Grand Design

After six albums and twelve years of solo music making, roots rocker Rich McCulley is still finding fresh beginnings and new inspiration in life. With his latest record The Grand Design, he's coming to peace with the past few years of loss and hardship and celebrating a better life today, with new love in his life and a young son of his own. He's brought his classic, road-tested sound: satisfying melodies, chiming guitars, hummable harmonies, whirling organs... all the elements of catchy roots pop and recorded in a richly-arranged Americana style that is McCulley's trademark. Ever present is his distinctive gravelly voice (hailed by IndieMusic.com as a great rock and roll voice), providing a solid dose of heartfelt character throughout the songs. McCulley's guitar is heard on every track, alongside with prominent playing and song craft from frequent co-writer Todd Herfindal (The Meadows). The sound is driven by McCulley's well-worn black book of LA's roots royalty, including Taras Prodaniuk (Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Merle Haggard) and Greg Boaz (Dave Alvin) on bass alongside drummers Tommy Rickard (The Meadows, Linda Perry), Steve Mugalian (Dave Alvin), DJ Bonebrake (X, The Knitters), and Brian Young (Fountains of Wayne, The Posies). Craig Ferguson and Chris Lawrence appear on pedal steel with Carl Byron (Anne McCue, Micelle Shocked) on piano, organ, and accordion, layered with harmonies by Anna Maria Rosales, Bob Woodruff and Grant Langston. He has also co-written a song with Will Kimbrough (Emmylou Harris, Jimmy Buffet, Rodney Crowell) for the album. Since his debut solo record in 2000, McCulley's credits have included critical acclaim, hundreds of storied gigs from coast to coast, tens of thousands of touring miles, hundreds of published songs and co-writes, and production credits on dozens of records by important LA bands. His songs and co-written tunes appear in several movies, including 2012's Little Birds and Donner Pass. His music has also been featured on FX's The League, ABC's Grey's Anatomy and Men In Trees, CBS's Cold Case, HBO's Cathouse and Lifetime's Army Wives to name a few. McCulley hails from the Central Valley of California where he wrote, recorded and toured with a variety of county rock and pop rock bands on labels such as Geffen and Columbia. He now makes his home in Los Angeles.