Maybe Pete

"We grew up in North Jersey just outside of the city and about an hour from the Shore. Our sound is definitely a product of where we're from… but in the end, it just sounds like rock-n-roll," asserts Frankie McGrath, frontman and visionary of the band Maybe Pete. Whether you call it East Village meets the Jersey Shore or the Ramones meet Steve Earle, the sound of Maybe Pete is the sound of four people having a great time. Making up the rest of Maybe Pete are Frankie's wife Kelly on guitar, Will Cooke on bass and Johnny Macko on drums. The band has carved out a place to call its own on the NJ music map by earning the reputation of being one of the best live acts in the state. Their shows are high-energy and spontaneous and loaded with catchy, driving rock-n-roll. Having appeared just about everywhere from the neighborhood bars of Passaic to the legendary Stone Pony, Maybe Pete is just as popular among their fellow musicians as among the faithful fans who come out to see them. Talk to the members of the band for a few minutes and you'll discover that they are, first and foremost, music fans. These are people you'll find standing next to you at shows singing along in the crowd, sending each other YouTube links of Rolling Stones or Replacements footage that they just discovered for the first time, or sitting in a diner booth late at night debating what the best release of the year was. When they step on stage, they are clearly having such a good time that it's contagious and infects everyone in the room. Opening shows at places like The Saint and The Stone Pony in Asbury Park and Maxwell's in Hoboken is how the band got its start, and they have since gone on to headline those venues. This summer, the band will host "High Life Wednesdays" at The Saint where they'll headline each week throughout July and August. Maybe Pete has independently released two full-length CDs, the 2005 debut "Between the City and the Stratosphere" followed by "Straight to Red" in 2008, both of which were nominated for Top Local Release at the Asbury Music Awards. The McGrath's have proven to be a prolific songwriting team, regularly introducing new material into their live shows quicker than they can record it. As a result, the band headed back into the studio right after finishing "Straight to Red" with plans to release a new EP this summer. The six-song collection entitled "Pancakes and Martinis" will include "Asshole," a song that has become an audience favorite. "Leave it to us to put ourselves in a position where people constantly yell 'asshole' at the stage," says Frankie. "My mom gets upset. She thinks people are heckling me." For more information about Maybe Pete and upcoming appearances, visit www.maybepete.com.