Tripp McNeely

GROOVIN’ & MOVIN’ ON UP

Written by Gina Tutko-Usalis / September 2009

Tripp McNeely formed in the summer of 2007 and has become one of central PA’s hottest new bands to hit the local scene. They were voted “Best New Artists in Central PA” at the 717 Music Awards held earlier this year at Gullifty’s Underground. They also won the second annual Capital City Clash – Battle of the Bands at the American Music Festival in July held in Harrisburg. I absorbed the musical growth and the popularity that Tripp McNeely had gained since my first encounter with them at the 717 Music Awards when recently attending The Whitaker Center’s 10th Year Birthday Bash. I am sure Stephen Krempasky, Vice President of Theater Operations at the Whitaker Center was very pleased with the turnout which also included performances by talented solo artist Brooks West and the ever popular Jellybricks with the endless energy of lead man Larry Kennedy, Garrick Chow, Bryce Connor and Tom Kristich.

So where did “Tripp McNeely” come from? I posed the question to guitarist/band manager Mike Clarke who stated, “The band toyed with different names for weeks. Our drummer Mike saw this part in a movie; it was the movie “Can’t Hardly Wait” with Jennifer Love Hewitt and there was a character named “Tripp McNeely” played by Jerry O’Connell. He mentioned it at practice and it stuck. It had no significant meaning to us, we just liked it.”

Members of Tripp McNeely include (left to right): Greg Gongaware (bass guitar), Mike Clarke (rhythm guitar), Jim Horn (vocals/acoustic), Mike Eisenhauer (drums) and Mark Perry (lead/rhythm guitar).

About a year ago, Mike Clarke took over the booking for Tripp McNeely and had a plan of success in mind. First on the agenda was to perform and attend the Millennium Music Conference; second was to play at the American Music Fest and then hopefully the Capital City Clash. The next goal was to win the Capital City Clash. The band knew getting 100+ family and friends to drive to Harrisburg on the 4th of July weekend would be a feat in itself, so they came up with the incentive of giving away t-shirts at The Quarter during a pre-party. Tripp McNeely had a large crowd of fans at the Capital City Clash and won the event (videos are on You Tube). After winning the Capital City Clash, things took off for Tripp McNeely and all of the goals they made as a band have come true thus far, along with some unexpected surprises.

Tripp McNeely has recorded two EP’s thus far; the first EP was recorded in the winter of 2007 which was something they put together for a press kit, so they could begin booking shows. The second EP, Songs From Mike’s Basement was engineered, mixed and mastered by Jason Shaffer. It was recorded in the winter of 2008 with bigger aspirations like getting into the Millennium Music Conference, American Music Fest and The Whitaker Center. The band is hoping to enter the studio to record a full-length album in November or December. Seems these guys like warming up the winter laying down some hot music tracks. Currently, the song “Off & Running” is a fun song and gets the crowd dancing which is always a spark plug to the band. Other favorites are “Something ‘bout, Southern Man” and a song they just wrote this past week called “Pretendin’”. You can find some of these videos on You Tube.

They describe their music as rock with a southern drawl. Not so much a southern rock band, because then people expect Lynyrd Skynyrd and they don’t think that is the sound that best describes Tripp McNeely. They all write music in the band and Jim Horn writes all the lyrics to the music. Most of the time their songs develop spontaneously, without a whole lot of thought, but lyrically Jim writes about his life experiences and other’s life experiences that he has been a part of or witnessed.

That is not to say that southern rock is not an influence to the band because Lynyrd Skynyrd is an influence in their writing along with others such as The Beatles, Pearl Jam, Tonic, Matchbox Twenty, Seven Mary Three, The Black Crowes, Everclear and Johnny Cash. “They have been the biggest influences on Tripp McNeely’s writing style and it would be an honor to even speak with those performing bands. Opening a show for them would be a dream come true,” says Clarke. Locally in the Harrisburg area, some of their favorites are Driving Vegas, Sickle Eye, Knotfal, and April Skies just to name a few.

The best part for Tripp McNeely is that they are now playing more shows. Clarke states, “We love performing and getting our music out there. The biggest obstacle we face is that we do not play covers, which makes gaining a fan base a slow process and prevents us from making money to put toward recording. We have nothing against bands that do so, but for our band, playing covers is just not something we are interested in doing.” That seems to be a comment that resonates with many bands performing original music. It is difficult as many venues give preference to cover bands. Harrisburg and the surrounding areas have so many talented bands but the bars in the area need to be more open-minded about booking original bands, even if it is to open for cover bands.

Tripp McNeely has learned that they can’t rest for one second in promoting their band or pursuing gigs. They are not afraid to hear the word “no” and have pulled off some great shows just by simply asking. They also learned that friendships with other bands are important and leaving a good impression on everyone you meet can make or break your band. Clarke emphasizes, “Work hard, believe in your band and network with every band you can. Make good impressions on everyone you meet as well because making a bad impression on one person could mean difficulties in the future success of the band.”

With much enthusiasm, Tripp McNeely plans to continue working hard and to make the most of every opportunity given. Their biggest goal for the next 12 months is to play larger venues like The Whitaker Center, Chameleon Club in Lancaster and Pullo Center in York. Outside of the Pennsylvania area, they would love to play Madison Square Garden and/or Red Rocks. Two amazing venues that only the best of the best get to perform in. “If you play either Red Rocks or Madison Square Garden, you have officially ‘made it!” comments Clarke. They are also looking to do a Carolina Tour sometime next spring. They are currently looking for a permanent lead guitar player who is well versed in southern style rock lead playing. If you can play the Allman Brothers or Lynyrd Skynyrd solos, they want you in their band.

Although Clarke expressed that building a fan base is slow for a band that does original music, I can tell you first hand that their fan base is pretty darn healthy and will only continue to grow as long as the band stays hungry and as long as venues continue to support local music. Cover bands are talented and hard working as well. They make it fun since the lyrics are already embedded within your brain but just keep in mind that the music they perform was once someone’s original songs! I encourage venues to give bands that do original music a chance to share their creativity and hard work because without venues some of the greatest music would have never made it out of the garage or in Tripp McNeely’s case … Mike’s basement!!