Overdrive was a powerful 4 piece rock band drawing on 70's influences. Mark and guitarist Mike Carsey woodshedded hard as they prepared to Rock the world! The connection was strong and the two would meet in the early morning hours after their paper routes with some Winchell's donuts, coffee and imitation Gibson Les Pauls to plan their attack on the music scene. They began to building the band with local hotshot bassist Brian Blewer and drummer Mark Pena. Brian's stay was brief and the band soon recruited bassist Randy Ferraira.

​

Doing mostly cover songs, they developed their chemistry together. And even though McGee was handling vocals it really wasn't his plan to be the singer of the band but after many failed auditions the band convinced Mark to take it over. He reluctantly accepted but now is grateful it happened. As youngsters with no real payroll coming in, the gear available was limited. Mark would play and sing through a Marantz stereo receiver and the tube driven sound got the job done. His first real guitar amp was a Mitchell 'Sands Amp', a gift from Pena's Uncle Tino (aka Vincent). Many blessings were bestowed on the band from family and friends that helped keep their dream moving forward.

 

 The commitment to the music and the dream was fierce and together they were going to take over the world! The bands main goal was always to write their own songs and the very first Overdrive composition was an instrumental with a long spacey intro titled 'Music In my Head'. It was also the very first song ever written by Mark. The floodgates had opened and many more songs would follow. By 1980 the band began performing live in halls and parties until working their way into the professional Bay Area clubs. Guitarist Mike Carsey began securing shows for the band with his pushy personality.  Other people along the way took notice of the quartet and helped and this helped them break into the busy music scene really giving the band a boost.

 

John McNulty was the first journalist to offer them a feature story in the debut issue of the 'Alameda Journal' which immediately raised the bands profile in their home town and the East Bay. The band rehearsed tirelessly at the 'Warehouse Studios', their studio on Shattuck Ave. in a seedy part of downtown Oakland, CA. The band begun to wear the colors red and black at live shows and one of the studio managers Bob Jordan and friend Ira Kelsey actually built them several 4x12 speaker cabinets and they weighed a ton! The band quickly added black stripes to them to reinforce the color theme. This addition to the stage set soon had them known as the 'Red and Black attack'. Before they knew it, LA band Stryper dubbing themselves the 'Yellow and Black Attack' with featured stripes intact. It seemed hardly a coincidence and there's no question there was a competitive rivalry between the Bay Area and LA Rock scene. It was a healthy, thriving time for creativity and their were great original bands everywhere you looked. Violation, Roadrunner, Dammaj, Laaz Rockit and Tyrant to name a few!

 

Soon venues like 'The Stone', 'Old Waldorf' Keystone Berkeley & Palo Alto', Oakland Auditorium Ballroom, Mabuhay Gardens, Ruthie's Inn and The Stage in Danville became OD's home turf with re-occurring show dates and a growing fan base! Moving up the ranks they were a featured opener for Ratt, Blue Oyster Cult, Y&T, Metallica, Quiet Riot, Randy Hansen, Loudness as well as playing co-headling shows with Exodus (w/ Kirk Hammett),  Blind Illusion (w/ Les Claypool) and others. Overdrive's devoted followers appreciated their musical prowess and songs like 'Those Eyes',  'Queen of the Night',  'Running from Destruction'', 'Gettin Ready' and 'Maniac' were fan favorites.

 

Club managers like Toni Isabella and Rachel Matthews at the Old Waldorf and the Corona brothers from the Keystone clubs were  supportive of the band which allowed many opportunities! The bands driver and dear friend Roberta Briggs (aka Birda) always got them to the gigs and without her who knows what would've happened as the band were mere teenagers with no drivers licenses. Mark spent countless hours practicing on her nylon string acoustic guitar.

​

It was truly a magical time in the Bay Area music scene. You could go out and see unknown original bands on Mondays thru Thursdays and at the same venue see acts like Joan Jett or AC/DC on the weekends! To go see unknown original bands was a cool thing to do! There were important watchful eyes in the scene that really made a difference with the the documenting of these special years. Journalist John Strednansky (creator of the legendary Metal Rendezvous Magazine and co-creator of Bay Area Godfathers) along with photographer Bill Hale! 

​

Around this time the band brought in new bassist Jimmi Ward which added a new positive energy to the band. The band pressed on for several months with more shows and working up new material. However as Mark's musical vision was expanding, it was clear that he and Carsey were not heading in the same direction. Mike became infatuated with the look and sound of Motley Crue and Ratt which was never Mark's cup of tea so Mark decided to move on in pursuit of new and more interesting musical ventures.

​

The Overdrive era was a proud time and together they achieved a lot. No albums were made but their presence in the Bay Area scene is fondly remembered. And recently McGee was featured in the two part music documentary titled

‘Bay Area Godfathers’  available on most streaming services.