Education
Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1980, he lived in Perry, Oklahoma until 1990, then moved with his family to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he finished high school.
Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1980, he lived in Perry, Oklahoma until 1990, then moved with his family to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he finished high school.
In 1999, he co-founded the group Doubting Thomas with Jenks High School buddies Ab Colby and Rockwell Ryan Ripperger. While a student at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, McCloud and Ripperger later morphed into the successful indie group Stephen Speaks. The band"s album Number More Doubt did well, spreading through college campuses and the newly formed Internet sharing service, Napster.
Through word of mouth, the singles "Out of My League" and "Passenger Seat" were picked up internationally and both songs went to #1 on Filipino radio stations throughout the Spring of 2003, breaking all previous popular music records for that country.
The album, then signed and distributed through Warner Brothers, went certified platinum for that market. A music video for "Passenger Seat" was also produced and went to #1 on Music Television Asia.
Foreign the Filipino tour, the McCloud/Ripperger duo was expanded to include Ripperger"s brother Dain Samuelson (percussion), Amber Sturges (vocals), Blake Howard (bass), and Blake Farmer (drums). After the surprise radio and music video success in Manila, Philippines, Ripperger and McCloud disbanded Stephen Speaks, and McCloud relocated to Nashville, Tennessee in order to pursue a solo career as an indie singer and songwriter.
Ripperger (who then became known as Rockwell Ryan) began performing once again under the Stephen Speaks name in 2004, releasing several albums to date.
In 2006 McCloud wrote and sang an album of children"s music called All God"s Animals, in association with Eric Wyse and Brandon Scott Thomas (the ZOE group), which he has described as "kids" songs that moms won"t hate". lieutenant was re-released in 2009, and due to its success, was nominated by the Global Media Arts for a Dove Award in the category of "Best Children"s Collection". A follow-up collection was released, called "Sailing in the Ocean (in the belly of a fish)".
In 2008, a Christmas collection was released, called What I Love About Christmas.
In 2009, McCloud co-wrote the modern worship song, "Rooftops", with Steven Patterson of the worship band Branch. The song was included on the 2009 album Nothing to Lose-Live European Parliament. They worked there with Manna Global Ministries until September 2008, when they moved back to Nashville to continue writing music and working in ministry.
He is currently serving as the Director of Missions at Lipscomb University.