Overdrive was a powerful four piece band influenced by mid-70's music from groups like Kiss, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Journey,

Pat Travers, Montrose, Van Halen, Ted Nugent, Scorpions and others. Mark and guitarist Mike Carsey woodshedded their guitar skills and prepared to Rock the world. Their connection was strong and the two would meet in the early morning hours

after their paper routes with all the necessary gear, imitation Gibson Les Pauls, coffee and Winchell's donuts. Planning their attack on the music world they built the band with Brian Blewer on the Bass and Mark Pena on drums. Brian performed on all the early shows with the band but as it turned out his stay was brief and so in came bassist Randy Ferraira (RIP).

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In the beginning the band was playing mostly cover songs as they developed their chemistry together. And even though McGee was handling lead vocals he wasn't intending to be the singer of the band. However after many failed auditions the band felt that Mark was sounding strong enough to do it so they convinced him to take it over. In retrospect it was quite a blessing. As youngsters with no real payroll coming in, the gear available was limited. At rehearsals Mark played and sang through a Marantz stereo receiver and the thick analog tube driven sound worked well and 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 like this were bestowed on the band and helped propel them forward.

 

The bands dream and commitment to the music was fierce and their main goal was always to write their own songs. The very first song ever written by Mark was also the first original in the Overdrive setlist titled 'Music In my Head'. An instrumental with a long drawn out spacey intro. The floodgates had now been opened and many more originals would follow. By 1980 the band was performing live in halls and at parties with Carsey starting to secure occasional shows with his pushy personality. As the band was eager to perform in more professional Bay Area venues, people were began to take notice!

 

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 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 the thing to do! There were important, watchful eyes in the scene that really made a difference in documenting 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 energy to the band. The band pressed on for several months with more shows and working up new material. However Mark's musical vision was expanding, it was clear that he and Carsey were not looking in the same direction. Mike became infatuated with the look and sounds of LA Metal bands and so Mark moved on in pursuit of new,  more interesting musical ventures.​

 

Overdrive achieved a lot together and though no albums were made, their presence in the Bay Area scene is fondly remembered. Recently McGee was a featured artist in the two part documentary film

‘Bay Area Godfathers’.  Watch it now available on most streaming services.