| A Chat With Edwin McCain |
| Written by Derek Harrison | |||
| Tuesday, 06 September 2011 02:07 | |||
 Edwin McCain, best known for his 1998 hit love song "I'll Be," released his 10th full-length release, Mercy Bound, on August 30th, and will be supporting the album with a tour which kicks off September 7th in Baltimore and will bring him to the B.B. King Blues bar the following day, Thursday September 8th. The new album is McCain's first release co-written and produced by his long-time collaborator Maia Sharp, but still rings true as unmistakably an Edwin McCain album.
"Sometimes I think your ego tricks you into thinking," says McCain, "'I have to write everything,' but, no, you don't have to write everything, you just have to love it." TS: Next Thursday you'll be playing at B.B. King in support of your new album Mercy Bound, released on Tuesday. Have you played at B.B. King performed? EM: Yeah, I love B.B. King, I've been playing there for eight or nine years, since it first opened. We play there a lot, there's a great vibe. One time B.B. came out and played with us, and Warren Haynes has come up and played with us there. TS: What's your relationship with the city of New York? EM: Well, I cut my deal with Atlantic in '94, before that we would play at the Wetlands, I don't know if you remember the Wetlands, it's closed now. But I fell in love with the city and spent a lot of time there before finally deciding that I needed to move there. So I took a look at the rent prices and realized, I can't live there. I wish I could! But I can't afford that. I still spend a lot of time there though, and now I have lots of friends I can stay with. TS: You'll be supporting your new album, Mercy Bound, which marks your twentieth anniversary as a recording artist, two decades after your independent debut Nomadic Logic. Did you go into the studio with this on your mind? EM: Not at all. Actually, this is the first time I've heard it put that way. We generally keep our heads down, and I never really step back and look at it that way, we just focus on what we're doing now. Mostly because I'm grateful. I'd rather just keep my head down and keep working. Like the other day, I spent five or six hours fixing a drawer because I'm not that good at carpentry. I just keep my head down and keeping working on it. It's not just the touring but the writing and recording, it's the whole thing. If you step back and try to admire what you've done, it all falls apart. You lose your focus on what you're doing now. TS: Mercy Bound, to me, sounds like a return to form after your last few albums, which were more stylistically explorative. Was this a deliberate decision? EM: I will say this, I don't think it was intentional, but I think that now, personally, I'm much more like my younger self. I feel more like I did in my early 20s when I made those albums. It's the result of having kids, and some huge lifestyle changes, and the time spent on the other side of a major record label deal. Now I realize how lucky I am to be playing music. In your 20s it's easier to fall into something when you're handed the keys to the castle. I didn't deserve it, I misused it. It's a function of hubris. Now, at 41, I know it's a miracle. TS: You said: "The 15-year-old me would have crawled through a river of fire to be the 41-year-old singer/songwriter that I am today." Do you feel that you have reached a peak? EM: When it first started to look like something my happen, I was like 18 or 19, I would say that as long as I can make some records and tour regionally I'll be happy. Fast forward to 41, I'm making records, I'm touring regionally. I'm doing it! We've been playing all over the world for the military, really, and wow! It comes at you 1000 miles an hour. TS: How would you place Mercy Bound in comparison to your past material? EM: I haven't really thought about that. But I did read a review by a guy who was disappointed that Mercy Bound didn't sound like Messenger, and I understand that. I love AC/DC, I mean I think they're the greatest band in the world. But to me, AC/DC is Back In Black. If I'm listened to a different album, I just want it to be Back In Black, because that's the first thing I heard, and to me, AC/DC is Back In Black. It's the same thing for me with Earth Wind and Fire, or The Replacements with Pleased to Meet Me. I don't listen to their other stuff, I probably should, but I don't. So I understand where he's coming from. When I listen to these old albums I'm 21 again driving too fast down the highway, and I love it. TS: Tell me about your relationship with Maia Sharp. EM: I love her ferociously, she's an incredible songwriter. I think she's underappreciated. I've learned a lot from her. She taught me how to be a more diligent songwriter, to follow an idea through to its end. TS: Do you think you and Maia Sharp will continue making albums together? EM: I've almost gotten to the point and I don't like writing without her. TS: According to your bio, Mercy Bound was "largely recorded in no more than two takes." The strength of the tracks is a testament to the skill of Sharp, the producer, as well as your long time backing band. How long have you been with the members of the Edwin McCain Band? EM: Well on the album we brought in Herman Matthews on drums and Linda Taylor on the guitar. Maya was in LA and we just couldn't afford to fly everybody in. A lot of the album was recorded in a couple takes, yeah, but we put lots of different musicians together and then we brought it back to my place in Greenville and added more stuff. It's definitely an overdub album, I don't want anyway thinking we did this live in the studio. But my touring band is amazing. I've been playing with Craig Shields (saxophone) for 22 years and Larry Chaney (guitar) for 17. The record has a different rhythm section, though. TS: Thanks Edwin. EM: Thanks to everybody who helped us get this far. I'm really grateful. Edwin McCain will be playing at B.B. King on Thursday, September 8th. For more articles like A Chat With Edwin McCain, please visit the Music Interviews Section of TimesSquare.com
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