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James McGarvey

part folk. part rock. all soul.

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busking

Life in La Mesa

After spending a couple of weeks in Oceanside, we’ve migrated further south to La Mesa, CA.

I spent a couple of afternoons up in Carlsbad, practicing for the upcoming Perfect Strangers debut show (Sept. 10th @ the Wrench & Rodent in O’Side); then I started taking in some of the local scene down here in San Diego and the surrounding areas.

I have to say, busking at Ocean Beach may be my new favorite thing; I’ve met some great people, and the view is pretty easy on the eyes.

Tonight Maggie and I had a quick dinner at DiMille’s in Normal Heights (possibly the best pizza I’ve ever had. Seriously, the spicy Alfredo sauce is the bomb dot com). Then we headed over to Java Joe’s to check out their Sunday open mic. It was quite an experience to play on the same stage that so many incredible artists have performed on.

Tonight I had the pleasure of meeting (among others) our host for the night, Isaac and next week’s host Nina. Both of them are excellent performers, and I’m definitely looking forward to hearing more from them.

In other news, we’ve got our internet connection figured out, so I’m planning to update much more frequently; so keep watching this space for news, and the Gigs page for places you can come see me play.

James McGarvey playing at Ocean Beach

 

California Living

We got to Oceanside, CA late last Friday night. After we got everything set up, Maggie and I headed out to get a quick bite. Since it was almost 10, and we were really, really hungry, we stopped into the first open spot we found, Carmine’s. The staff was very friendly, the slices were good, and they had garlic knots! East Coast friends, this place reminded us a lot of La Festa in Dover, NH, so keep it in mind.

Saturday, was a day for errands, Maggie, her mom, and the kiddos headed off to check out the Vista Farmers’ Market, and managed to score me my first official West Coast gig barely 14 hours after we got here – check out the Gigs page for more  details.

Sunday, I finally got to have my first rehearsal with Perfect Strangers, my newest project: a cover band featuring tunes from the ’80s and ’90s. Dustin & Stef are awesome bandmates, and I’m looking forward to playing out with them soon.

Monday, we had another rehearsal, and Maggie came out at the beginning to do a photo shoot. The pictures look great, and they’re working perfectly for posters, business cards, and online images.

We had more rehearsals on Wednesday and Friday, though I couldn’t let Thursday go by without playing, so I headed down to the Oceanside Sunset Market to busk at the end of Pier View Way. The vibe here is incredible, so many people were getting into the groove of what I was doing; I’m definitely going down to busk again this week.

The rest of the week has been filled with getting our online accounts up and running (shout out to Maggie for all of her help), recording some demo videos with Perfect Strangers, and practicing for our debut gig at The Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub here in Oceanside.

There’s still a ton to do, but I’m so motivated to get it done. Thanks to everyone who’s supported me thus far.

More to come #itsallhappening

California Dreams

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