April 30, 2025 • 5 mins
Singer and songwriter Edwin McCain talks recent 'Masked Singer' appearance, new album and summer tour with Train!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
On with Mario Lopez. So bro, Mario Lopez joining me
right now. Musician Edwin McCain.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
How you doing, Edwin?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I'm doing great. How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I'm well man, Thanks for taking the time. You were
just revealed as NeSSI on the latest season of The
Mass Singer and Robin think that was actually able to
guess you.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Huh he he pulled that one out.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I shouldn't be surprised.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
For as good as singer as he is, he would
definitely be able to figure it out.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
That was good.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hey, that means you got a distinct voice.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
How'd you end up on the show?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Were you a fan before?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
My manager called and said, hey, what do you think
about being on The Mass Singer?
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I was like, absolutely, that sounds like an adventure.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah, And how hot was your suit? Cumbersome? How difficult
was it to sing?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
It was one hundred and forty seven thousand degrees on
that see, gosh, do you bet?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
You know?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I normally sing with a microphone and I'm and they,
you know, because they have a headset option and I'd
never done that, so I was like, I you probably
ought to just stick with the.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Microphone, but it was it wasn't that bad. Once I
had the ice vest on. You know, once I was wearing.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
I had a vest and I had ice packs in it,
and you know, in between takes they would have fans
blowing in there.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
It was fine. Good for you man, What a trooper.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
And you also just released your eleventh studio album, Lucky
a couple of months back, and he had a couple
of country charts produced this one.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Huh. Yeah, So Lee Brice and Jared Neeman are good friends.
And you know Lee's been after me for a while
to make a record and I finally relented. And you know,
for as great a singer as Lee as, he's equally
good as a producer.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
He's a fantastic producer. Nice.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
And you're also heading out on a big tour later
this summer with the Guys Train. How do you go
about a narrow and down a setlist with catalog?
Speaker 1 (01:54):
He guy, Uh, that's a good question.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Actually, I'll I have a pretty good idea of what
I want to do, and then we'll see if it
works the first couple of shows, and if it doesn't,
we'll make some adjustments.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
But you know, I usually start with a hit and close.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
With a hit, So you know, like I've got two
big radio songs, and so you know, it makes it
easier because I can open with one and close with
the other.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
No, I like that strategy. Do you ever do covers? Yes,
what do you like to? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
I have some obscure seal covers that I do. Really,
I'm a big fan of seals. I play this one
song he does called Whirlpool and Future Love Paradise and.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
We cover Teddy Pendergrass and our souf Hey which Teddy
p song? I love? TKO Yeah, just I love that song.
That's great. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
He was one of the first concerts I ever went
to when I was a kid, and I think.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
I was like ten years old, is that right?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
And Petty walked on the stage and women started screaming
so bad. I thought something had gone wrong, Like I
thought like there was an emergency, and I got scared,
and then the first bral went flying by and I
was like, oh, no, everything's fine.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
That guy's got one of the coolest voices ever. That's funny.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I know you're also big into TikTok. You make some
pretty cool videos with your daughters.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I never even so. I was one of those gen
xers that.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Refused to engage social media in any way, and so
the people in our office would post tour dates on
there and I never I just didn't. I just didn't
mess with it at all. And then the pandemic hit
and I was stuck in the house with my kids,
being the worst high school teacher in the state of
South Carolina, and we quickly migrated into TikTok Land and
(03:55):
I've never looked back. I love TikTok. I love it
for the for all the different points of view and
all the like. So many different people like I would
never have a chance to understand.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Their you know, their perspective, and if.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
You you approach it from that standpoint, it's a really
cool thing. I mean, I know social media can be
kind of a marass sometimes, but I really enjoy it
for all the different people.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I agree, and I like to take advantage of spending
the time with the kids and stuff. It's like documenting
cool home videos. So I'm with you on that. I
can't believe it's been almost thirty years since your big
hit I'll Be Really Really put you on the map.
Did you feel strongly about that song when he first
wrote it? You know what was gonna work?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Well it had to because I was down to the wire.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
I was about to get dropped off the label and
the president of Jason Flahm called me and said, listen,
whatever you turn in next needs to be great. And
I was like, I got the one song I'm working
on I feel pretty good about. And you know that
was this one again. That song swooped in and saved
my career, saved my life really, and.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
I'd love to tell you that I knew, but I
didn't know. I mean, I felt like it was good.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
We played it at a show and people responded to it,
but it's it's so hard to know, I mean, and
the timing it has.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
To do so much with time.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Yeah, our business is kind of hitting hope.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Now, you're exactly right. Well, hey man, I love it.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Persevered. Here we are talking thirty years later. Congrats on
everything and listen everyone, be sure to check out Edwin
McKinnon's new album Lucky, which is streaming now of course,
and you can see him live this summer on the
road with Train.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Thanks for checking in, man, Yeah, you know it's easy.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Edwind dot com, that's all, that's where all the tour
days are.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Edwind dot Com will pull it up, put it up
on our website as well
Speaker 1 (05:52):
With Mario Lopez
On with Mario Lopez. So bro, Mario Lopez joining me
right now. Musician Edwin McCain.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
How you doing, Edwin?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I'm doing great. How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
I'm well man, Thanks for taking the time. You were
just revealed as NeSSI on the latest season of The
Mass Singer and Robin think that was actually able to
guess you.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Huh he he pulled that one out.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I shouldn't be surprised.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
For as good as singer as he is, he would
definitely be able to figure it out.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
That was good.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hey, that means you got a distinct voice.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
How'd you end up on the show?
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Were you a fan before?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
My manager called and said, hey, what do you think
about being on The Mass Singer?
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I was like, absolutely, that sounds like an adventure.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Yeah, And how hot was your suit? Cumbersome? How difficult
was it to sing?
Speaker 3 (00:45):
It was one hundred and forty seven thousand degrees on
that see, gosh, do you bet?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
You know?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I normally sing with a microphone and I'm and they,
you know, because they have a headset option and I'd
never done that, so I was like, I you probably
ought to just stick with the.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Microphone, but it was it wasn't that bad. Once I
had the ice vest on. You know, once I was wearing.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
I had a vest and I had ice packs in it,
and you know, in between takes they would have fans
blowing in there.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
It was fine. Good for you man, What a trooper.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
And you also just released your eleventh studio album, Lucky
a couple of months back, and he had a couple
of country charts produced this one.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Huh. Yeah, So Lee Brice and Jared Neeman are good friends.
And you know Lee's been after me for a while
to make a record and I finally relented. And you know,
for as great a singer as Lee as, he's equally
good as a producer.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
He's a fantastic producer. Nice.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
And you're also heading out on a big tour later
this summer with the Guys Train. How do you go
about a narrow and down a setlist with catalog?
Speaker 1 (01:54):
He guy, Uh, that's a good question.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Actually, I'll I have a pretty good idea of what
I want to do, and then we'll see if it
works the first couple of shows, and if it doesn't,
we'll make some adjustments.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
But you know, I usually start with a hit and close.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
With a hit, So you know, like I've got two
big radio songs, and so you know, it makes it
easier because I can open with one and close with
the other.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
No, I like that strategy. Do you ever do covers? Yes,
what do you like to? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
I have some obscure seal covers that I do. Really,
I'm a big fan of seals. I play this one
song he does called Whirlpool and Future Love Paradise and.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
We cover Teddy Pendergrass and our souf Hey which Teddy
p song? I love? TKO Yeah, just I love that song.
That's great. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
He was one of the first concerts I ever went
to when I was a kid, and I think.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
I was like ten years old, is that right?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
And Petty walked on the stage and women started screaming
so bad. I thought something had gone wrong, Like I
thought like there was an emergency, and I got scared,
and then the first bral went flying by and I
was like, oh, no, everything's fine.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
That guy's got one of the coolest voices ever. That's funny.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I know you're also big into TikTok. You make some
pretty cool videos with your daughters.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
I never even so. I was one of those gen
xers that.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Refused to engage social media in any way, and so
the people in our office would post tour dates on
there and I never I just didn't. I just didn't
mess with it at all. And then the pandemic hit
and I was stuck in the house with my kids,
being the worst high school teacher in the state of
South Carolina, and we quickly migrated into TikTok Land and
(03:55):
I've never looked back. I love TikTok. I love it
for the for all the different points of view and
all the like. So many different people like I would
never have a chance to understand.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Their you know, their perspective, and if.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
You you approach it from that standpoint, it's a really
cool thing. I mean, I know social media can be
kind of a marass sometimes, but I really enjoy it
for all the different people.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I agree, and I like to take advantage of spending
the time with the kids and stuff. It's like documenting
cool home videos. So I'm with you on that. I
can't believe it's been almost thirty years since your big
hit I'll Be Really Really put you on the map.
Did you feel strongly about that song when he first
wrote it? You know what was gonna work?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Well it had to because I was down to the wire.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
I was about to get dropped off the label and
the president of Jason Flahm called me and said, listen,
whatever you turn in next needs to be great. And
I was like, I got the one song I'm working
on I feel pretty good about. And you know that
was this one again. That song swooped in and saved
my career, saved my life really, and.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
I'd love to tell you that I knew, but I
didn't know. I mean, I felt like it was good.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
We played it at a show and people responded to it,
but it's it's so hard to know, I mean, and
the timing it has.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
To do so much with time.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Yeah, our business is kind of hitting hope.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Now, you're exactly right. Well, hey man, I love it.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Persevered. Here we are talking thirty years later. Congrats on
everything and listen everyone, be sure to check out Edwin
McKinnon's new album Lucky, which is streaming now of course,
and you can see him live this summer on the
road with Train.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Thanks for checking in, man, Yeah, you know it's easy.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Edwind dot com, that's all, that's where all the tour
days are.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Edwind dot Com will pull it up, put it up
on our website as well
Speaker 1 (05:52):
With Mario Lopez
Host
Mario Lopez
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com