The duo McNally Waters realized their fruitful collaboration after successful songwriter, Larry John McNally (The Eagles, Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, etc.) began writing his own songs, and then collaborating with Harry Waters, after a friend introduced the two. Waters is the son of Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters and had performed with his father, Marianne Faithful, Tom Jones, Nick Cave, along with sharing the stage alongside The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, David Gilmour, Eddie Vedder, and even having his own jazz band, The Harry Waters Band. The duo spanned an international tour, and released three songs pulled from their upcoming second full-length album, delayed release due to COVID-19. One of these singles is the blending of genres blues, country, rock, and folk-tinged, “Bang Bang.”
“Bang Bang” is a single that you could hear anywhere, but is best heard in a car ride, or a hole in the wall where you discover some of the best music and musicians. The song was written in LA and recorded in Britain, where McNally Waters recorded the pending album in six, solid days, collaborating with Pat Kenneally on drums, and Tali Trow on bass. The music video features a clip with animations from Gabriel Isacson who uses intricate symbolism with “a blooming flower (hope in the most dire of circumstances), a snake (Biblical loss of innocence, evil intent), and birds in flight (mimicking darkness, light or death). In between, the guys walk the outskirts of a California desert town, the morning after a late-night gig.”
Larry, you wrote a number of successful singles for musicians like The Eagles, Bonnie Raitt, Mavis Staples, and Rod Stewart, what led you to start writing songs for yourself?
Larry John McNally: When I was about 16, I discovered Allen Toussaint. I thought it was so cool that other people were singing his songs. He also sang his own songs, but it connected him to this much bigger world of music than just his own personal musings. I decided that was what I would do as well. I didn’t know then that it could also be very lucrative. More than that was the joy of involvement with a whole new world of musicians, producers, and singers. Long story short, I always sang my own songs, but singers like Chaka Khan, Mavis Staples, Bonnie Raitt, and more, overshadowed my understated performances.
Both you and Harry found musical kismet. When did you guys know that you guys wrote well and made good music together?
Larry: Right from the beginning, Harry and I hit it off. When two guys with a lot of musical history sit down at the table, there is a lot on that table to work with. Harry loves the jazz pianist Bill Evans as much as I do. Also, we both love the music of New Orleans, plus we’re both avid readers. That gives you a lot to work with.
Harry Waters: For me, it was pretty much straight away. We met at a party and very shortly after got together to just play some music. Larry on guitar and myself and Piano we played a few covers, messed around with a few nice chord changes, and that was it, the seed was sown. Within a couple of days, we’d written our first song together- which if memory serves me correctly was “A Night Much Deeper.” We then wrote about 20 to 25 more songs and picked the strongest eleven to make up our first record.
Your full-length second album is currently delayed, but have released a few songs. When do you expect to release it, and what can fans expect from it?
Larry: I don’t want to release it until we can play live to promote it, or something happens that more or less demands its release. The whole world is more or less on hold, waiting for things to return to “normal.”
Harry: For us to release the second record, we have to finish mixing. I really like to mix with Larry in the room with me, which is impossible at the moment. Once he heads back to LA I’m sure we’ll figure out a way of working on the mix together. I think the second record is perhaps more rootsy than the first record. There are more hints of jazz on this one than the first record. It also contains our gun violence protest song “Bang Bang.”
One of the songs released from the album is “Bang Bang,” a mellow, yet soulful track. What is you guys’ writing process like?
Larry: Our process is different on each song. One of my favorite songs on our first album is “Blackout.” Harry gave me the music and I wrote a melody and lyric on top of it. I would never write music like that, so it brings out a whole different side of me, and it’s fun for me to play as a guitar player. On many of the songs I write the lyrics first, maybe with a rhythm in mind and sit with Harry to work out the chords, etc. I have never worked closely with a keyboard player before so it’s fresh and new to me. When Harry is just noodling on the piano it all sounds cool to me and I often grab something he has played and shape it into song material.
Harry: Sometimes Larry will come to me with a completed set of lyrics, and will sit and put music to those lyrics together. Sometimes I’ll have a full set of core changes then Larry will add lyrics and melody over the top. And sometimes Larry comes to me with some fleshed out music and lyrics and then we’ll work on a bridge or a B section together.
What was the filming process like for “Bang Bang,” and how collaborative were you both for it?
Larry: I had no input on the video whatsoever, but I loved how it came out. That’s the beauty of collaboration. You take the wheel for a while and I’ll just sit in the passenger seat.
Harry: Most of “Bang Bang” is animation, done by the brilliant Gabriel Isacson. My amazing wife Richelle directed the video and edited it all together. The shots of Larry and I are from a photo shoot we did in the desert in Palm Springs for a previous tour.
What’s next for the rest of the year?
Larry: I’m going to guess that I’ll be sitting alone in my room for quite some time more, writing songs and watching the bad news on CNN.
Harry: Until we can start working together again, lots more practice!
Fun Questions
Who was your first concert, and who has been your favorite?
Larry: I don’t remember the first concerts I saw, but the ones that stand out for me were the shows I’ve seen at The New Orleans Jazz Festival. When I was standing in the mud at the Gospel tent there, I transcended my earthly concerns and rose to some higher place, without a doubt.
Harry: Aside from Pink Floyd gigs, my first concert was Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA, 1985 I think, at Wembley Stadium. I went with Mum and it was mind-blowing.
What was your first album on cassette, CD and/or vinyl?
Larry: I remember my cousin giving me Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited, and that opened the door to everything that happened next!
Harry: I didn’t ever really need to buy vinyl because my mum had such an incredible collection! The first things I got really into were The Beach Boys, the Allman Brothers, Dr. Jon, Buddy Holly, and Little Richard.
Which five albums and/or artists would you not want to live without?
Larry:
a) Laura Nyro- Gonna Take a Miracle
Laura with LaBelle singing classic RnB produced by Gamble & Huff in Philadelphia. What a
killer album.
b) Laura Nyro- Christmas & the Beads of Sweat
Laura playing with the best New York session players of that era, produced by the genius Arif Mardin, ethereal transcendence!
c) Aretha Franklin- Young, Gifted and Black
So funky, so soulful. Atlantic Records at its best and the funkiest groove from New York’s best musicians. Beautiful songs sung by the indisputable queen of soul.
d) Bill Evans with Scott LaFaro. I have listened to every Bill Evans album, but the magic between him and the bassist Scott LaFaro was stunning. Can anyone explain why two people love each other and the magic that exists between them? No, it can’t be explained, but it exists and it’s real.
e) Chet Baker Sings and Plays from the film Let’s Get Lost
Chet totally strung out on heroin, one foot in heaven at this point, floating above earthly concerns, in a simple and pure trio or quartet setting. “Every Time We Say Goodbye” is enough to break your heart.
f) Boz Scaggs’ Atlantic album recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. This Southern blue-eyed soul style created the mold, that in many ways I am still in today. I wanted to play guitar like the funky Eddie Hinton. My style later developed into a more New York style of songwriting and a slicker RnB guitar style influenced by the New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles session players, but, my true roots remain in Muscle Shoals. Check out the McNally Waters’ song “Muscle Shoals.”
Harry: It’s impossible to make this list, however hard you try, so I’ll just list the five that come
to mind now.
a) Bill Evans
b) Neil Young
c) Oscar Peterson
d) The Beatles
e) The Grateful Dead.
Do you have a guilty music and/or entertainment pleasure?
Larry: 45s! I’ve recently bought a few of those old 60’s console record players and my 45s sound great on them. Very lo-fi! Some of the 45s I shouldn’t admit to owning: “Walking With My Cat Named Dog”, “In the Year 2025”, “All Right Now” by Free. Before Pink Floyd came up with the concept of concept albums, the 45 was king.
Harry: I don’t think anyone should ever feel guilty about the music they listen to. I’ve never experienced guilt listening to music.
What are you currently reading, watching, and/or listening to?
Larry: I’m in a heavy Keith Jarrett phase right now. Specifically, his trio with Gary Peacock and Jack Dejohnette. Like Bill Evans and Scott LaFaro, you can’t deny the magic between those three. Love fills the room.
Harry: Call of Cthulhu and other weird stories. It’s a compilation of short stories by HP Lovecraft. Absolutely brilliantly terrifying. I’m just about to start watching the second series of The Boys. I’m a huge Garth Ennis fan and this TV adaptation of the comics is probably the best superhero thing I think I’ve ever seen. I’m listening to the new Chick Corea record “Plays.” It’s absolutely fantastic.
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