Brian McKinny
Writer, Musician, and Producer in Lakeview, Arkansas
I've been obsessed with playing music for as long as I can remember. At a very young age I started teaching myself to play several instruments starting with the violin and cello before I moved on to the clarinet and later, to the saxophone.
After learning to play several instruments quite proficiently in junior and senior high school - including being selected to the prestigious California State Honor Band in three of my four years in high school playing the clarinet and tenor saxophone, I decided to change the focus of my musical efforts because I had experienced a cognitive shift in my musical brain towards a deep interest and desire to play the drums while continuing to sing, which I had started doing in high school.
Complicated poly rhythms and solid vocal talents had always come naturally to me from a very early age - it just took a while for me to recognize the fact and to have the confidence to put them both together at the same time on stage in front of an audience.
I have more than 35 years of musical and music industry experience. I am a professional vocalist and drummer, working with East Coast variety bands Smylin’ Jack, Shirkaday, Big Fat Daddy, and others.
Before moving to the East Coast, I had played in several west coast original bands, most notably Big Midget, K.L.R., and playing numerous shows on drums with the Charlie Brechtel Band in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I have worked as a live sound engineer, stage manager, director, and producer on both coasts on numerous concerts and venues, including as director and co-producer of the Bay Area Blues Society's annual Blues Awards Show in San Jose, California at the San Jose Civic Auditorium; as a live remote broadcast production assistant on FM rock radio 98.5 KOME's '”Blazy & Bob Breakfast Club” live morning shows; as stage manager and as a lighting design technician with the legendary Paul Katemopolous on the West Coast at the Keystone Club in Palo Alto, and legendary nightclub, "The Cabaret" in San Jose, CA.
Most recently, I worked for the past 7 years as the senior editor/writer, producer, and music reviewer for Music Insider Magazine.
I'm also currently the Director of Marketing and Communications for the family business that my brother took over (All Temp Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating in the San Francisco Bay Area) when our parents retired in mid-2004.