Pat McGinnis

Patrick McGinnis was born in May 1958 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1966, his father moved the family to Altoona, where Pat began pursuing his interest in playing music. “Music has always been part of my family and life. I have very early memories of my Mom playing honky-tonk sing-along piano, and she was taking guitar lessons when I was about 12 or so. I used to get her to teach me what she learned at her lessons even though I was taking drum lessons at the time. Mom and Dad were always supportive and helped me with early equipment purchases. They still come to performances when they can!”

When Pat was injured playing high school football, music became “a real outlet.” “The first album that shook my soul was Can't Buy a Thrill, the first release from Steely Dan. I think I was 14, and I acquired the album through my parents’ record club (remember those?) as the selection of the month. I still find stuff on that record that moves me. Check out the pedal steel solos on ‘Brooklyn’ and ‘Fire in the Hole!’”

Pat began concentrating on bass and played with several garage bands in high school and got his first paying gigs at high school dances. “John Kahn and Phil Lesh are two of my favorite bass players, and both have influenced my thinking and playing greatly. I also have found that drummers are the best inspiration to me as a player; there are few things in life more pure and pleasurable than those moments when the rhythm section locks onto a deep groove!”

After high school, Pat left home for State College, where he played mostly at coffee houses while living in the dorms. After moving off campus, he played with a couple of country/rock bands, including Tasty Licks and High Country.

In 1981, Pat replaced Roger Schultz as Red Rose Cotillion’s bass player. With his country/rock roots, Pat added a new dimension to RRC, which began playing cover songs by J.J. Cale, the Outlaws, and ZZ Top, as well as Pat’s original song, “These Blues.” At the same time, Pat easily adapted his style to RRC’s, and the band continued to evolve with his driving bass riffs and strong harmony vocals.

When RRC broke up, Pat remained in State College for about a year, finished his undergraduate degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences, and performed as a solo acoustic act, appearing primarily at the Brick House Tavern and the Rathskeller. After graduating from Penn State, Pat returned to Altoona to pursue a career as a social worker.

Pat has remained active in the local/regional music scene and has performed in various projects, including several stints as a solo performer. He spent about 10 years with a project called the U.S. Hotel House Band, which was formed as the house band for an old Hotel located in the historic section of Hollidaysburg, PA. The band “was a rotating line up of local musicians” and sometimes included as many as 11 pieces, with a full horn section. While playing at the hotel, the band was privileged to open for several nationally known acts, including The New Riders of the Purple Sage, Richie Havens, Leon Russell, and Robbie Krieger.

Since 2001, Pat has teamed up with local State College musicians Mark Ross (guitar) and Jack Wilkinson (drums), both formerly of Queen Bee and the Blue Hornet Band, in two different groups. The first band was Dusk ‘till Dawn, which featured a young singer/songwriter named Dawn Nolten, who in 2004 left State College bound for Nashville to pursue her musical career. After Dawn left the band, Pat, Mark, and Jack were joined by Tyne Replogle, a young banjo wizard who also “sings like a bird and writes.” Calling themselves Tyne and the Fast Lyne, the quartet performs mostly in State College.

Pat currently lives in Altoona with his wife, Rose, and their two daughters, Lyndsi (20) and Lauren (16).