If you’re anything like us, then the name Andrew McMahon is a staple when you think of the music that has soundtracked your life. From Something Corporate to Jack’s Mannequin to Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Andrew has quite the discography in his back pocket. We were lucky enough to get to chat with Andrew all about Something Corporate reuniting, releasing ‘Death Grip,’ and now ‘Happy,’ as well as going on tour!
Stream ‘Happy’ now!
Hi Andrew! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us today! To start us off, how would you sum up who you are as an artist to anyone who is going to dive into your music for the first time?
First and foremost, I’m a lyric-focused songwriter. I’m trying to tell stories with my songs and to tackle the conflicts and questions that arise in my daily life. I get a lot of joy from experimenting with sounds in a studio setting. While there is a pretty clear, pop-minded approach to my writing, you’ll hopefully identify a diverse palate of sounds and arrangements throughout my recordings.
You’ve been a part of so many projects over the course of your career (Something Corporate, Jack’s Mannequin, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness). How has your creative process changed as you move between projects?
I think my process has become a lot more collaborative. The more time you spend making things, the easier it is to articulate what you want and the more fun it is to translate everyone’s ideas into the work. I’m far less obsessed with the outcome these days and so much more interested in digging deep with collaborators and going on an adventure in the studio and on the stage.
Something Corporate is officially back! What made you want to reach out to your old bandmates and get the ball rolling working together again?
I had the band out for a surprise set during my birthday show a couple of years back, and the vibe was so good we decided to get back together properly for the When We Were Young fest. There was such a beautiful energy at those shows and, for the five of us, there was palpable joy being back in practice and hanging out in dressing rooms and laughing together. The shows were such a pure connection between us as band members and the audiences we were playing for that we decided to book more and keep the party rolling.
Working with Something Corporate this time around comes about a bit differently, as you’re working as Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. What has coming from the mindset of the art you’ve been making brought to working with the band again?
Working with other projects has made me a better collaborator and it’s given me a real appreciation of the unique chemistry of Something Corporate. There is something magical about the bond we share, having grown up learning to play music together as kids. I am able to fully appreciate and celebrate the rarity of that connection now and it’s made this reunion a really peaceful and joyful moment in my life and I think the other guys’ as well.
‘Death Grip’ is the first single back! Were there other songs that were completed that you chose between to get to this track? What was it about this track that made you guys want it to be your comeback?
‘Death Grip‘ happened really organically. I wrote it in Nashville a month or two before we left for tour. I loved the song and wanted it out into the world. The decision wasn’t made through the lens of this is your comeback track. It was made out of love for the song and the band being excited to be back in the studio together. The song itself is about letting go, receiving life as it comes, and giving back what the universe gives to you. It gave us this song, and we gave it back.
Upon crafting ‘Death Grip’ could you automatically tell what you wanted the live performance of that song to look like?
Not necessarily. I think the biggest shift for me post-Something Corporate has been letting the music evolve in the studio first and then crafting the show separately. ‘Death Grip‘ was very much created through that process. Hence, the Wilderness/SoCo Collab. The production of the next single that’s coming out was approached a little more like a traditional Something Corporate song, and on that one, we will flip the collaboration order to SoCo/Wilderness to reflect that.
You guys just kicked off the Out Of Office Tour. What can fans expect from these shows? Are we going to be getting unreleased music played?
The show itself has a beautiful production incorporating video that weaves in moments from the early days and I think does a beautiful job of connecting fans to the band’s history while creating beautiful new memories to hang on to once you leave. The nearly two-hour set manages to cover the majority of our catalog with some deep cuts from night to night. We also have two new songs that will be out by the time we get to the second leg of the tour, and we will be throwing one of those in per night going forward. We’re really proud of both of them.
The Out Of Office Tour isn’t a typical tour since you’ve said that you’re all having to work around your current jobs. What’s been the hardest and most rewarding parts of touring now compared to back when you only had to focus on SoCo?
Honestly, I’ve been hoping to reimagine the way I live, work, and tour for some time now. The way we structured these dates has afforded me and the band the opportunity to play for lots of fans and have incredible weekends together while still making it home to take care of our families and the careers we’ve built since moving on from Something Corporate in ‘05. The other guys would be able to speak more to the challenges, I’m sure, as some of them are definitely juggling work fields outside of music.
Let’s talk about your partnership with Big Loud Rock! How did that come about? And how has that unfolded for you thus far?
The truth is I’m pretty cagey when it comes to record deals these days. After Tilt came out, I was pretty hell-bent on stepping back from music for a bit and seeing where the wind blew. The day I wrote ‘Death Grip’ I was so excited by it. I started sending music around, and the Big Loud guys were so genuinely stoked about the song and the potential of releasing more that they made me a really fair deal based on mutual trust, and the rest is history. It’s early still but working with them has been a breath of fresh air. So many labels these days simply obsess over data and TikTok and make all their decisions based on fear. These guys love music and building artful campaigns around their releases. It has really been a joy to work with them.
The Holiday From Real cruise kicks off this fall! Obviously, we and all the other fans are so excited. But what aspects are you most excited about?
Playing shows with all of my favorite musicians and friends on a single weekend is going to be incredible. I know people look at these projects as separate entities, and, in many ways, they are, but for me, it’s my life and my music. Bringing that all together in one place, especially a vacation setting, just feels right to me.
Now that the single is out and the tour is underway, what does the rest of 2024 look like for you? What can fans expect?
We’ll be dropping our next single, ‘Happy,’ on July 26, and I have high hopes for that song. It’s about to get busy with more regular shows and lots of travel, but I’m ready for it. We built this show to celebrate the magic that found me and my bandmates in my parent’s garage back in 1998 and the beautiful years of music that followed. I just want people to feel alive at these shows, to use this music as a time machine and make contact with the moments in their lives when this music was the soundtrack. Most importantly, I want fans to walk away with a new formative memory of all of us doing what we love most. Giving ourselves over completely to music for a couple of hours and singing these songs together. I want it to be visceral.
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TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ANDREW MCMAHON:
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SOMETHING CORPORATE:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | WEBSITE
