glenn kotche

Chicago-based drummer and composer Glenn Kotche has been the drummer of the groundbreaking rock band Wilco since 2001. With Wilco, he has toured extensively internationally and recorded eight studio albums -garnering a Grammy Award and 5 Grammy nominations along the way. He is also a long-time member of the experimental duo, On Fillmore with bassist Darin Gray.

As a composer, he has been commissioned by renowned ensembles and organizations including Kronos Quartet, The Silk Road Ensemble, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Eighth Blackbird, So Percussion, Third Coast Percussion, Carnegie Hall, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, Norway’s 1B1 Orchestra, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, National Sawdust and Roomful of Teeth among others.

Kotche has played on over 90 recordings by diverse artists such as First Aid Kit, Iron and Wine, KD Lang, Neko Case, Laura Viers, Neil Finn, Andrew Bird, William Tyler, Radiohead’s Phillip Selway and Ed O’Brien, Low, Mavis Staples and Beck.

Kotche has also recorded five solo albums including Mobile (Nonesuch, Warner Music), Adventureland (Cantaloupe) and Sticks Skins Metal and Stone (National Sawdust Tracks).

Glenn has also taken the drumset into non-traditional collaborative settings with the likes of chef Rick Bayless, WNYC’s Radiolab, National Sawdust’s The Colorado and recently with choreographer Danielle Agami and actor Jon Hamm in the production, Fishing, as well as with Agami’s company Ate/9 for the piece, Calling Glenn. In 2013, Kotche commissioned the Pulitzer Prize winning composer John Luther Adams resulting in percussion solo tour de force titled Ilimaq (Cantaloupe).

Glenn has been a Gray Center Fellow at the University of Chicago and he has contributed to several books and publications. His inventive book, A Beat A Week, is published by Alfred Music. Glenn has also created several sound installations, including Earth Drums at New York’s Art Park and Spy On Wall at MASSMoCA.

gabe mcdonough

Gabe McDonough is one of the most experienced music and branding professionals in the world, orchestrating music strategies for brands like Apple, Ford, Samsung, Coke, LG, Coach and many more.After creating the music departments at Chicago powerhouse agencies Leo Burnett and DDB and a brief stint at Media Arts Lab in Los Angeles, McDonough joined MAS in 2015.

McDonough has built a reputation for finding and breaking emerging artists through memorable campaigns, including Santigold’s breakthrough “Lights Out” placement in Bud Light Lime commercials, and, more recently, Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” used in Ford spots. Always looking for non-traditional ways to incorporate music into brand campaigns, McDonough even enlisted Wilco’s Glenn Kotche to “play” faucets for a Delta Faucet commercial.

Named one of Billboard’s “40 Under 40,” McDonough won the 2012 Midem Music Award for best use of a song in a commercial for a Sprint spot featuring a remake of Wilco’s “I’m Always in Love.” Prior to that, AdWeek also recognizedone of his spots as one of the “5 Best Ad Songs of All Time.”

Also a musician, McDonough previously served as Governor of the Chicago Chapter of the Recording Academy. He has created and performed music spanning several genres throughout his music career, including experimental(Mausim) electronic/techno (Thick Bricks), blues (Chicago Stone Lightning Band), and indie/experimental (BOAS).

At his current role at MAS, McDonough oversees the West Coast business in original music composition, music supervision and music strategy.