It's been four years since Andrew McMahon's leukemia diagnosis shut down the first headlining tour for his band, Jack's Mannequin. Since undergoing chemotherapy, radiation and a stem-cell transplant from his sister, the 26-year-old singer-songwriter has been in remission, but his battle with blood cancer continues to inform the music on his piano-driven rock group's latest album, "The Glass Passenger." While lyrics such as "We're not gonna lie, son/You just might die" delve pretty specifically into McMahon's ordeal, the record's themes of hope and finding strength in dark times have universal appeal.
Metromix recently interviewed the former Something Corporate frontman, who was at home in Los Angeles between tours. He discussed his battle with leukemia, his Dear Jack Foundation and "Glass Passenger," which debuted this past September at No. 8 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart.
Many of the songs on "The Glass Passenger" are based on your battle with leukemia, but they're also about challenges we all overcome.
I think the goal for this record was to relate something that was pretty specific to me and try to find some of the more universal themes in it, and it seems like that's what's coming back from people that I talk to.
Winning a battle with cancer can give one a whole new perspective on, and appreciation for, life. How has this changed your approach to work, stress and life?
I think there's more accountability…that said, there are still these very real moments where you get back into your old habits. So you're not always thinking about it, but sometimes, you almost hold yourself too accountable. I think I had to let go a little bit and say I'm not going to be perfect just because I went through this terrible thing and as much as I do appreciate every day, there are still days that slip by that are just like everything else. But I definitely feel like I live at a little bit better pace and try to really enjoy it as it comes.
The last time we talked, you were launching your Dear Jack Foundation with a Tour for the Cure that took Jack's Mannequin and other bands to 22 cities. Can you discuss your progress since then?
In 2006, we did Tour for the Cure, which raised a bunch of money and we were able to make donations to cancer charities such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. We've kept the ball rolling and have done this great partnership over the last few years with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The team this year raised $102,000. We are really proud of that.
When will "Dear Jack," your documentary narrated by Tommy Lee, be released?
We're still trying to determine the best way to channel that out. I'm hoping for September for Leukemia Awareness Month, but I'm not 100 percent sure just yet.
The video for "The Resolution," the lead single from "Glass Passenger," has remained a Top 20 video at MTV.com and MTV2 for months. How did Stephenie Meyer, author of the vampire romance series "Twilight," come to direct that?
It's kind of a funny story. Before I knew much about Stephenie or the "Twilight" series, a friend was on her Web site and found Jack's Mannequin on a playlist related to one of her early books. She told me about this and I was obviously flattered. Two months later, we looked for a video treatment, we didn't find anything that we particularly liked and ended up throwing out in this brainstorm session, "Why don't we reach out to Stephenie Meyer, who's written these huge books?" We did, and she was into it and that's how it got kicked off.
Can you tell me a bit about a few of the other songs on your recent CD and what inspired them?
Yeah, I'll start with "Crashin." I think it's one of the seminal songs on the album. It talks in broad terms of what the record is about—the struggle to find my voice and get back to living. I think "Crashin" is one of the most honest tracks. It asks the question rather than says the answer, I suppose.
What about "Caves?"
When I wasn't sure if I was going to end up writing about this elephant in the room and the being sick thing, "Caves" came out of nowhere. It was late at night and I ended up hearing that little piano melody that kicks off the song in my head and started writing that track. It's the most honest account of the hospital and then the aftermath. It split up into two sections in that respect, the before and after.
With leukemia becoming such a defining factor in your life, is it difficult to move on?
You know, I think there was a point that I was sort of maybe hiding it a little more and trying not to talk about it, and I think that actually did bind me up. There's something to be said about the fact that I'm put in a position to talk about this so regularly that it does in some respects keep you in traction, I guess. I'd say there's a whole other side of talking about it so regularly. It ends up flushing it out and getting it out of the system. When I wrote the record, I tried to avoid the subject matter and it couldn't be avoided. I realized that maybe it's essential that I do talk about this and just be honest about it rather than let it bother me that there's some level of interest in the story. I've learned to move past it because it's a pretty real part of my life, I guess.
