music as that, he just laughs.
"I
seem to be educating people about this electronic age of music that
we're living," says McGraw. "They are surprised to learn that
sequenced music is like having to go into a studio and record by laying
down tracks."
McGraw
explains that sequencers have been around a long time in professional
music, first utilized by major acts. In fact, he says, "up until
recently, it's pretty much been an industry secret."
At the
Fork of the Road Studio in Rockaway, McGraw has worked on his CD called
Beach Attitude. The engineer and collaborator is Joe Bodine,
owner of the studio. He is co-writing the lyrics and music, as well
as performing with McGraw on this project.
McGraw
explains that Beach Attitude is comprised of original songs that,
like his club performances, are variety songs. He stresses that all
of the material represents a unique collaboration between himself and
Bodine.
"I
have to be able to play at all of the venues," explains McGraw.
"As a musician, I don't have blinders on my eyes, so I don't do
just one style. Music encompasses a lot of things to a lot of people
and I give my audiences a real variety."
Music
represents McGraw's life. Adding up the time to keep his songlist updated
and sequenced, not to mention performing and practice time, this occupies
24 hours a day, seven days a week. He makes the stages of the Northwest
his home. After 47 years of performing, he's proven to be a survivor
of the times.
See
Bandstand and ad
this issue for schedule and info.
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