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Scott McCaughey | |
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 McCaughey in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Alternative rock |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments |
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Scott Lewis McCaughey is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the leader ofThe Young Fresh Fellows fromSeattle andThe Minus 5 based inPortland, Oregon. He was also an auxiliary member ofR.E.M., a rock band, from 1994 until they broke up in 2011. He contributed to the studio albumsNew Adventures in Hi-Fi,Up,Reveal,Around the Sun,Accelerate andCollapse into Now.
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McCaughey began his career with theindie rock bandThe Young Fresh Fellows. Starting in January 1980, he was also a writer for the Seattle music magazineThe Rocket.[1]
From 1994 until 2011, McCaughey worked withR.E.M. both on stage and in the studio. "When R.E.M. came to Seattle to work onAutomatic for the People,Peter [Buck] called me up. He probably didn't know anybody else in town. We'd go out to eat or have drinks pretty regularly while he was here... then he ended up moving out here. Once he was here, we started playing together a lot, doing all The Minus 5 stuff."[2] McCaughey introduced Buck to his future wife, Stephanie. Buck invited McCaughey to join R.E.M. on their 1995Monster tour, initially as a second guitarist. "[Peter] said, 'I wouldn't ask you if the Fellows were playing a lot.' But the Fellows were not really doing anything; we'd kind of brought it down to a crawl. I told him, 'Sure, I'd like to try.' I had to audition because I didn't know the rest of the guys as well as Peter."[2]
McCaughey remained with R.E.M. in various capacities until the band's dissolution. He contributed to the studio albumsNew Adventures in Hi-Fi,Up,Reveal,Around the Sun,Accelerate, andCollapse into Now. Additionally, he has credits for his work on the live albumsR.E.M. Live andLive at The Olympia album and their 2003 greatest hits collection,In Time. When working with R.E.M., McCaughey played guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, and sang backing vocals.[3]
R.E.M. members and side musicians formedThe Minus 5 andTuatara in the mid-1990s.
In June 2003, McCaughey recorded a song with Moween (Peter Schoemaker/Bram van den Berg), at the IDQ studio inUtrecht, the Netherlands titled "Move On."
In 2008, McCaughey formed the side bandThe Baseball Project with Buck,Steve Wynn, andLinda Pitmon. The band's first album,Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails was released later in 2008, and their first public appearance was onLate Night with David Letterman. Since then,Mike Mills joinedThe Baseball Project and they recordedVolume 2: High and Inside, Volume 3: 3rd, andVolume 4: Grand Salami Time (it came out on June 30, 2023 onOmnivore Recordings).[4]
McCaughey is also the bassist forEnglish singerRobyn Hitchcock's touring bandThe Venus 3, which has includedBill Rieflin on drums and Peter Buck playing guitar.[5]
McCaughey plays inTuatara, an instrumental group which features Buck.
McCaughey is a member of The No Ones, a jangle pop supergroup. Other members include Buck, Frode Strømstad, and Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen (from I Was A King). Their debut EPThe Sun Station (Coastal Town Recordings) features guest appearances bySteve Wynn andPatterson Hood.[6]
McCaughey suffered a stroke on November 16, 2017. Two benefit concerts were held in January 2018, to raise money for his medical bills. The artists performing included Peter Buck,Mike Mills,Bill Berry,Alejandro Escovedo,M. Ward,James Mercer ofThe Shins,Corin Tucker fromSleater-Kinney, theDharma Bums,the Decemberists, andPatterson Hood.[7] McCaughey recovered substantially from his stroke in 2018, with the help of his wife, Mary Winzig. He began playing a series of well received shows at venues inPortland, Oregon where they live.
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