When vocalist and pianist Andrew McMahon announced that his band, Something Corporate, would be taking a break and he would be pursuing a solo endeavor, the pop-punk community held its breath.
“I had built such an amazing fan base with Something Corporate and I wanted it to be something that would be viewed independently. I hoped that kids would be able listen to it, and maybe they like Something Corporate and they don’t like Jack’s Mannequin, maybe vice versa, maybe they like both,” states McMahon. “I just wanted people to listen to it with fresh ears, irrespective of what I had done in the past and would hear the songs on their own.”
One of the genre’s most recognizable frontmen was taking a blind leap into an ambiguous new project, financed on his own for the majority of the venture, but managed to shrug off any pressure.
“There weren’t really any expectations going into it at all,” says Andrew. “I suppose going out of it, into releasing the record there was some pressure. But, the thing about the process of writing it and recording it was that it was really what felt good, what felt right, what felt natural. It was first about creating something pure that I felt I could believe in. Once I believed in it of course, then I was like ‘I hope it does well.’”
Jacks’ Mannequin’s debut album, Everything In Transit, did in fact “do well”, debuting at number 37 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart. Even without being able to tour because of Andrew being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the album delivered beyond hopes.
“The label did great with reaching out to as many different places as they could to get support, but obviously without being on the road it’s tough. It has delivered beyond any expectation I’ve had, to get to come here [Milwaukee Summerfest] and headline a festival as Jack’s Mannequin is amazing. My hope was to be playing to maybe 1,000 kids as Jack’s Mannequin in the lifespan of the record and we’ve being playing to 2, 000-4,000 kids a night.”
Now, Andrew is focused on writing the follow-up to Everything In Transit, but is careful to steer clear of being stereotypical.
“I try really hard not to write songs that were about [my sickness],” tells Andrew. “Not to say they weren’t influenced by what happened the last two years with getting sick, but I didn’t want to write a hospital record you know? I mean I lived it and I think people expect me to go back and write that. Theme wise, I think Everything In Transit was so much about getting me to the place, but I think it’s always going to be about evolving, it’s always going to be about moving forward. I think this new material is going to be more about me having learned so much and picked up so much. I mean it will be urgent, but I don’t think it will have that same kind of clinging urgency, it will probably be a little more settled in. I like what I’ve heard so far. It’s hard to really expound upon it when I haven’t really gotten there.”
Thus far, the writing process has been laid back and allowed to grow on its own.
“These records creep up on me. I mean I wrote and pretty much finished the Jack’s Mannequin record before there was even a record label involved, and now there is a label involved and so I’ve sort of had to adjust to that. You know there’s a tendency for labels to want to push and facilitate the process. And I love my label actually, they’ve been really great to me, but it finally got to the point where I said, “You guys I can’t, I can’t work on your timeline. I can’t work with your producers.”
Despite writing the second Jack’s album on new terms, Andrew has been able to find his groove.
“Over the course of the past year there’s been a handful of songs, maybe 3 or 4, that I’m really proud of that I’ve recorded just sort of sneaking into the studio,” says McMahon. “So there’s a little bit of a basis for a beginning. I went in this week and recorded a song that I’m just fucking thrilled about. It got in my head and it was like, ‘Okay I can do this again.’ It’s been a long time since I’ve been studio bound, which is really what I kind of consider my real home. So to be honest, that was huge just to be back in the studio and sort of rekindle the whole deal. So yeah, we’re ready to go. I wouldn’t say I’m far along, but I would say I’m in the middle of the process.”
