It’s no secret in the valley that venture capitalist Roger McNamee is a rocker at heart. By day, he does deals from his Elevation Partners office on Sand Hill Road. But in his spare time, he writes songs and plays guitar for Moonalice (his “old” band was called The Flying Other Brothers). We caught up with him last week at a midday gig in Union Square in San Francisco, where he and his bandmates entertained a lunch-time crowd for more than hour. The band is packed with noteworthy musicians, including G.E. Smith, Barry Sless, Pete Sears, Jimmy Sanchez, as well as McNamee’s wife, Ann McNamee. This isn’t just a hobby for McNamee. The band will play about 60 gigs this year; it just got back from several shows and radio appearances in Alaska and has been playing around the Bay Area the past week. “We’ve been able play well enough over the years that we can make it work as a business,” he said. McNamee didn’t utter his own name once while on stage at Union Square, and it’s a safe bet that few in the audience recognzied the long-time investor. And that suits McNamee fine. McNamee says he wants to succeed as a musician in his own right. Watch the video for musical clips and an interview.

Tags: Elevation Partners, Moonalice, Roger McNamee
 
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