New Jersey Stage Issue 70 | Page 17

other thing?’ So that’s what we do. Those songs don’t come as fre- quently, so it’s like more of a slow burn for The Westies. My wife likes that band as she’s always pushing to do another Westies album, and I’d like to. It’s more of like being a crime novelist with those songs. They just take a little longer for me.” While McDermott’s CD release show may or may not take place in June, he was forced to cancel his European tour for the album. Eu- rope has been a very good market for him and it’s a huge financial loss for him. He hopes to return in the fall, but in the meantime he’s become one of the numerous art- ists who have been performing virtual concerts on stageit.com. Having a fanbase spread around the world and many albums in his catalog makes him a good candi- date for virtual concerts, but per- forming without an audience is a strange experience. “It’s weird, but you kind of get used to it,” he said. “Frankly, there were a lot of years when I would Watch a video for “Hell’s Kitchen” by The Westies NJ STAGE - ISSUE 70 INDEX NEXT ARTICLE 17