We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aaron Mclain a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Aaron, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I knew I wanted to play guitar very early in life. As a child, every time I saw a guitar, either in a store window or on television, I would get chills. One summer, while I was visiting my father at the age of 11, he gave my brother an acoustic guitar. My brother knew how much I loved the guitar, so my brother told my dad that he should give the guitar to me. In the guitar case was a beginners music book. I spent that intire summer learning how to read by learning the fundamentals of guitar. A few months later, my mom signed me up for guitar lessons so I could get professional training. From there, I started jamming with some kids in the neighborhood, playing classic rock songs.
In high school, I joined a couple of bands, and formed a band with my best friend Anthony, called the Bassex. We played local clubs in Los Angeles and recorded various demos along the way. After graduating high school, I attended the Dick Grove School of Music. The corriculum was very challenging, however, I stuck with it. A year after graduating and playing the local scene, I landed my first professional gig with a well known pop artist named Jermaine Stewart. Soon after that, there were many ups and downs, but my journey continued ever since.

Aaron, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Aaron Mclain. I’ve worked in the music industry for well over 35 years. I am a guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer and music producer. I’ve worked and played guitar for many artist, including Jermaine Stewart, Oleta Adams (Tears For Fears), Luther Vandross, Patti Labelle, Sheryl Crow, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, Beto Cueves and I’m currently the lead guitarist and music director for the rock group Air Supply.
I have composed music for a wide variety of TV shows including The Price Is Right, Below Deck, Alaska the Last Frontier, The Bachelor, The Real Housewives Series, Queer Eye, Bar Rescue, The Ridiculousness, and many, many more.
My TV appearances include Marc Anthony Live at Madison Garden HBO Special, The Tonight Show, Saturday Night Live, The Today Show, Latin Billboard Awards, Victoria Secret Fashion Awards, Winter Olympics 2002, Marc Anthony CBS Special, Grammy Awards, Billboard Awards, Blockbuster Awards, Gloria Estefan Special, Mad TV, Rosie O’Donell, The View, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Bachelor and many more.

I have produced and writen music for numerous independent artists, including the hit dance track “Dangerous,” which was featured on Pretty Little Liars. As a solo artist, I’m currently writing, recording, and producing a new body of work, showcasing not only my guitar skills but also my talents on bass, keyboards, and vocals. My singles have captured over 500,000 streams on Spotify, and I’ve released eight music videos, some of which have amassed over 300,000 views. With music appearing in more than 300 playlists, including popular ones like Indie Rock Hits, GTA Vice City Radio and Gym Rock Workout.
My recent single, “Where You Are,” reached #51 on the Hypeddit Top 100 Streaming Alternative Charts,
My music is streaming on all digital music platforms and my music videos can be seen on Youtube.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Throughout my career, there were a lot of people that I considered mentors and some that were very supportive. At times there wasn’t a lot of work, and those times were very difficult. Though I’ve been playing guitar most of my life, it was later that I started learning to sing, and to sing professionally. It was in my 20’s that I started writing and singing my own songs and really taking it seriously. Once I had enough material, I formed and fronted my own project. I was building a bit of a following, but my voice was not very strong. I ended up going to Finland for a month to play some clubs with my solo project. Many times there were people that came to me and told me that they loved my guitar playing but hated my voice. Those words really hurt as I had to continue perfoming for weeks to come. However, I didn’t let that stop me. I continued to work on my voice for many years, and now my voice is strong. I’ve since become a vocal instructor and now when people hear me sing or listen to my music, I only recieve postive feedback, knock on wood, lol!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

At this point in my life, regarding my solo music, my goal is simply to be as creative as possible. Though I make a good living as a musician, I’m on a mission to put out quality music. Music that is unique and music that I’m proud of. I have a lot to say, not just with music, but also with my lyrics.. I don’t believe in nothing songs. My songs have very meaningful lyrics. I find that I’m able to be even more creative, since I’m doing it for the love and passion. Of course it would be great to make a lot of money from it, but at the end of the day, I followed my dreams and I’m very proud of my life experiences.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/aaronmclain
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaronmclain/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100059719611920
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-mclain-75b51484/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aaronmclain
• Other: https://linktr.ee/aaronmclain
  https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Pi0DW5tYHj3Gb4iLklO6T?si=eiEsI-UuTCWxD725ghSVfw

Image Credits

Polo Yazaki