Andrew McMahon On His New Book “Three Pianos,” Future Album Plans, Van Halen & More
Raised on both the East Coast and in the Midwestern U.S., Andrew McMahon began writing songs at age 9, drawing inspiration from singer/songwriter/pianists such as Elton John and Billy Joel. While still in high school, McMahon co-founded an early incarnation of pop-punk band Something Corporate, whose 2002 major-label debut hit #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart. In 2004, he formed Jack’s Mannequin and then on the cusp of releasing the band’s 2005 debut was diagnosed with leukemia at age 22. Eventually fully-recovered, McMahon went on to release 2 more studio albums with Jack’s Mannequin and established The Dear Jack Foundation, one of the first Adolescent and Young Adult specific cancer foundations which advocates for and supports initiatives that benefit AYA’s diagnosed with cancer. In addition, McMahon composed songs for the NBC series Smash which earned him an Emmy Award nomination. 2014 brought the self-titled album of Andrew McMahon In The Wilderness, which featured the gold certified single “Cecilia & The Satellite,” as produced by Mike Viola.
Three Pianos is the debut memoir from Andrew McMahon, as published by Princeton Architectural Press and scheduled for an October 26, 2021 release. The searingly-honest and beautifully-written book tells of McMahon’s challenges and triumphs in both his life and career, as seen through the lens of his personal connection to 3 pianos. In McMahon’s words: “This is not a book about the music I have made, it is about how that music and the pianos I have called friends have helped me to make sense of the world. It is a story about family, disease, love and the hunger to be heard.” The book was one of the projects which McMahon busy during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a tour of socially-distanced drive-in shows presented by Nederlander Concerts — which celebrated the 15th Anniversary of the Jack’s Mannequin album Everything in Transit — and work on a forthcoming album, which will likely include the recently-released track “New Year Song,” as produced by Suzy Shinn.
On September 1, 2021, I had the pleasure of speaking with Andrew McMahon via Zoom, as embedded below. Beyond Three Pianos, we spoke about future intended career plans, his creative process as an author and how that compare to how he creates music, and overall musical influences. More on McMahon, his music and Three Pianos can be found by clicking here, here, here, here and here.
About the Author
Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."
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