Band

Sean Patrick McCarthy is the founder, front man, and lead vocalist of southern coastal group Sean McCarthy Band. In addition to being the founding member of Sean McCarthy Band, McCarthy is also credited as a songwriter, producer and record label head.

McCarthy was born in 1959 in Gloucester, Massachusetts and raised in Fernandina Beach, Florida. He grew up influenced by songwriters and musicians such as James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Harry Chapin. In 1983, McCarthy moved to Nashville to be closer to country music’s epicenter. He started out playing at The Bluebird Cafe and Douglas Corner Cafe. Following this move, McCarthy combined country, bluegrass, and tropical with coastal lyrical themes. McCarthy himself and others have used the term “Coastal Country” to describe his musical style and that of other similar-sounding performers.

McCarthy has released three studio albums, the most recent album with Sean McCarthy Band – made up of McCarthy, along with Davis Turner, Olin “Hotshot” Carter, Daniel Daly, Ernie Ealum, and Marcus Carter.

He recorded his first album, “Life in a Beach Town,” in 1995. During this time, McCarthy could be frequently found performing on Amelia Island at popular local venues such as The Down Under and Shucker’s Oyster Bar. His second album, “A Bad Day of Fishin,” was released in 2012 and produced fan favorites such as “Said A Father To His Daughter” and “Basic Country Skills.”

Today, he can be found performing along Florida’s coasts where he gets inspiration for many of his songs.

Ealum began playing violin at the age of 10 and took on the upright bass at 14. Despite not being tall enough to play, he was drawn to the instrument and determined to make it work. Ealum studied music in his youth and continued his studies throughout college. He spent two years majoring in music at the University of Florida and later transferred to Jacksonville University where he graduated with a degree in Music Performance.

Ealum refused to be pigeon-holed into playing one instrument or knowing just one style of music. He strived to become a versatile performer and immersed himself into many musical genres including blues, jazz, and classical. Ealum’s influences span from amazing bass players like Edgar Meyer to Carl Chambers and Israel Crosby.

After college, Ealum accepted a job performing nightly at The Cloister – a Sea Island Resorts located in Sea Island, GA. He commuted to and from Jacksonville for nearly 2 ½ years and was eventually hired as full-time talent. In addition to his work at the resort, Ealum provided music instruction to students during the day. He juggled both jobs simultaneously over ten great years. His long-time commitment with The Cloister afforded him the ability to buy a home and raise a family together with his wife Pegge. But after the fall of the economy, Ealum made the decision to resign from The Cloister and continued to perform throughout Jacksonville and its surrounding areas.

Ealum later joined Pegge; also a musician, to establish a wedding and event planning business. Their events have taken them to different places to perform and sometimes have even taken Ealum back to The Cloister. The couple have found much success, expanding their business into Georgia, Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta and Southern Florida.

Carter is the youngest and long time member of the Sean McCarthy Band​. He has played alongside Sean and father/fellow band member, Olin, for the past 18 years. Carter picked up a guitar at the age of 12 and spent his youth watching his father play. Olin would become Marcus’ musical inspiration along with several other wildly popular artists such as Mr. Garth Brooks.

While Carter looked up to Olin, he looked up to Brooks just a smidge bit more. Maybe it was the cowboy in Brooks or just his overall sheer talent, regardless, Carter wanted to be just like him. Once during a trip to the hat store with his parents, Carter specifically requested to have a “Garth Brooks shaped hat” and that’s exactly what he got.

Outside of Carter’s love for music and Garth Brooks, he has a deep affection for sports. He was a catcher in baseball during his younger years and now participates in annual charity basketball and softball tournaments. Carter is also a die-hard fan of the Georgia Bulldogs fan and like his family, he bleeds red and black. Every year Carter takes a week off from work in order to prepare for the Florida-Georgia football game. He and Olin paint the backyard lawn to match the football field on game day with yard markers, team end zones and the SEC logo included. If this isn’t dedication its finest, we don’t know what is. One thing is for certain, this speaks volumes to who Carter is as a person.

He is devoted to spending his downtime with family. Carter and his wife Debbie, of four years, are parents to five beautiful girls – three daughters and their two labrador retrievers, Georgia and Alma. He enjoys grilling steaks on his Big Green Egg Grill and is rather particular about making the bed everyday.

Additionally, Carter is very passionate about his nine year career with the Fernandina Beach Fire Department and committed to his community. Recently promoted to Lieutenant, Carter proclaims that he has the “best job in the world” and embraces the new encounters in the line of duty he is faced with everyday.

Daly was born in County Kerry, Ireland and raised in England. He is the youngest of four children, joined by two brothers and a sister. The Daly kids all grew up playing instruments – Daniel began playing piano at six, his siblings played guitars and the keyboard. He would often watch them perform at local shows and more often than not, you could find him sitting behind the drum set after each show. He would bang away and it wasn’t long after that Daly would eventually bring home a drum kit.

Daly bought his first snare drum when he was just ten. He wanted to learn how to play it properly and immediately sought instruction. Daly attempted to enroll into the local music school, but was informed that there would be a six year waiting period. Unsatisfied with this response, he took matters into his own hands. He knew where the school’s musical instructors would meet and planned to approach them about his request. One day, he walked into The Essex Teachers Training Center determined to find the person in charge. His questions led him to the Director of Musical Education’s office. Daly walked in unannounced and made his case on why he couldn’t wait six years to begin training. The following Monday, Daly was delivered an acceptance letter to The Triton School of Music in Essex, England. At eleven, Daly began his studies and attended Triton for seven years under BBC master percussionist, Brian Pickles.

A few of Daly’s musical influences are Bill Bruford, YES, King Crimson, Brecker Brothers, Genesis, and Buddy Rich; one of the most influential drummers of all time. Daly would listen to these different artists including his older brother’s band. His brother would actually give him mixtapes featuring songs from the band’s performances along with music from other bands. One song in particular would later catch Daly’s attention. It wasn’t a song that his brother’s band created and it stuck out more than any other song he had heard before. It was unique and he fell in love with the amazing jazz and funk styles that it possessed. Unfortunately the tape wasn’t marked and there wasn’t a way of telling what the song was titled and who played it. The internet didn’t exist and Shazam was three and a half decades away.

Five years later, while working in a drum store in London’s West End, Daly fortuitously heard the song again. He learned that the band was known as the Brecker Brothers and the song was titled “Sneaking Up Behind You.” Daly studied their music and was highly influenced by the band’s drummer, Chris Parker. Daly says, “I didn’t even know who he was. He changed my entire outlook on drumming with the syncopated drum approach.”

Daly sought out Parker and was eventually in contact with him over email. They exchanged emails and phone calls with one another for over a year. In 2008, Daly and his son Ciaran ́ visited Anaheim, CA to attend The Yamaha Groove Masters where Chris would perform. After the show, Daly wanted to formally introduce himself to Chris, but was surrounded by a swarm of people. Daly felt it best to call Chris later, but his son helped change his mind by saying, “Dad, if you walk away now you’re going to regret this for the rest of your life.” So Daly decided to move through the crowd right up to Chris. When Daly told Chris who he was, Chris immediately stopped what he was doing to speak with him. It took nearly 30 years after hearing the song that inspired him, but Daly finally got to meet the drummer behind the beats. The two became close friends, with Chris also becoming a great mentor to Daly.

Daly has traveled the world and performed alongside Academy, Golden Globe, Grammy and Tony Award winners: Sir Tim Rice and Peter Green and Friends. He has also performed with Fleetwood Mac contributing to one of the greatest instrumental tracks in history, “Albatross” and also “Black Magic Woman.” Daly is currently writing his first book titled, “How to Practice Using the Power of the Brain.”