The Surreal McCoys

What do you call five lawyers on stage? The Suing McCoys. Okay; enough lame lawyer jokes. When The Surreal McCoys take that stage on September 21 at Union Street Station, there will be plenty of mischief and show antics, and also some entertaining tunes; while as attorneys, they may be the butt of jokes, musically they are not.
Formed 15 years ago in South Bend by a group of graduating Notre Dame law students, The Surreal McCoys played their brand of cowpunk covers during a few shows at local clubs. After graduation, they headed off in different directions. One of those members, Tim Smith, a Traverse City attorney, began reminiscing about those moments on stage and decided to reconnect to his musical past.
“A couple of years ago, I was coming home from a dinner meeting and thinking about what happened to the guys in the band,” said Smith. “So I called Erik Huey, who was the mastermind behind the band. I told him I thought it would be fun to put the band back together for a show. He agreed and we started tracking the rest of the guys down.”
After their first reunion show in November of 2005, bass player Clint Feddersen, an L.A. based entertainment attorney and a regular on the L.A Club scene, didn’t want to wait another 13 years to get together.
“Clint said he could get us a gig at the Whiskey or Viper, and we all said, sure, whatever. The next thing you know, he has us booked at the Viper Room the night of the Oscars,” said Smith. “In L.A., bands have to make a quota at clubs or they have to pay the club, but the Viper eliminated that for us because we were new; and fortunately the place was packed anyway. After the show several people thought we were some big shot band, and they followed us to our hotel, saying they were here for the after party. It was wild. We jammed all night next to the pool.”
After the Viper Room gig Smith and his bandmates began discussing the concept of playing a few gigs each year in each of the band members’ hometowns. He lined up a gig at Union Street Station last September. Since then, the band has also played Georgetown and Fontana’s in New York City. Smith says it is all about the love of music as they try and explain the expense of it all to their wives.
“We tell our wives that this is a lot cheaper way to live out our mid-life crisis versus buying a sports car,” laughs Smith. “Now we have a website, merchandise, and we are even working on our first album of original material that we hope to release next year, so it seems like we are getting serious. But this certainly is not a profitable venture; we don’t even make enough to cover our bar tab, let alone pay for the plane tickets to fly everyone to the gigs.” But Smith says life is a lot different for all the members today than back in their college days.
“Today when we need an amp or something, we can afford to buy it,” said Smith. “Back in college, we would have to pawn our computer to get a piece of equipment to play a gig, and then hope that we had enough money left over from the gig the next day to buy the computer back.”
It’s their day jobs that are footing the bill now, though, for the most part. Smith said that, with the exception of Feddersen, the guys are just musical hacks who have found success in their legal professions.
“One guy is a major lobbyist for the entertainment industry; another guy is a private banker managing accounts worth 5 to 25 million dollars,” said Smith. “Of course, Clint is a big shot legally and musically in LA; and then there is me, this hick attorney in northern Michigan.”
Actually, Smith is selling himself short; he’s a partner in one of the top firms (his father Lou was the founder) in Northern Michigan, and is active in several charitable pursuits including the Father Fred Foundation. He comes from a musical family, as well; both his mother and sister are wonderful vocalists.
Smith and his bandmates have no intention of giving up their day jobs, but they are having fun - and now the group has some goals. They want to finish their CD and
play at next year’s Democratic Convention. After their Union Street gig, the band will head to South Bend to perform on Friday night as part of the pre-game (MSU/Notre Dame) festivities.
Regarding their TC show, the power/punk trio The Off Ramps from Detroit will open at 8 pm. Getting there early is a good idea, as last year’s Surreal McCoys show was packed, and wound up being one of the busiest Thursday nights of the year for Union Street.

For music samples and more info, check out thesurrealmccoys.com, or call Union Street Station at (231) 941-1930. View On Our Website