Scott Lewis McCaughey is an American
singer
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
,
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
and
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
and the leader of the
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
and
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
-based bands
The Young Fresh Fellows
The Young Fresh Fellows are an American alternative rock group, that was formed in 1981 in Seattle, Washington, United States, by Scott McCaughey and Chuck Carroll. Tad Hutchison, Chuck Carroll's first cousin, joined for the recording of the grou ...
and
The Minus 5
The Minus 5 is an American pop rock band headed by musician Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, often in partnership with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.
Band history
McCaughey formed the band in 1993 as a side project with Buck, Jon Auer and ...
. He was also an auxiliary member of the American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
from 1994 until the band's break-up in 2011, contributing to the studio albums ''
New Adventures in Hi-Fi
''New Adventures in Hi-Fi'' is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major-label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia, and the following day in t ...
'', ''
Up'', ''
Reveal'', ''
Around the Sun
''Around the Sun'' is the 13th studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on October 5, 2004 on Warner Bros. Records.
Description
The album was released in three editions: Cassette (the band's final release on the medium), ...
'', ''
Accelerate
In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by the ...
'' and ''
Collapse into Now
''Collapse into Now'' is the fifteenth and final studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on March 7, 2011, on Warner Bros. Produced by Jacknife Lee, who previously worked with the band on ''Accelerate'' (2008), the alb ...
''.
Career
Young Fresh Fellows
McCaughey started his career with the
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...
band
Young Fresh Fellows
Young may refer to:
* Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents
* Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood
Music
* The Young, an American roc ...
. Beginning in January, 1980, he was also a writer for the Seattle monthly ''
The Rocket''.
R.E.M.
From 1994 until 2011, McCaughey worked with
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...
both on stage and in the studio. “When R.E.M. came to Seattle to work on ''
Automatic for the People
''Automatic for the People'' is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released by Warner Bros. Records on October5, 1992 in the United Kingdom and Europe, and on the following day in the United States. R.E.M. began pro ...
'',
Peter ">uckcalled me up. He probably didn’t know anybody else in town. We’d go out to eat or have drinks pretty regularly while he was here. And then he ended up moving out here. Once he was here, we started playing together a lot, doing all The Minus 5 stuff."
It was McCaughey who introduced Buck to his future wife, Stephanie. Buck invited McCaughey to join R.E.M. on their 1995 ''
Monster
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...
'' tour, initially as a second guitarist. “
etersaid, ‘I wouldn’t ask you if the Fellows were playing a lot.' But the Fellows were not really doing anything; we’d kind of brought it down to a crawl. I told him, ‘Sure, I’d like to try.’ I had to audition because I didn't know the rest of the guys as well as Peter.”
[
McCaughey remained with R.E.M. in various capacities until the band's dissolution. He contributed to the studio albums '']New Adventures in Hi-Fi
''New Adventures in Hi-Fi'' is the tenth studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was their fifth major-label release for Warner Bros. Records, released on September 9, 1996, in Europe and Australia, and the following day in t ...
'', '' Up'', '' Reveal'', ''Around the Sun
''Around the Sun'' is the 13th studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on October 5, 2004 on Warner Bros. Records.
Description
The album was released in three editions: Cassette (the band's final release on the medium), ...
'', ''Accelerate
In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by the ...
'' and ''Collapse into Now
''Collapse into Now'' is the fifteenth and final studio album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on March 7, 2011, on Warner Bros. Produced by Jacknife Lee, who previously worked with the band on ''Accelerate'' (2008), the alb ...
''. Additionally, he has received credits for his work on the live albums ''R.E.M. Live
''R.E.M. Live'' is a live album from R.E.M., recorded at the Point Theatre, Dublin, on February 26 and 27, 2005, the closing nights of the winter European leg of the ''Around the World Tour'' in support of their thirteenth studio album ''Around t ...
'' and '' Live at The Olympia'' album as well as their 2003 greatest hits collection, ''In Time
''In Time'' is a 2011 American science fiction action film written, directed and produced by Andrew Niccol. Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake star as inhabitants of a society which uses time from one's lifespan as its primary currency, with ...
''. When working with R.E.M., McCaughey played guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, and sang backing vocals.
The Minus 5 and Tuatara
R.E.M. members and side musicians formed The Minus 5
The Minus 5 is an American pop rock band headed by musician Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, often in partnership with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.
Band history
McCaughey formed the band in 1993 as a side project with Buck, Jon Auer and ...
and Tuatara
Tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') are reptiles endemic to New Zealand. Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. The name ''tuatara'' is derived from the Māori language and m ...
in the mid-1990s.
Moween
In June 2003, McCaughey recorded a song with Moween (Peter Schoemaker/Bram van den Berg) at the IDQ studio in Utrecht, titled "."
The Baseball Project
In 2008, McCaughey formed the side band The Baseball Project
The Baseball Project is a supergroup composed of Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Scott McCaughey, Steve Wynn and Linda Pitmon formed in 2007. The performers came together from discussions between McCaughey and Wynn at R.E.M.'s March 21, 2007 induction i ...
with Buck, Steve Wynn
Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...
and Linda Pitmon
Linda Pitmon is an American drummer known for her work with the supergroups The Baseball Project and the Filthy Friends.
Pitmon played percussion in band and orchestra in high school. She suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and drumming was a he ...
. Their first album, ''Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails'', celebrates many aspects of baseball culture, and includes a song in tribute to Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
pitcher Harvey Haddix
Harvey Haddix, Jr. (September 18, 1925 – January 8, 1994) was an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher and pitching coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1952–1956), Philadelphia Phillies ...
.
The Venus Three
He is also bassist for Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...
's touring band The Venus 3
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...
, which has included Bill Rieflin
William Frederick Rieflin (September 30, 1960 – March 24, 2020) was an American musician. Rieflin came to prominence in the 1990s mainly for his work as a drummer with groups (particularly in the industrial rock and industrial metal scene ...
(drums) and Peter Buck
Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his car ...
(guitar).
Tuatara
McCaughey also plays in Tuatara
Tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') are reptiles endemic to New Zealand. Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. The name ''tuatara'' is derived from the Māori language and m ...
, an instrumental group which features Peter Buck from R.E.M.
The No Ones
McCaughey is a member of The No Ones, a jangle pop supergroup. Other members include Peter Buck, Frode Strømstad, and Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen (from I Was A King). Their debut EP ''The Sun Station'' (Coastal Town Recordings) also features guest appearances by Steve Wynn
Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...
and Patterson Hood
Patterson David Hood (born March 24, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter and co-founder of the band Drive-By Truckers.
Early life
Hood was born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the son of Jan Patterson Adams and David Hood, the longtime bassist ...
.
Stroke
McCaughey suffered a stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
on November 16, 2017. Two benefit concerts were held in January, 2018, to raise money for McCaughey's medical bills. Artists included Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Bill Berry, Alejandro Escovedo, M Ward, James Mercer, Corin Tucker, the Dharma Bums, the Decemberists, and Patterson Hood. McCaughey recovered substantially from his stroke in 2018, and began playing a series of well received shows at venues in Portland, Oregon, where he lives.
Discography
Solo releases
* 1989: ''My Chartreuse Opinion'' ( PopLlama)
* 2015: ''Spain Capers'' (Rock & Roll Inc. / Book) as Scott the Hoople
* 2020: ''Sad Box and Other Hits'' as Scott the Hoople
References
External links
Universal Trendsetter – A Scott McCaughey fansite
The Minus 5 website
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCaughey, Scott
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
R.E.M. personnel
Place of birth missing (living people)
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock singers
American mandolinists
American multi-instrumentalists
American rock keyboardists
American rock bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
The Minus 5 members
Tuatara (band) members
The Young Fresh Fellows members
Tired Pony members
Singers from Washington (state)
Musicians from Seattle
Musicians from Portland, Oregon
The Baseball Project members
American alternative rock musicians
Guitarists from Washington (state)
Guitarists from Oregon
Filthy Friends members