John McAndrew presents the Better Side of Me
John McAndrew presents the Better Side of Me
John McAndrew is a unique storyteller and it can truly be said that it is his passion for telling a tale that is attracting the attention of Americana listeners and blues/pop fans. His latest album Better Side of Me on Quarto Valley Records is a collaboration with notable producer Denny Seiwell, the co-founder and drummer of Wings, and Fernando Perdomo. Their combined expertise promises to deliver an exceptional listening experience. Highlighted by McAndrew’s soulful vocal style that ranges from bluesy to plaintive & moving, the album is a seamless collection of John’s many influences and various talents. His lyrics are filled with themes of hope and redemption.
John will be performing on June 28th in Los Angeles at Kulak’s Woodshed. Joining John at this show on a few songs will be guitarist Davey Johnstone from Elton John’s band and former Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro.
Highwire Daze recently caught up with John McAndrew to find out more about the Better Side of Me, his upcoming performance here in L.A., a connection with the legendary Eric Clapton, and more…
We’re here with John McAndrew. First of all, John, where are you based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
I live in Nashville, Tennessee, and I’m originally from Minnesota. That’s kind of where I cut my teeth and did my 10,000 hours. And I got my first kind of serious record deal at a place called Muscle Shoals, Alabama. And I came down south to do that and then relocated in Nashville. So I’ve been in Nashville for about 20 years or so. And I play all around and do a lot of stuff with my music. The new album was produced by Denny Seiwell, was just released. So I hope we can yak about that a little bit.
What is the inspiration behind the album title and the song Better Side of Me?
Well, it was interesting how it came about. Denny and I and Fernando cut about 17 tracks in LA and we didn’t have a title for the album. I came back home, and I went down to the piano, kind of where I work and I wrote that song in about 10 minutes. And really the inspiration behind it is kind of a simple one. After you live long enough, you find out you’re a human being and that some days are better than others and some days you do better than others. And so at the end of the day, I just hope you saw the better side of me. And there were days when it wasn’t so good for me. But it’s just a simple song with that sentiment to it.
Freedom’s In Our Blood – tell me a little about that song and the inspiration behind it.
Well, you know, you’re the first one to ask about that. And it’s an important song to me that I wrote many years ago about stuff was going on in the world. The sentiment behind it is that all of us want freedom, you know? And it seems that mankind sometimes in wanting their own freedom, either willingly or not willingly, they take somebody else’s freedom away. So that’s kind of what that song is about. And I rewrote a couple of the lyrics for this album. You know, it’s simple: freedom’s in our blood. We’re born to want to be free and make our own choices and not be dominated by others. It’s just a human thing. And so I hope it comes across that all of us want that.
Like a Child, tell me about that song and the inspiration behind it.
I wrote that, as sort of a little folk song kind of a deal. And it’s a simple little thing. If I can remain sort of thinking like a little kid, I can always keep learning, you know, musically, spiritually, whatever in life. And I wrote that song and I used to travel around and do concerts at all sorts of venues. And we did one at a prison one time and everybody started singing along to it. All the guys that were in there that were incarcerated and the songs kind of turned into a sing along. If you listen to the song at the very end, we put in a little clip of some high school kids from Mobile, Alabama, who did a concert with me and they’re singing the chorus, “like a child, like a child, I’m always learning.” You’ve been around quite a while, Ken, and I’m assuming that all your experience in the world, you’re still able to learn something or you know there’s something you don’t know yet. And I just think that’s a good place to kind of park my attitude on a daily basis. And I love working with kids and using music – the power of music with kids. So, all of that’s kind of wrapped into that song.
One of your producers, Denny Seiwell, he drummed with the Wings. He’s also worked with Billy Joel and Liza Minnelli. How did you wind up working with Danny on this album?
I met Denny many years ago. We did a big arena gig together, a special event for about 50,000 people. And needless to say, we really enjoyed ourselves. And we’ve remained friends, constant friends. We have a lot of mutual interests. And about two years ago, I was to do an album in LA with a movie person named Ken Polk. And he’s been instrumental in getting a lot of my songs in movies and feature films and stuff. And I had planned to do that album with Ken – and Ken had a little bit of an accident. We couldn’t do it. I had tickets to go to LA and I mentioned that to Denny and he said, “Why don’t you come stay with me? And while you’re here, let’s go record a couple songs.” He says, “I got this buddy, Fernando Perdomo. He’s really talented and he’s got a studio. And we’ll just go record a couple of songs.”
So we went into the studio in LA, Fernando’s studio, and the first track on the album is called Only You. And we did that in one take. And we had really a lot of fun doing it. We said, why don’t we do a whole album? And we ended up doing 17 tracks and a couple of cover tunes. We decided to do all original songs. So, Denny’s a really dear friend, an incredible producer, you know? And to think that he started Billy Joel’s album, his first big album, Cold Spring Harbor. And then I believe right in the middle of that production, Mr. McCartney called Denny and asked if he wanted to start this band. And of course, what would you say? So Denny – off he went. And needless to say, I trust Denny – he’s a really great player, but his experience with making records and his ears and it was just a tremendous experience for me. I can’t say enough about Denny Seiwell, I really can’t.
And then you mentioned Fernando, who is the next part of my question. What was it like to work with Fernando?
Fernando is just like a, he’s like a mad scientist and he is so gifted in so many ways, and the music pours out of him. So, I mean, the three of us really made a lot of music together. And Fernando was a big part of that. Of course, Denny held it all down, kept us in line. But I’ve never really seen or experienced anybody like Fernando and he’s already kind of making his name there in LA and all around the country. He plays guitar and bass and produces and he does everything. So I was just fortunate to be introduced to him by Denny Seiwell. They did a record together, I think sort of a tribute to Wings and that’s how Denny and Fernando got to know each other and trust each other.
Sir Elton John was one of my favorite artists as a kid. I’ve gotten to interview two of his members, Caleb Quaye and Ray Cooper. And I’ve noticed you’re going to be playing with Davey Johnstone. How did Davey Johnstone come into the picture?
Through Denny Seiwell. And I’ve met Davey John a couple of times. And he’s not only an amazing musician, just a really great guy. Denny called in a couple of the guys to see if they’d come and play. You know, we want to let folks know on June 28th, we’re playing at Kulak’s Woodshed in LA there and sort of the CD release for LA. He asked if Davey would play a song or two with us and he said he would and I’m excited as all get up. Steve Porcaro is also going to play a couple of songs. Steve is actually on the album doing some string work. So I’m surrounded by giants. I hope and pray I hold my own, but they’re my songs. So at least I got that going for me.
Steve Porcaro, formerly of Toto. How did Steve become involved?
We had Denny had called Steve. We had one song that Denny had me write. It’s a real intimate song and it’s about all the travels my wife Nancy and I have done over the years. And it’s real personal. And Denny said,
“You know, this should really have some strings in it.” And we were careful not to overproduce anything, but this song was sort of begging for it. And Denny said, “You know, I think I’ll ask Steve …“and lo and behold, Steve said, yes and produced this most beautiful string work on the song, If It Weren’t For You. And so, he’s going to come play probably that, maybe another song or two. I know we’re going to just blow it out with some rock and blues at the end of the show, but there’ll be some really nice variations of music in this show that we do on the 28th. And those guys sitting in, how can we go wrong?
Now we’ll talk about someone else famous and this guy said something pretty nice about you, Eric Clapton. What do you think that Eric Clapton said something nice about you?
Well, Eric had a kind of a personal thing in his life and they did a celebration for it. And I got asked to come and be the sort of the musical performer for that celebration and got to spend a couple of days on a beautiful island and got to know him a little bit. I remember telling him, “I’m going to play guitar on one song, I’m so nervous to play in front of you.” He just said things to me, made me feel really comfortable. He’s a big star, but he’s also a human being, a really good person. And so we got to hang for a few days and I asked him to give me a little quote on what he thought about the weekend. And he came up with that really nice thing about my music and how I perform in front of an audience. This is really nice. You know, sometimes you just go like, “What am I doing here? How did I get here?” And that’s kind of what I felt like that weekend. Masterful musician, you know, and a great human being.
So what is up next for you after this show that’s coming up?
I go to Minnesota this weekend to do a concert, and I come back to Nashville to do a couple of things and go to LA. And we’re basically working on a little tour with my management out in Boston that’ll start in New York probably. And I’m working on some collaborations with some other musicians. And being on Quarto Valley Records, I would like to thank them for putting me in this position. And they have this new technology called the Musical Bead – where artists like myself can carry these little cards around and tap them on someone’s phone. And the music is immediately downloaded into the phone and all they need to do is get a little app. It’s kind of a really great way for musicians to have a little more control over our music. And so, I’m passing the word around about that stuff a little bit here in Nashville, because we have a lot of great musicians and people here in Nashville. So, I stay busy. I do music therapy for people with mental health issues and substance abuse issues. And I do that a few days a week. And that gives me sort of a purpose. A way to use the music for healing purposes – music is the best medicine in the world…
(Interview by Ken Morton)
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