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| photo: Brendan Walter, courtesy Crush Music |
Andrew McMahon is ready to lay everything bare.
The current tour provides a rare chance to see the Dana Point singer/pianist fly totally solo for an entire concert.
“It’s something I had shied away from for a long time because you obviously don't have a lot of cover,” admitted McMahon, in a phone interview. “There’s a lot to try and pull off dynamically.
“When it works, I feel like they can be magical evenings where the audience kind of becomes the band. You keep them engaged and singing...it’s a new challenge for me. I feel like I’m up to it.”
Fans can look forward to hearing stripped down selections from throughout the pop/rock musician’s career - Something Corporate, Jack’s Mannequin (holiday tune “The Lights and Buzz”) and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness (top 20 alt-rock hits “Cecilia and the Satellite,” “Fire Escape,” “High Dive”) - plus stories and more.
“I try to keep it as loose as possible and make it so the night is available to take turns in different directions if something doesn't feel right,” explained McMahon. With a more intimate environment and nobody else onstage “relying on you to steer the show,” he has more freedom to stop and improvise.
Returning to the Coach House should bring back fond memories for McMahon. The O.C. fixture was where Something Corporate played early gigs. Venue owner Gary Folgner mentored the teenage group and helped them put out independent debut album “Ready...Break” in 2000. McMahon also did a pair of concerts there in December ‘17 after a long absence.
“I’m not sure that anything has changed in that room since we first started playing it,” he said with a laugh. “There’s something comforting about” encountering the same old school vibe again.
Last year’s terrific third Andrew McMahon in Wilderness album “Upside Down Flowers” was a more personal effort than usual that found McMahon working in the studio with rock and pop producer du jour Butch Walker (Weezer, P!nk, Fall Out Boy). They handled most of the music themselves.
The pair previously met in 2005 when both were contributing to a Tommy Lee album. Once an opportunity finally came to join forces, he discovered “there was a lot of trust. I tend to like working one-on-one better than anything. There’s something beautiful about having two people bringing their collective experience to a song and finding the things they love about each other’s perspectives and points of view.”
Nostalgia had a major influence on the lyrics. Stately standout “Teenage Rockstars” references Something Corporate’s career, boasts a sway-worthy chorus and has a wistful tone reminiscent of Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes.” Another David Bowie nod comes via “Goodnight, Rock and Roll,” a deft tribute to legends like Tom Petty and Bowie.
McMahon said he was motivated to “write something that was reflective in a different way, (revisiting) memories and scenarios from as far back as being a young kid.”
Right around the album’s release, McMahon displayed his cocktail making skills in a popular Instagram post that led to a witty YouTube video series called “The Rocktail Hour.” They were filmed at Vine Restaurant & Bar in San Clemente, where the musician often frequents.
“I’ve known those guys for years,” said McMahon. Gabe Whorley at Vine helped the musician come up with cocktails named after “Flowers” songs. “We had a blast. It was a fun afternoon, albeit one I couldn't drive home from. I’d like to do more.”
Back in June, McMahon released a mesmerizing cover of Kacey Musgraves’ “Slow Burn” via Amazon Music. The Texan wasn’t “really on my radar,” but suggestions from McMahon’s management, his wife and young daughter helped seal the deal.
Then McMahon “fell in love” with Musgraves' music. “I just watched her Amazon Christmas special. It’s campy and funny in all the best ways. (‘Golden Hour’) was one of my favorite records last year.”
McMahon, already an Emmy nominee for writing a song for the 2013 season of NBC series “Smash,” recently added to his TV music resume. Along with Morgan Kibby (the ex-M83 member who co-wrote a Wilderness tune), McMahon composed music for “Soundtrack.” The new Netflix anthology drama series revolving around Los Angeles love stories debuted on Dec. 18.
“There was so much growth there,” he said. “That was one of the most valuable and exciting things I got to do this year: to expand my creative palette and start looking at music in a different way.”
More new solo material is on the horizon. “I’m on a musical mission and feel like I’m having this prolific, interesting moment where I’ve been trying to play with language and write these really vivid scenes. I’m super excited.”
A version of my feature originally appeared in such SoCal News Group (SCNG) newspapers as the Orange County Register, Press Enterprise and LA Daily News.
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