Off The Common Coffeehouse
at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church 50 School Street Bridgewater, Massachusetts

Cormac McCarthy
Nov 4, 2017

Cormac McCarthy’s release of this fifth recording, Collateral, sends out to his listeners the highly anticipated follow up to his release Curious Thing.

The new release, for Cormac, provides a very fine recording featuring outstanding studio musicians. Collateral is the product of a mature writer, musician (with his own work on guitar & harmonica), performer, humorist, and family man. No quality is lost on this album and it is clear that the art comes from the life of a man who has turned a kind heart and a keen eye towards the life around him, and shared it with us all through talents seasoned by fan pleasing shows around the country.

McCarthy’s has also recently re-released his first self-titled, self-distributed recording which contains so many of the gems that are often requested by Cormac’s loyal New England fans. The CD, Cormac McCarthy, is often referred by a stunning signature ballad, Friend of the Family.

While Cormac is not, as often queried, the alter ego of the New York Times Best Selling Author ("All the pretty horses, " Blood Meridian", etc.,) his background in literature, his rural roots, and his knack for penning a great line would make some comparisons easy to draw, and since we’ve never heard tell of whether or not the Kentucky born novelist can sing, we’ll have to leave the contest open.

Cormac McCarthy made his singing debut on WKRC Radio in Cincinnati, as a three-year old belting out "Davy Crockett" on his father’s radio show. He returned to public performance some twenty years later, singing his own compositions with a bit more experience in his voice.

Born in Ohio, but rooted in rural New England since the age of ten, Cormac grew up in towns where the economies teetered on marginal sustenance from logging, and paper and woolen mills. His elementary school had the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades in the same room. Though the area was small, his musical influences were not: his father’s love for jazz and classical music introduced Cormac to everything from Errol Garner to Beethoven.

It wasn’t until his sister made a visit home from college, bringing an armful of recordings of Dylan, Baez, and Eric Anderson, that things clicked musically for McCarthy: he traded his clarinet for a Western Auto guitar, purchasing the Black Diamond strings across the street at the barber shop.

In his own college years, Cormac studied literature and music and took a great liking to the works of James Joyce and Mississippi John Hurt. He spent most of his time reading, playing guitar, and working in the local mills to pay for school. His college roommate, Bill Morrissey, helped encourage Cormac to make his music more public, and a stint of shared local gigs and storytelling marathons ensued. A trip west followed college, as did an array of different jobs including construction worker, truck driver, street singer, and a season as a migrant worker. Through his music Cormac has succeeded in bringing his lyrical magic to some of these rougher edges of life.

General Information

• Shows are held the first Saturday of each month from October through May. 
• Admission is $15.00  unless otherwise noted.
• All shows begin at 7:30 PM.
• For further information about a show, call Rich Mosley at 781.294.8771.
  
  
• Musicians -- Interested in playing at Off The Common?
  • Email Rich Mosley at mosleytwo_at_comcast.net (please replace "_at_" with "@")
    
    
• Directions

The 2017/2018 Season --

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