by Shaun Hague
(Updated: Thursday, June 4, 2009 9:55 AM PDT)

Indie rockers The Northstar Session will make their South Bay debut at Saint Rocke Thursday, June 11. Recently praised by Vintage Guitar magazine as “one to watch,” founders Matt Szlachetka and Kane McGee are excited for their first jaunt with the beach cities music crowd.

McGee (drummer), a California native, is no stranger to the world of music. His father, Jerry McGee, was a well-known guitarist of the 1960s and 1970s. He played with the likes of The Monkees, Kris Kristofferson, and Delany & Bonnie.

Unlike his dad, McGee followed a path to the percussion side of music and started playing drums when he was 5 years old.

“I just wandered into my older brother’s room one day and started playing on his kit,” MeGee said. “I really didn’t get serious with drums until I was about 15 and played The Troubadour.”

Little did he know that at a session years later, (2006 to be precise), McGee would run into guitarist Szlachetka, now the guitarist/vocalist for The Northstar Session. Szlachetka grew up in Massachusetts listening to his parents’ classic rock records, becoming inspired more and more by every track he heard.

“I started out on the cello, but it wasn’t meant to be,” he said. “The first one was damaged by my brother and the second cello broke when some kid tripped me going into school. So I picked up the guitar instead.”

Szlachetka studied music and songwriting at Bates College in Maine, but then made the move to San Diego when he was just 22 years old. He stayed there for nearly four years before making the move to Hollywood.

“I knew some people down in San Diego and it really taught me how to learn to play live. Most guys in Massachusetts were not as serious about music as I was,” Szlachetka said.

Upon meeting at a recording session, the duo instantly felt a musical connection and decided to start songwriting the very next day.

“It was really nice to find someone who was so easy to create music with,” said McGee.

Szlachetka added, “We wrote the song ‘Hard to Be Found’ the very next day, which is on our debut record.”

The pair played out to the Los Angeles music scene performing songs and meeting like-minded musicians. “One of those guys was keyboardist Dave Basaraba, whom we met through singer Jamie Wyatt,” Szlachetka said. Basaraba has since become a staple member of the band and a strong addition to the sound of The Northstar Session along with bassist Wayne Miller.
Its debut album, “New Prehistoric Times” is a blend of new and old, but still has an original flare to it. The album has received rave reviews from press both in print and online. Certain tracks have also been featured in various film/TV shows such as PBS’ “Road Trip Nation,” the Discovery Channel and the indie movie “Numb,” which features “Friends” star Matthew Perry.

“We are pretty happy with the album as it reassures what we are doing and is a great blend of influences,” said Szlachetka. “We rented a house in Laurel Canyon for three months, rented some gear and produced the album ourselves.”

Currently, The Northstar Session is playing shows up and down the California coast and is shopping its disc to record labels. Joining the band Thursday will be South Bay’s MISO, Bryan Master and RTEL Records artist Hodges.

To hear more from the band, visit www.myspace.com/thenorthstarsession

Saint Rocke is located at 142 Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach. For more information, visit www.saintrocke.com