Joe McGinty is an American composer,

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

and arranger who was born in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. McGinty is most widely known for his five years as the keyboardist for

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

(after a brief stint with Robert Hazard in Philadelphia). He is also the founder of the popular Loser's Lounge tribute series. He opened a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

piano bar, Sid Gold's Request Room, with Beauty Bar owner Paul Devitt. He has an original project with singer Andrea Diaz, "The Duchess And The Fox."

Career

McGinty got his start playing keyboards with his high school friends in the South Jersey area. In 1983, he was invited to join the showband '"Franco And Mary Jane". For two years McGinty travelled across the country playing casino lounges, Sheratons and Marriotts, playing 4 or 5 sets a night, 6 nights a week. In 1985, he started a band with his Franco and Mary Jane bandmates, "Racket Club" that played the Florida club circuit. "Racket Club" disbanded in 1986. Relocating to South Jersey, McGinty joined Robert Hazard's band and was with Robert Hazard for a year until he heard about auditions for

. He auditioned for the Psychedelic Furs in 1987 and joined them for the " Midnight To Midnight" tour, staying with them for 5 years until they disbanded in 1992. His playing can be heard on the single "All That Money Wants" and the LPs '' Book of Days'' and ''

World Outside ''World Outside'' is the seventh studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Psychedelic Furs, released 1 July 1991 by Columbia Records in the US. It includes the single "Until She Comes", which hit No. 1 on the US Alternative Songs, M ...

''. After the Furs disbanded, he immersed himself in the local East Village music scene. In 1992 he joined The Kustard Kings (David Terhune's instrumental surf-funk band). In 1993 he started Loser's Lounge and formed his first band featuring his own compositions. McGinty has also worked with

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...

The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

Nada Surf Nada Surf is a New York City-based American alternative rock band formed in the 1990s, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), Doug Gillard (guitar, backing vocals), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). History 199 ...

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...

Martha Wainwright Martha Wainwright (born May 8, 1976) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She has released seven critically-acclaimed studio albums. Wainwright is the daughter of musicians Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III a ...

, Die Monster Die, Devendra Banhart,

Ronnie Spector Veronica Yvette Greenfield (; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group The Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll". Ronnie formed the ...

, Jesse Malin, Amy Rigby,

Spacehog Spacehog are an English rock band formed in 1994 in New York City. Their music is heavily influenced by David Bowie, Queen (band), Queen, and T.Rex (band), T. Rex. The band's best known single is In the Meantime (Spacehog song), "In the Meantim ...

and others. He has composed music for independent films and TV shows, including HBO's G String Divas. McGinty has worked alternately as musical director for a variety of New York theaters, including the

Vineyard Theatre The Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981. It is best known for its productions of the Tony award-winning ...

and the

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 4th Street (Manhattan), East 4th Street between Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village, ...

Loser's Lounge

McGinty is the founder and music director of the popular Loser's Lounge tribute series, where local talent pays homage to the pop icons of the past. Loser's Lounge made its debut in 1993 with a

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

tribute at

Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

, and has played to consistently sold-out rooms ever since. Now based at

Joe's Pub Joe's Pub, one of the six performance spaces within The Public Theater, is a music venue and restaurant that hosts live performances across genres and arts, ranging from cabaret to modern dance to world music. It is located at 425 Lafayette St ...

, the Loser's Lounge has also performed at the Allen Room at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

Celebrate Brooklyn Celebrate Brooklyn! is one of New York City’s longest-running, free, outdoor performing arts festivals. Launched in 1979 by the then Fund for the Borough of Brooklyn, as a catalyst for Brooklyn's performing arts scene and to bring people back ...

, Westbeth Theater Center,

The Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

, Makor and the

Jewish Museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. List of Jewish museums Notable Jewish museums include: *Albania ** Solomon Museum, Berat *Australia ** Jewish Mu ...

. McGinty and the Loser's Lounge Band are a go-to band for special events. They were the house band for Comedy Central's "Night Of Too Many Stars" benefit for autism education;

AmfAR amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, known until 2005 as the American Foundation for AIDS Research, is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of ...

(backing

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Kn ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

); several

MoveOn MoveOn (formerly known as MoveOn.org) is a progressive public policy advocacy group and political action committee. Formed in 1998 around one of the first massively viral email petitions, MoveOn has since grown into one of the largest grassroot ...

events and The

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...

Foundation.

The Duchess And The Fox

McGinty teamed up with Superhuman Happiness (a

Stuart Bogie Stuart D. Bogie is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and music producer. Originally from Evanston, Illinois, Bogie became a staple in the Brooklyn music scene. Early years Bogie studied music at the Interlochen Arts Academ ...

project) singer Andrea Diaz to form the "cabaret-noir" duo "The Duchess And The Fox". They released their debut ep "Every Night" in February 2016.

Sid Gold's Request Room

Sid Gold's Request Room opened its doors in May 2015. A classic, retro-styled piano bar in the

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

neighborhood of New York City. Live "piano karaoke" can be heard every night. McGinty plays there 4 nights a week. Celebrities such as

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

Gilbert Gottfried Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried (February 28, 1955 – April 12, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian and actor, known for his exaggerated shrill voice, strong New York accent, and his edgy, often controversial, sense of humor. His numerous ro ...

Parker Posey Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress and musician. Posey is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award nomination, a Satellite Award nomination and two Independent Spirit Award nominations. Posey made her film debu ...

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

, Billy Cruddup,

Elle King Tanner Elle Schneider (born July 3, 1989), known professionally as Elle King, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Her musical style was influenced by Country music, country, Rock music, rock and blues. In 2012, King released her d ...

, and

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. She is known for playing Betty Rizzo in the film '' Grease'' (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series ''The West Wing'' ( ...

have been seen at Sid Gold's Request Room.

Carousel Vintage Keyboard Studio and Music Production

McGinty owns a vintage keyboard studio in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, which features over 30 vintage keyboards, including a

Chamberlin The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by the American inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. There are severa ...

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

Clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

Wurlitzer electronic piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptu ...

and many analog

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

. McGinty has produced Unicornicopia's debut CD. He has also produced music for

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

Film and Television

McGinty has composed and/or produced music for ''

Bored To Death ''Bored to Death'' is an American comedy series that ran on HBO from September 20, 2009, to November 28, 2011. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in Brooklyn, Ne ...

'', ''The Daily Show'', ''

What Happened, Miss Simone? ''What Happened, Miss Simone?'' is a 2015 American biographical documentary film about Nina Simone directed by Liz Garbus. The film opened the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The screening was followed by a tribute performance by John Legend. The fi ...

'', '' G String Divas'', ''

The Virginity Hit ''The Virginity Hit'' is a 2010 American found-footage comedy film directed by Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland, produced by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, and starring Matt Bennett, Zack Pearlman, Jacob Davich, Justin Kline and Nicole Weaver. The ...

'', and ''

Last Chance Harvey ''Last Chance Harvey'' is a 2008 American romantic drama film written and directed by Joel Hopkins. The screenplay focuses on two lonely people who tentatively forge a relationship during two days. Dustin Hoffman plays the title character, Harvey ...

''. He composed original songs for the film '' One More Time'' starring

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Awar ...

. In the film, Walken sings the song "When I Live My Life Over Again," composed by McGinty and director Robert Edwards. He scored the short film "Super Sleuths" directed by Benjamin Dickinson.

McGinty & White

McGinty has teamed with singer/songwriter Ward White for the

chamber pop Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of string section, strings, horn section, horns, piano, and voca ...

project McGinty & White. The duo have self-released the album ''McGinty & White Sing Selections From the McGinty & White Songbook''. They have played as musical guests at New York's

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (shorter UCB Theatre) is an American improvisational theatre company and training center founded by the Upright Citizens Brigade troupe members Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. Prior t ...

Circuit Parade

Circuit Parade is an experimental electronic chamber pop band which features analog synthesizers, cello and woodwinds. Members included McGinty (electric piano, synthesizers), Mike McGinnis (woodwinds), Leon Dewan (Dewanatron) and Julia Kent (cello). For live shows, Eleanor Norton plays cello. Circuit Parade released one CD, ''Negativland'', in 2008.

Baby Steps

Baby Steps was an orchestral pop ensemble led by McGinty which lasted from 1993 until 2004. Baby Steps released a self-titled EP, "Baby Steps," and a full-length record, ''Kiss Me, Stupid''.

Space Nutz

Space Nutz is McGinty synthesizer project. One EP was released featuring synthesizer cover versions of songs by the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, and

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from Se ...

, as well as original compositions.

References

External links

JoeMcGinty.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGinty, Joe American keyboardists Living people Musicians from Atlantic City, New Jersey Year of birth missing (living people)