Jonathan McNary Masters His Craft in North Texas

Feb 4

The Guitar Wizard

Hidden beneath the grunge, psychedelic and experimental sounds of the Denton music Scene resides Jonathan McNary. The man is an impeccable multi-instrumentalist that prides himself on mastering the art of the electric triangle. Although McNary doesn’t necessarily utilize this unique skill often, he has replaced it with mastering the art of the guitar. Over the past four years in Denton, Jonathan has gained a plethora of experience in the music industry by working on solo projects and playing in several different bands such as Remain and Fiction Theory.

Growing up, Jonathan was surrounded by music at a young age as his uncle and cousin were involved in different bands. Soon after the age of seven, Jonathan found his start playing the piano in which began his pursuit for all things music. The guitar wizard began taking music seriously when he began his freshman year at the University of North Texas due to the simple fact that everyone there was exponentially talented and “you find out bad you are immediately” stated McNary. With an overwhelming pool of skilled individuals this influenced Jonathan to take initiative.

It is imperative to recognize the amount of time and grit McNary has put into his artistry as well as being a student at the same time. McNary recounted that there was a point in time where he played in 4 bands, took 15 hours of school, and worked 21+ hours a week. With all this going on Jonathan notes that taking care of your mental health first before anything but “music is something that [he] loves doing so it doesn’t feel like a lot of work.”

To house parties and beyond

By taking advantage of his environment in college at the renowned UNT, McNary has amassed unmatched potential with his experience playing in several different bands. Most recently he has been focusing his efforts as lead guitar with the alt-rock band Fiction Theory. An upcoming band that is on the rise in North Texas, most recently performed at Amplified Live as well as Main at South Side in Fort Worth this past January. Though Jonathan thoroughly enjoys playing at larger venues, he has a strong love for performing at house venues because that is where all bands realize what they are capable of. The intimacy of a two hundred people absolutely packed like sardines while defying all laws of physics approximately 2-3 feet away from your guitar just hits different.

McNary has experimented a lot with music production and has effortlessly been through trial and error with his work. He describes the idea of experimentation allows you to “try and fail, and fail again, and fail more, then you forget it.” With such confidence, I presume that McNary is soon to find success and prevail through his previous trials of music.