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FEATUREFree To Be… EDWIN McCAIN by Tom Lounges
At a time when most artists pray just to get through another fiscal quarter without finding their contract on the chopping block, McCain chose to walk away from a lucrative Atlantic Records deal in favor of hooking up with an indie from Tennessee called ATC. “That really wasn’t my gig,” he bemoaned, remembering Atlantic’s expectations. “At that level everything is so image-driven and calculated that the music is secondary to the hype. I never liked being part of a machine and I was never really interested in pursuing the level of commerce that I think they were looking for me to pursue. I think they wanted me to be the next Richard Marx or something and that just was NOT going to happen.” McCain’s original plan was to sign with a major label just long enough to gain enough exposure. “That had always been the plan from day one. We were with Atlantic for eight years and four albums, and in hindsight, that was actually one album too many.” After a luke-warm start with Atlantic in 1995 when McCain released his impressive debut, Honor Among Thieves, he finally hit when his sophomore disc, Misguided Roses, spawned the Top 10 crossover radio hit, “I’ll Be.” His third album, The Messenger, landed him in the national Top 40 a second time on the strength of “I Could Not Ask For More,” a lite rock Diane Warren-penned tune from soundtrack to 1999’s box office bomb, Message In A Bottle. His fourth CD, Far From Over, proved to be an ill-titled release, for it was clear to McCain before that record ever came out that it indeed was over between him and Atlantic. “That I landed a hit single was more a fluke than anything else,” he laughed. “I was never really a priority for Atlantic because I was kind of a side-door signing by virtue of my friendship with Darius Rucker (of Hootie & The Blowfish). When ‘I’ll Be’ hit big, it was by complete accident. They never expected something like that to happen.” When looking back on his major label years, McCain seems mostly amused by it all. “I never really fit into the whole scheme of things at that level. I’m just not a major label kind of guy,” drawled McCain. “Now Bob (Kid Rock) IS that kind of guy. He’s one of those people born to be a ‘rock star.’ Bob is cut out for that kind of life and that kind of world. Man, he thrives in it.” McCain and Kid Rock, met through their mutual affiliations with Atlantic a few years back and became fast friends. The rebel rockers recently co-produced a young turk by the name of Bart Adam Young. His indie status enabled McCain to record The Austin Sessions, an all acoustic set released in early 2003. It’s an album McCain has want to make for years. It features a mix of new songs, some older tunes and even a couple of unconventional covers like Dire Straits’ “Romeo & Juliet,” all performed in a stripped down, front porch fashion. “Atlantic wasn’t too hip on me making a folky acoustic album, so when I left, it freed me up to do whatever I wanted to do. Making this album was one of the first things I wanted to get out of my system,” said McCain. “I love the [acoustic] format because it’s so personal. And some songs sound best played that way, so I don’t doubt there will be more albums like this one released in between our regular studio albums,” he said. “In fact, I promise there will be more.” McCain says the road is his favorite place to be, and will hit Chicago’s House Of Blues for two nights next month. “It’s a really loose show,” said McCain. “I pretty much play the crowd. I sometimes like to dig deep and play some things I haven’t played in years. That’s always a lot of fun.” Leaving Atlantic ultimately lead to McCain taping an HBO pilot for a quirky reality-style cable TV program called, The Acoustic Highway. “It’s kind of a combination of ‘Austin City Limits’ meets ‘Insomniac’,” he explained. “It’s a songwriter show that’s part travel show as well I guess, because a lot of it is me driving around in my Cadillac picking up different songwriters. I interview them about their songs while we drive around to their favorite haunts.” Outtake footage from the TV pilot were included on his latest DVD -- Mile Marker: Stories and Songs from The Acoustic Highway -- along with a hodge podge of old concert footage from various points in McCain’s career, a slide show, some comedy bits, and some never before seen music videos. While some might say he’s lost his mind for walking away from Atlantic like he did, McCain sees it as having found peace of mind. Not that he has ever really given a hoot what other people think. “I know people who really get worked up over reviews. I just have to laugh at them and wonder why they would fret over what someone they don’t even know thinks,” he mused. “The very best critique of my music that I’ve ever gotten in my entire career came from my plumber,” concluded McCain. “I had a lot of plumbing work done on my house and I gave ‘em some CDs and things. A few days later, this plumber told me he’d listened several times to the CD and then proceeded to sit me down and give me his critique. He made more sense than anything I’ve ever read about my music from a music critic. Maybe that’s cause he really listened to the songs.” EDWIN McCAIN will perform at House Of Blues in Chicago, Illinois on MARCH 5 & 6. |
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After
chatting with singer/songwriter Edwin McCain, this writer left
the interview regarding him as the Steve McQueen of music. That’s to
say, McCain is a refreshingly independent free-thinker, who has a
notable rebel streak and likes to do things his way, on his terms.