Kings County Country

A7

Tony McGarrigle

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There was a pre-show barbecue when Willie Mack and Darren McGinnis performed in Norton the night of Aug. 9 and the meat on the grill wasn't the only thing that was sizzling. Mack, a red-hot up and coming artist, performed an acoustic set of his hits that had the audience singing along to the songs they knew from the radio. How did someone from Chico, Texas, wind up in Norton?

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"You'd need about five pages," Mack said of the journey that brought him to a New Brunswick village that has about the same population as his hometown. "The real story is, I started out as a songwriter."

As a songwriter, he met up with Canadian country star Jason McCoy in Nashville. McCoy brought Mack up to Saint John for the Canadian Country Music Awards and then the two headed to Ontario where Mack recorded in McCoy's studio.

Mack has had his songs recorded by Nashville superstar Sara Evans, the Oak Ridge Boys, Colin Raye, George Canyon, Adam Gregory and others. His song Thankful is the title track to the upcoming Aaron Pritchett CD.

Mack first heard about McGinnis from McGinnis' manager Janice Pym. She told him she had an amazing new artist. Mack met McGinnis later when Mack was touring Canada with the Wishes for Kids tour.

"We got him to throw some panties at Jamie Warren," said Mack, " I knew then ‘I like this guy' ."

So, with all the amazing talent that is out there, how does someone wind up in Mack's position, recording, touring and getting airplay?

"The most important thing is you don't take ‘No' for an answer," said Mack. "Keep moving forward, others drop out. God puts these desires in your heart, you have to follow them. If you love music and want it bad enough, you can succeed."

Mack came to New Brunswick to write with McGinnis and said they were kind enough to invite him to the show in Norton. Mack has finished a new CD while working with McCoy. The 11-track project will be released this spring. His new single, performed for the audience in Norton, is the title track to his current CD, Headlights and Tailpipes. Mack had co-written one song with Phil O'Donnell in the United States, but didn't know Norton was O'Donnell's home town.

Mack posed for photographs with fans after his set. "Amazing," said 12-year-old Allison Brown of Smithfield, who made a two hour trip to see the show. "Great singer. He clicked with the audience."

Mack will be heading to Winnipeg for the CCMA's, where he will perform in an opening night show and be part of a songwriters circle. If you are a MySpace member, you can see pics from the Norton show on the Kings County Country page, under "my pics".

Following the desire in his heart, McGinnis is plugging away with his first album. Pym said McGinnis will be doing his first big tour in the spring of 2009 as part of the Wishes for Kids show with Beverly Mahood, Darren Steele and Jamie Warren. She said the first single from his CD will go to radio Jan. 3.

Pym is doing everything in her power to launch McGinnis with a top-notch project. Besides writing with Mack, Warren and Steele, McGinnis has written with Patricia Conroy and has recorded an unreleased Merle Haggard song. He also has members of Shania Twain's band working with him in the studio.

McGinnis and 2 Weeks Notice will perform next at the 8th Hussars Sports Centre in Sussex Aug. 23 during a beer garden sponsored by the Sussex Moosehead Dry hockey team and Moosehead Breweries. Showtime is 8 p.m. and tickets are $10 at Main St. Car Wash, Pizza Delight, Hynes Esso and Sussex Source for Sports. Tickets are $15 at the door.

Odds & ends

Former Sussex resident Henderson Howells was down in Nashville earlier this summer to promote his work. "I'm going back in September to write with some other writers and meet some more people they want to introduce me to," said Henderson. You can hear some of his music on his MySpace page.

Belated Happy 75th Birthday to Gerry Taylor. His fans wish him many more years and columns.