Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:13):
Card King here right come. Hello, music fans, music collectors
and all hobbyists. Welcome to The Car King Sports and
Variety Show. I am your host of Catman Brian Katequid
aka The car King. We are live on ABC's k
m e T fourteen ninety a m dot com. You're
number one spot right here for news and talk on
(00:33):
the West Coast. I thank everyone for tuning in this
morning on the program. I welcome to the show a
world renowned singer, songwriter and pianist who has released a
new album titled The Better Side of Me. And welcome
to the program, John mccandrew. John, great to have you,
Thanks for having me absolutely and you know some exciting news.
(00:55):
It's all over the internet. The Better Side of Me,
your new album has been released. And John, give us
a little feel of what this album is all about.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Well, it's kind of been a long time in coming,
you know the history of my music career. I got
started and signed by Muscle Shoal Studios, which is down
in Alabama, and that got me to La to do
some recording and I met a guy named Denny Sywell
and kind of several years later we had a chance
(01:28):
to do this album last year, and actually we were
going to just.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Record a couple of songs. That was the plan.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
And we got into the studio and did the first
two tracks and Denny looked at me and said, you
got any more? And I saw this as a really
good opportunity.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I said, I got a whole lot more in.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
About seventeen tracks later we went through them and we
got the album Better Side of Me, which is out now.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
I mean, for those who may not remember or may
not know Denny Sywell of Paul McCartney in Wings, I mean,
it doesn't get better than that.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Well, you know, when we were we were kind of
going down the songs I was going to record, you know, Brian,
I'm at Denny's house and I look over on his
bookshelf and he's got stuff all over his walls. There's
a little cassette tape there. It says Billy Joel demo.
I said, what is I said, what is this?
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Boy?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
There's some of you want to try to get out
of him to collect. He said, this is a I
got this little demo tape from a guy.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Said what do you think of this guy? You know?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
And it's Billy just sitting at a piano singing one
song after the other and it's kind of rough, and
Danny played that for me and I just felt something
pretty musically spiritual about the whole situation.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
But he Denny was recording.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Billy's first album, Save Harbor, and then evidently mister McCartney
called Danny and said, hey, do you want to start
a band? And so Denny kind of left Billy Joel's
record and went overseas and started to work with Paul.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I mean that is incredible. I mean you're in good
company right away.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
And how about Fernando Perdomo talk a little bit about
his contribution to this new album.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, he's a really integral part. Denny had just done
a project with Fernando around the year previous and and uh,
Fernando has a studio in La and then Fernando plays
just about everything. He's known to be a guitar player
for a lot of a lot of famous artists and
(03:35):
and he's kind of a mad scientist. Brian just my
kind of guy. And so you know, Denny said, we
can go to Fernando's and.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Record a couple of songs.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
And you know, when you when you listen to the album.
The first two tracks are basically first takes.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
That we did.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Yeah no, no, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Well and just the dance between Fernando's guitars and my
piano and all that. It just it felt really magical, right,
you know, right out of the chute.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Oh and I heard a few of the tracks and
it sounds amazing, and we're gonna play. We have a
little clip I want to air right now on k
m ET radio. Let's hear a little clip of Better
side of Me?
Speaker 5 (04:18):
Alcome, there's my darkness, there's my light, there's my gentle,
(04:44):
there's my faith talking to.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Show Patien.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
Sometimes lose me.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Go so fast, too blind to.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
See little things you might need. And your lovely at
my feet. There's a better sird to mean, I hope
(05:44):
and pray that's who.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
You seen it.
Speaker 6 (05:53):
Seen it also old, it's no mystery, same old songs.
Speaker 5 (06:07):
Please don't give up too soon. I'll ever give up.
There's a bit of a side of me a horey.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
And we just played for you Better side of Me.
John mccandrew's latest work, Who's with us this morning? H John?
I mean the song really touches my soul. It sounds great.
That's one of the tracks on your newest album. Uh,
you know, for everyone listening, where can they purchase this
new release?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Well, it's available online everywhere, you know, John mccandrew, dot Com,
Quarter Valley Records, you know, dot com and then Apple Music, Amazon,
It's available pretty much everywhere. And I appreciate you playing
that track.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Oh it sounds it sounds great. Your piano sounds so
clear and so uh you know, you can tell, you
can tell your expertise is there. I mean, you know
it hits my soul. But you know, reading your career,
your early beginnings. You come from a family of musicians, right.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
I sure do. And my dad played jazz clarinet. And
my dad was my hero. You know, he played football
and was a salesman and did all this cool stuff,
but he was also a jazz clarinet player.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
And when he after he raised started raising the family,
we always had jazz music playing in the basement. And
then my older brother is my pretty much my musical hero, Brian.
His name was Tim, nickname AML and he played bass
guitar sort of kind of the band and grateful. So
I grew up with just a ton of music going
(08:03):
on in my head around me, you know. And one
day I remember hearing a song by the Chambers Brothers
and my brother put it on his record player and
it just ripped right through me. And I didn't know
it then, but music kind of grabbed a hold of
me at that point in my life. The power of it,
(08:23):
you know, How can I touch your heart, move people?
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Whatever? So yeah, I've grown up around it all my life.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
So how does John, how does one become like a vocalist?
I mean, did this start very early in your years?
Speaker 3 (08:40):
I'll tell you what.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
That's a really good question because I got because my
brother was such a well known guy. I lived in
this little town call Onenona, Minnesota, and it was a
real musical play. So I joined a band and I
could play about three or four instruments really poorly, you know,
but like a utility infield. And I didn't play any
(09:03):
him very well. And I remember the leader and the
band got kind of sick in the throat and he said, John,
can you sing? And course I lied, I said sure.
He says, well, here's the song I want you to sing.
And I learned it in a couple of days, and
I remember standing getting up from the piano or whatever
I was playing, and I stood in the middle of
the stage, you know, and my brother and all his
(09:25):
buddies were they there. And I sang this song and
everything just sort of stopped.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Brian and my.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Brother stood in front of me crying. So evidently I
could sing a little bit and just the reaction I
got and the feeling of, you know, being the lead singer.
And that night changed my life a lot, you know,
And I kept pursuing the vocals while playing instruments.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
I mean, jod you know, the story of you, John
McAndrew is really interesting to me. And one you know,
you overcame difficulty and redemption early on. I don't know
if you mind talking about this. I mean, you had
some struggles with alcoholism. Yeah, so let me ask you
(10:10):
a few questions on that. Now, when did this, When
did your alcoholism first begin?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Well, let me a premise it that I'm Irish Catholic,
uh huh, and my dad drinkle. There was a lot
of it around me and I had a front row
seat to it. And I think, to be honest, Brian,
by the time I was about nineteen, I had crossed
a line into an area where I could not come back,
(10:39):
you know, and.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
I like to kind of.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Say mental health issues and substance abuse, you know. But
I was nineteen and it started to become an issue,
and it took several more years before I you know,
I threw in the white flag, and I like to
call them my old life, you know, that was my
old life. And then in this new life, I kind
(11:07):
of had to learn to grow up and learn how
to do.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
A lot of things, you know, And a.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Big part of it I work with a lot of
musicians now with mental health issues, and a big deal
is you know, when you drink like that, you think
you can't do anything without it, you know. And I
learned that I could. I could do all these things
without you know, those substances. So I'm a much better
(11:34):
person in the new life.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Oh absolutely, now, you know, I heard it even got
so bad with you that, you know, you were put
in the hospital. Your blood sugar level was so high.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Yeah, yeah, that was you know.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
I was in the hospital and lots of complications and
I found out it was type one diabetic. Yeah, and
I had a blood sugar I think it was it
was over seven hundred, which is not good. And then
I had a liver, you know, that was half the
size of Vermont that I didn't take the doctor much
to figure that out. And uh, you know, I it's
(12:10):
funny when you're young, Brian, we I think a lot
of us are are like this. We just think we're indestructible.
And uh, I shrugged it off in a way, and
then another way, I just said the heck with it.
You know, I don't care about living anyway, so uh,
you know, onward I go. But then I couldn't keep
(12:31):
going any longer.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
And John, you know this better than than anybody in
your type of business, the music industry. You know, it's
full of alcohol and drugs. I mean, well, I mean
I'm sure you've been around that is are you still tempted?
Like were you tempted when you were around those type
of you know that type of stuff.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Well, it's interesting, I.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
You know, there are a lot of people like me
kind of the thought of going back to where it
used to be is probably not too good of an idea.
But I think the best thing I did is I
started to realize that there's a lot of people that
don't do that like I did, and I had to
surround myself with like minded people, you know, and I
(13:21):
started to see all these other people with the same problems,
and all of a sudden, I you know, I didn't
realize Brian, that the music became very secondary quite quickly after.
You know, mostly the drinking was more important than all
the other goofy stuff that goes on around travel around
(13:42):
playing music. So actually it was such a breath of
fresh air. I felt so much better, and that all
of a sudden, these opportunities started to present themselves to me,
and a lot of that shows up in the music.
I admit that, you know, I write about what I know,
and some of we get a little bit older and
(14:06):
certain things just take more importance, you know. It's interesting.
The Better Side of Me song was the last song
I wrote, and we had seventeen tracks and we didn't
have a title song, and Danny said, what are we.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Going to call this thing? You know?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
And I went and wrote that song in about ten minutes.
And wow, so that you know, there's some bluesy stuff
and rocky stuff on there, and I'm and I'm I'm
kind of touched that that's the song that moved you.
I'm I'm on a little bit of a retreat with
my wife. This weekend, and you know, that old life
(14:42):
that I was in, I did some stuff I'm not
too proud of. But you know, these days, I hope
that the better side of me is what you see.
And I'll warn you I'm still a human being.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
I goof up, you know, Oh.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, no, no, definitely. Uh But now speaking about your wife, now,
wasn't there a track that was that was dedicated to
your wife? On Better Side of Me?
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Well, yeah, there's a couple of only you. The opening track,
which is really kind of a bluesy rocky thing. I
met her when I was in Alabama when I got
signed to Muscle Shoal Studios, and it's kind of I
think some of your listeners will relate to that. It
definitely was the beginning of my music career, and I
thought that's kind of what was the cosmic plan.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
But really that's.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
When I met my wife, and and that the song
only used about how powerful that was. But then the
song if It Weren't for You, which is on the album,
which Steve Picaro plays strings on, They're just gorgeous. It's
about all these trips around the world that Nancy and
(15:49):
I took and I just, you know, I didn't intend
for that to be on the album, but I just
wanted to kind of document musically some of the stuff
that we had done, and you know, so the kids
and grandkids and can hear it. And then of course
Denny Siwell gets ahold of it, and he just he
really turned it into a beautiful song.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yeah, And you know, John, you mentioned Show Sound Studios.
That was really a turning point in your life. That
was your first major recording publishing contract and album, right.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yes, it was. And I was really green.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
You know.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
You're a big baseball guy, and it's like going to
spring training, you know, and you're a new guy and
you're around all these pros and Roger Hawkins and David Hood,
all these famous names for muscle showles, and I didn't
know a whole lot and I didn't take a lot
of direction at that time. They wanted me, they wanted
(16:50):
to supply me with songs that would become hit songs.
I said, I want to write my own, and as
a result, we sold about ten records.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
You know, I laugh about it now all these years later.
With Denny.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
I really listened to Denny, you know, and I let
him guide me and coach me if you will, you know,
And I think that's kind of the sweetest part of
this project, better side of me.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
So, your first major recording, what was the title of
the album? Was it like We Were Made of Gold?
Speaker 3 (17:22):
It is? Yeah, yeah, nice?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Wow wow. So I have a lot of record collectors here.
Is that still available to be purchased?
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Well, you can buy it from me.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
And I'll get you some information on how to do
that when we're off the air.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Oh that's great. And I have like like five minutes
left with you. So like We Were Made of Gold
your first publishing album, and then that led to your
next album, produced by Ken Polk, right yep.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
And that one, Good Enough, was done in Los angele Us,
and I moved down to Nashville and I did a
little demo for about a thousand bucks, which sounds like
a lot of money, but you know, I did a
little record called Small Crowds and I sent it to
my manager in Los Angeles and he sent it to
(18:16):
Ken Polk, who he's a re recording engineer works in
the film industry. And Ken must have called me two
days later after he got it and said, I'd love
to do a record with you and Ken really taught
me a lot. In fact, I was supposed to do
another album with Ken, and we had some difficulties and
(18:38):
some things happened, and that's how I ended up doing
it with Denny instead. I had an airplane ticket to
La Danny said, come on out. We'll do a couple songs,
you know. But the intention was to do another album
with Ken Polk, and he's a great producer, has gotten
my music into movies and were you know our relationship continues.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Yeah, that's good record.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Yeah, and that was gonna be my next question. Talk
about some of the movies your music can be heard on.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Well, there's a song called Little Red Wagon, or a
movie called Little Red Wagon, which is about Zach bonderor
this kid that walked across the United States and there
was a movie made about him, and that's the title
song in the movie. And I got a couple of
the songs in that film. There's another movie called Jake's Corner, Jesus,
(19:27):
Mary and Joey. There's a couple of others that you know,
I can't I can't remember those, but those are some
of the bigger ones, and we're working on three or
four other ones. Right now to get them placed do
we just have to.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Wait and see.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
And we're talking with John mccandrew, renowned singer, vocalist, piano
aficionado who's with us this morning. And John, you know,
it's unbelievable your music can also be heard in so
many national events. Wasn't your music heard on the fiftieth
anniversary of NATO?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
It was in my I know, you know, I just
the power. I love that kind of stuff. Brian and
I went to the Vice President's residence and it was
the fiftieth anniversary of NATO. Every head of state from
every nation around the world and NATO was there, and
(20:23):
it was at the Vice President's residence, and there were
movie cameras and secret service and they locked me in
the bathroom for a while to keep me out of
the way. And I went in there and played. I
had a song. I was singing to everybody. I'm playing
the piano, and I'm looking up at the piano in
manners like one hundred thousand dollars worth of China and
(20:44):
gifts from all these world leaders. And they asked me
not to play too hard so I wouldn't shake anything
off the piano, you know, and I wanted to play
some boogie woogie and kind of so.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
I had to play. I had to buy nice tie
to get in there.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
It was really a great experience though, and and I
treasure that stuff as much as anything.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
And so John, you couldn't bang away, you couldn't bang
away your twelve bar blues.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
I know. It was just, you know, it was funny.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
And I you know, I was really nervous at first,
and then I uh, then I got comfortable, and then
we did some interviews and then you know, it was
fascinating to watch what was going on. And uh, it
was a little more peaceful time back then, and but
NATO was still very powerful. And I had a song
called this Little Town which was the centerpiece of that event,
(21:40):
you know, and others that I've done about how the
the great if the world was one little town.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
We all kind of worked together.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
You know.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
It's kind of a dream man.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
And I have a couple of minutes left. I want
to ask you where would you categorize your your genre
of music? Would you you know, because because I looked
on Apple, they have it onto the category rock Apple Music.
What would you classify your your style of play?
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Well, we're really going.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
It's Americana and slash blues, and I think next week
in Nashville there's a big Americana Fest and courtA Valley Records,
which I want to thank, you know, while we're talking,
and Bruce.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
Cordo who signed me.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Uh, they're gonna pitch me in the Americana lane, you know,
just singers songwriter. That's why we put all original songs
on the record. And you know, I'm an I'm old school, and.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I hope that.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
People listen, start listening from the top to the end
of the record, and there's some little different styles that
get woven in and out, you know, Americana blues and
a little jazzy kind of a thing, you know. And
I think I'm an all rock singer probably, but you know,
it's Americana. That's kind of the that's the lane we're taken.
(23:09):
And we'll see how that goes. You know, it's very
competitive Marcus these.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Days, Oh, no question. And John, who are some of
your favorite piano men like you are? Billy Joel, Elton, John,
Bruce Hornsby, Guy.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
All all the above.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Billy Joel really is an amazing piano player and he's
just amazing everything, and of course I like Alton, I
get compared to those guys a little bit. And then
Bruce Hornsby came along and just floored me some of
the songs and the voicings.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
On the piano. And Mark Cohen is a guy that's just.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I remember hearing him come on the radio and I
just thought, well, I'm going to just give up, you know,
walking in Memphis, you know, and those songs, and really
they've inspired me to just kind of keep going. I
started to see what they were doing lyrically musically, and
(24:13):
all of them take some little chances musically, and that's
kind of what I like. And then I'll just tell
you Oscar Peterson.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Is the old legend.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
You know, you listen to him and you kind of
want to quit also, but his piano playing is just unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Yeah, I mean, I feel Bruce Horsby's very underrated. He's
not talked a lot about. I mean, the guy is unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Well, oh god, he sure is. And his brother wrote
some lyrics for him. But he and he's just an
interesting guy. You know, toured with The Grateful Dead a
little bit, but he's got some of the greatest records
and songs and just the way it is, and.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
So it's exciting and and you just wait.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
For the next person to come along, you know, to
kind of fire you up. But there's something about sitting
at the piano and singing that I found to be
kind of who I am and what I wanted to be.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
You know.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Of course, you know Randy Newman, Man oh.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Man, that guy unbelievable. So so so now down the pipeline,
what do you got going on? You touring?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
We are my my agent is in Boston, ed Keane Associates,
So we're putting together a lot of the interviews.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
You know, I'll send him.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
This as soon as we get a copy of it.
We're gonna start touring in the East Coast. We will
keep you abreast of when that starts and where it goes.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
So we're gonna.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
So we'll just kind of go around the country and
play probably small theaters and performing arts centers, that kind
of thing. And you know, I'm headed to Seattle. I'm
playing in Cape cod for an event next weekend, like
the thing about how music and music therapy can benefit
(26:12):
people's mental health. So I love doing that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
I love going out to Cape Cod.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
It's beautiful, oh beautiful this time of year. Absolutely, yeah.
Oh so you know you're always welcome here. This was great.
Better Side of Me is out. John mccandrew dot com
is the website. Anything you want to add on, Well, I.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Just want to thank you for listening and helping promote
the record, for playing a track. You know, and I
guess the message is is we're all just human beings
and we're gonna mess up a little here and there,
but hopefully, you know, the better side of us is
what people see today, and that's just a hope for
me and hope that.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
The record kind of instills that in some folks.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Great job, John, thank you so much and best of luck.
We'll speak soon.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Thank you, brother Chow Chow.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
John mccandrew new album, Better Side of Me. Pick up
your copy now until next week. Happy collecting to all.
Card King here right come. Hello, music fans, music collectors
and all hobbyists. Welcome to The Car King Sports and
Variety Show. I am your host of Catman Brian Katequid
aka The car King. We are live on ABC's k
m e T fourteen ninety a m dot com. You're
number one spot right here for news and talk on
(00:33):
the West Coast. I thank everyone for tuning in this
morning on the program. I welcome to the show a
world renowned singer, songwriter and pianist who has released a
new album titled The Better Side of Me. And welcome
to the program, John mccandrew. John, great to have you,
Thanks for having me absolutely and you know some exciting news.
(00:55):
It's all over the internet. The Better Side of Me,
your new album has been released. And John, give us
a little feel of what this album is all about.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Well, it's kind of been a long time in coming,
you know the history of my music career. I got
started and signed by Muscle Shoal Studios, which is down
in Alabama, and that got me to La to do
some recording and I met a guy named Denny Sywell
and kind of several years later we had a chance
(01:28):
to do this album last year, and actually we were
going to just.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Record a couple of songs. That was the plan.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
And we got into the studio and did the first
two tracks and Denny looked at me and said, you
got any more? And I saw this as a really
good opportunity.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
I said, I got a whole lot more in.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
About seventeen tracks later we went through them and we
got the album Better Side of Me, which is out now.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
I mean, for those who may not remember or may
not know Denny Sywell of Paul McCartney in Wings, I mean,
it doesn't get better than that.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Well, you know, when we were we were kind of
going down the songs I was going to record, you know, Brian,
I'm at Denny's house and I look over on his
bookshelf and he's got stuff all over his walls. There's
a little cassette tape there. It says Billy Joel demo.
I said, what is I said, what is this?
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Boy?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
There's some of you want to try to get out
of him to collect. He said, this is a I
got this little demo tape from a guy.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Said what do you think of this guy? You know?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
And it's Billy just sitting at a piano singing one
song after the other and it's kind of rough, and
Danny played that for me and I just felt something
pretty musically spiritual about the whole situation.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
But he Denny was recording.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Billy's first album, Save Harbor, and then evidently mister McCartney
called Danny and said, hey, do you want to start
a band? And so Denny kind of left Billy Joel's
record and went overseas and started to work with Paul.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I mean that is incredible. I mean you're in good
company right away.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
And how about Fernando Perdomo talk a little bit about
his contribution to this new album.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Yeah, he's a really integral part. Denny had just done
a project with Fernando around the year previous and and uh,
Fernando has a studio in La and then Fernando plays
just about everything. He's known to be a guitar player
for a lot of a lot of famous artists and
(03:35):
and he's kind of a mad scientist. Brian just my
kind of guy. And so you know, Denny said, we
can go to Fernando's and.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Record a couple of songs.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
And you know, when you when you listen to the album.
The first two tracks are basically first takes.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
That we did.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Yeah no, no, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Well and just the dance between Fernando's guitars and my
piano and all that. It just it felt really magical, right,
you know, right out of the chute.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Oh and I heard a few of the tracks and
it sounds amazing, and we're gonna play. We have a
little clip I want to air right now on k
m ET radio. Let's hear a little clip of Better
side of Me?
Speaker 5 (04:18):
Alcome, there's my darkness, there's my light, there's my gentle,
(04:44):
there's my faith talking to.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Show Patien.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
Sometimes lose me.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Go so fast, too blind to.
Speaker 4 (05:16):
See little things you might need. And your lovely at
my feet. There's a better sird to mean, I hope
(05:44):
and pray that's who.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
You seen it.
Speaker 6 (05:53):
Seen it also old, it's no mystery, same old songs.
Speaker 5 (06:07):
Please don't give up too soon. I'll ever give up.
There's a bit of a side of me a horey.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
And we just played for you Better side of Me.
John mccandrew's latest work, Who's with us this morning? H John?
I mean the song really touches my soul. It sounds great.
That's one of the tracks on your newest album. Uh,
you know, for everyone listening, where can they purchase this
new release?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
Well, it's available online everywhere, you know, John mccandrew, dot Com,
Quarter Valley Records, you know, dot com and then Apple Music, Amazon,
It's available pretty much everywhere. And I appreciate you playing
that track.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Oh it sounds it sounds great. Your piano sounds so
clear and so uh you know, you can tell, you
can tell your expertise is there. I mean, you know
it hits my soul. But you know, reading your career,
your early beginnings. You come from a family of musicians, right.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
I sure do. And my dad played jazz clarinet. And
my dad was my hero. You know, he played football
and was a salesman and did all this cool stuff,
but he was also a jazz clarinet player.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
And when he after he raised started raising the family,
we always had jazz music playing in the basement. And
then my older brother is my pretty much my musical hero, Brian.
His name was Tim, nickname AML and he played bass
guitar sort of kind of the band and grateful. So
I grew up with just a ton of music going
(08:03):
on in my head around me, you know. And one
day I remember hearing a song by the Chambers Brothers
and my brother put it on his record player and
it just ripped right through me. And I didn't know
it then, but music kind of grabbed a hold of
me at that point in my life. The power of it,
(08:23):
you know, How can I touch your heart, move people?
Speaker 3 (08:27):
Whatever? So yeah, I've grown up around it all my life.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
So how does John, how does one become like a vocalist?
I mean, did this start very early in your years?
Speaker 3 (08:40):
I'll tell you what.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
That's a really good question because I got because my
brother was such a well known guy. I lived in
this little town call Onenona, Minnesota, and it was a
real musical play. So I joined a band and I
could play about three or four instruments really poorly, you know,
but like a utility infield. And I didn't play any
(09:03):
him very well. And I remember the leader and the
band got kind of sick in the throat and he said, John,
can you sing? And course I lied, I said sure.
He says, well, here's the song I want you to sing.
And I learned it in a couple of days, and
I remember standing getting up from the piano or whatever
I was playing, and I stood in the middle of
the stage, you know, and my brother and all his
(09:25):
buddies were they there. And I sang this song and
everything just sort of stopped.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Brian and my.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Brother stood in front of me crying. So evidently I
could sing a little bit and just the reaction I
got and the feeling of, you know, being the lead singer.
And that night changed my life a lot, you know,
And I kept pursuing the vocals while playing instruments.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
I mean, jod you know, the story of you, John
McAndrew is really interesting to me. And one you know,
you overcame difficulty and redemption early on. I don't know
if you mind talking about this. I mean, you had
some struggles with alcoholism. Yeah, so let me ask you
(10:10):
a few questions on that. Now, when did this, When
did your alcoholism first begin?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Well, let me a premise it that I'm Irish Catholic,
uh huh, and my dad drinkle. There was a lot
of it around me and I had a front row
seat to it. And I think, to be honest, Brian,
by the time I was about nineteen, I had crossed
a line into an area where I could not come back,
(10:39):
you know, and.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
I like to kind of.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Say mental health issues and substance abuse, you know. But
I was nineteen and it started to become an issue,
and it took several more years before I you know,
I threw in the white flag, and I like to
call them my old life, you know, that was my
old life. And then in this new life, I kind
(11:07):
of had to learn to grow up and learn how
to do.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
A lot of things, you know, And a.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Big part of it I work with a lot of
musicians now with mental health issues, and a big deal
is you know, when you drink like that, you think
you can't do anything without it, you know. And I
learned that I could. I could do all these things
without you know, those substances. So I'm a much better
(11:34):
person in the new life.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Oh absolutely, now, you know, I heard it even got
so bad with you that, you know, you were put
in the hospital. Your blood sugar level was so high.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Yeah, yeah, that was you know.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
I was in the hospital and lots of complications and
I found out it was type one diabetic. Yeah, and
I had a blood sugar I think it was it
was over seven hundred, which is not good. And then
I had a liver, you know, that was half the
size of Vermont that I didn't take the doctor much
to figure that out. And uh, you know, I it's
(12:10):
funny when you're young, Brian, we I think a lot
of us are are like this. We just think we're indestructible.
And uh, I shrugged it off in a way, and
then another way, I just said the heck with it.
You know, I don't care about living anyway, so uh,
you know, onward I go. But then I couldn't keep
(12:31):
going any longer.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
And John, you know this better than than anybody in
your type of business, the music industry. You know, it's
full of alcohol and drugs. I mean, well, I mean
I'm sure you've been around that is are you still tempted?
Like were you tempted when you were around those type
of you know that type of stuff.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Well, it's interesting, I.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
You know, there are a lot of people like me
kind of the thought of going back to where it
used to be is probably not too good of an idea.
But I think the best thing I did is I
started to realize that there's a lot of people that
don't do that like I did, and I had to
surround myself with like minded people, you know, and I
(13:21):
started to see all these other people with the same problems,
and all of a sudden, I you know, I didn't
realize Brian, that the music became very secondary quite quickly after.
You know, mostly the drinking was more important than all
the other goofy stuff that goes on around travel around
(13:42):
playing music. So actually it was such a breath of
fresh air. I felt so much better, and that all
of a sudden, these opportunities started to present themselves to me,
and a lot of that shows up in the music.
I admit that, you know, I write about what I know,
and some of we get a little bit older and
(14:06):
certain things just take more importance, you know. It's interesting.
The Better Side of Me song was the last song
I wrote, and we had seventeen tracks and we didn't
have a title song, and Danny said, what are we.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Going to call this thing? You know?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
And I went and wrote that song in about ten minutes.
And wow, so that you know, there's some bluesy stuff
and rocky stuff on there, and I'm and I'm I'm
kind of touched that that's the song that moved you.
I'm I'm on a little bit of a retreat with
my wife. This weekend, and you know, that old life
(14:42):
that I was in, I did some stuff I'm not
too proud of. But you know, these days, I hope
that the better side of me is what you see.
And I'll warn you I'm still a human being.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
I goof up, you know, Oh.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, no, no, definitely. Uh But now speaking about your wife, now,
wasn't there a track that was that was dedicated to
your wife? On Better Side of Me?
Speaker 2 (15:05):
Well, yeah, there's a couple of only you. The opening track,
which is really kind of a bluesy rocky thing. I
met her when I was in Alabama when I got
signed to Muscle Shoal Studios, and it's kind of I
think some of your listeners will relate to that. It
definitely was the beginning of my music career, and I
thought that's kind of what was the cosmic plan.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
But really that's.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
When I met my wife, and and that the song
only used about how powerful that was. But then the
song if It Weren't for You, which is on the album,
which Steve Picaro plays strings on, They're just gorgeous. It's
about all these trips around the world that Nancy and
(15:49):
I took and I just, you know, I didn't intend
for that to be on the album, but I just
wanted to kind of document musically some of the stuff
that we had done, and you know, so the kids
and grandkids and can hear it. And then of course
Denny Siwell gets ahold of it, and he just he
really turned it into a beautiful song.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
You know.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
Yeah, And you know, John, you mentioned Show Sound Studios.
That was really a turning point in your life. That
was your first major recording publishing contract and album, right.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yes, it was. And I was really green.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
You know.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
You're a big baseball guy, and it's like going to
spring training, you know, and you're a new guy and
you're around all these pros and Roger Hawkins and David Hood,
all these famous names for muscle showles, and I didn't
know a whole lot and I didn't take a lot
of direction at that time. They wanted me, they wanted
(16:50):
to supply me with songs that would become hit songs.
I said, I want to write my own, and as
a result, we sold about ten records.
Speaker 3 (16:58):
You know, I laugh about it now all these years later.
With Denny.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
I really listened to Denny, you know, and I let
him guide me and coach me if you will, you know,
And I think that's kind of the sweetest part of
this project, better side of me.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
So, your first major recording, what was the title of
the album? Was it like We Were Made of Gold?
Speaker 3 (17:22):
It is? Yeah, yeah, nice?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
Wow wow. So I have a lot of record collectors here.
Is that still available to be purchased?
Speaker 3 (17:31):
Well, you can buy it from me.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
And I'll get you some information on how to do
that when we're off the air.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Oh that's great. And I have like like five minutes
left with you. So like We Were Made of Gold
your first publishing album, and then that led to your
next album, produced by Ken Polk, right yep.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
And that one, Good Enough, was done in Los angele Us,
and I moved down to Nashville and I did a
little demo for about a thousand bucks, which sounds like
a lot of money, but you know, I did a
little record called Small Crowds and I sent it to
my manager in Los Angeles and he sent it to
(18:16):
Ken Polk, who he's a re recording engineer works in
the film industry. And Ken must have called me two
days later after he got it and said, I'd love
to do a record with you and Ken really taught
me a lot. In fact, I was supposed to do
another album with Ken, and we had some difficulties and
(18:38):
some things happened, and that's how I ended up doing
it with Denny instead. I had an airplane ticket to
La Danny said, come on out. We'll do a couple songs,
you know. But the intention was to do another album
with Ken Polk, and he's a great producer, has gotten
my music into movies and were you know our relationship continues.
Speaker 3 (19:00):
Yeah, that's good record.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Yeah, and that was gonna be my next question. Talk
about some of the movies your music can be heard on.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Well, there's a song called Little Red Wagon, or a
movie called Little Red Wagon, which is about Zach bonderor
this kid that walked across the United States and there
was a movie made about him, and that's the title
song in the movie. And I got a couple of
the songs in that film. There's another movie called Jake's Corner, Jesus,
(19:27):
Mary and Joey. There's a couple of others that you know,
I can't I can't remember those, but those are some
of the bigger ones, and we're working on three or
four other ones. Right now to get them placed do
we just have to.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Wait and see.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
And we're talking with John mccandrew, renowned singer, vocalist, piano
aficionado who's with us this morning. And John, you know,
it's unbelievable your music can also be heard in so
many national events. Wasn't your music heard on the fiftieth
anniversary of NATO?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
It was in my I know, you know, I just
the power. I love that kind of stuff. Brian and
I went to the Vice President's residence and it was
the fiftieth anniversary of NATO. Every head of state from
every nation around the world and NATO was there, and
(20:23):
it was at the Vice President's residence, and there were
movie cameras and secret service and they locked me in
the bathroom for a while to keep me out of
the way. And I went in there and played. I
had a song. I was singing to everybody. I'm playing
the piano, and I'm looking up at the piano in
manners like one hundred thousand dollars worth of China and
(20:44):
gifts from all these world leaders. And they asked me
not to play too hard so I wouldn't shake anything
off the piano, you know, and I wanted to play
some boogie woogie and kind of so.
Speaker 3 (20:55):
I had to play. I had to buy nice tie
to get in there.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
It was really a great experience though, and and I
treasure that stuff as much as anything.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
And so John, you couldn't bang away, you couldn't bang
away your twelve bar blues.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
I know. It was just, you know, it was funny.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
And I you know, I was really nervous at first,
and then I uh, then I got comfortable, and then
we did some interviews and then you know, it was
fascinating to watch what was going on. And uh, it
was a little more peaceful time back then, and but
NATO was still very powerful. And I had a song
called this Little Town which was the centerpiece of that event,
(21:40):
you know, and others that I've done about how the
the great if the world was one little town.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
We all kind of worked together.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
You know.
Speaker 3 (21:47):
It's kind of a dream man.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
And I have a couple of minutes left. I want
to ask you where would you categorize your your genre
of music? Would you you know, because because I looked
on Apple, they have it onto the category rock Apple Music.
What would you classify your your style of play?
Speaker 3 (22:09):
Well, we're really going.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
It's Americana and slash blues, and I think next week
in Nashville there's a big Americana Fest and courtA Valley Records,
which I want to thank, you know, while we're talking,
and Bruce.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
Cordo who signed me.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
Uh, they're gonna pitch me in the Americana lane, you know,
just singers songwriter. That's why we put all original songs
on the record. And you know, I'm an I'm old school, and.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I hope that.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
People listen, start listening from the top to the end
of the record, and there's some little different styles that
get woven in and out, you know, Americana blues and
a little jazzy kind of a thing, you know. And
I think I'm an all rock singer probably, but you know,
it's Americana. That's kind of the that's the lane we're taken.
(23:09):
And we'll see how that goes. You know, it's very
competitive Marcus these.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Days, Oh, no question. And John, who are some of
your favorite piano men like you are? Billy Joel, Elton, John,
Bruce Hornsby, Guy.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
All all the above.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Billy Joel really is an amazing piano player and he's
just amazing everything, and of course I like Alton, I
get compared to those guys a little bit. And then
Bruce Hornsby came along and just floored me some of
the songs and the voicings.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
On the piano. And Mark Cohen is a guy that's just.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
I remember hearing him come on the radio and I
just thought, well, I'm going to just give up, you know,
walking in Memphis, you know, and those songs, and really
they've inspired me to just kind of keep going. I
started to see what they were doing lyrically musically, and
(24:13):
all of them take some little chances musically, and that's
kind of what I like. And then I'll just tell
you Oscar Peterson.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Is the old legend.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
You know, you listen to him and you kind of
want to quit also, but his piano playing is just unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Yeah, I mean, I feel Bruce Horsby's very underrated. He's
not talked a lot about. I mean, the guy is unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
Well, oh god, he sure is. And his brother wrote
some lyrics for him. But he and he's just an
interesting guy. You know, toured with The Grateful Dead a
little bit, but he's got some of the greatest records
and songs and just the way it is, and.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
So it's exciting and and you just wait.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
For the next person to come along, you know, to
kind of fire you up. But there's something about sitting
at the piano and singing that I found to be
kind of who I am and what I wanted to be.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
You know.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Of course, you know Randy Newman, Man oh.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Man, that guy unbelievable. So so so now down the pipeline,
what do you got going on? You touring?
Speaker 2 (25:28):
We are my my agent is in Boston, ed Keane Associates,
So we're putting together a lot of the interviews.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
You know, I'll send him.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
This as soon as we get a copy of it.
We're gonna start touring in the East Coast. We will
keep you abreast of when that starts and where it goes.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
So we're gonna.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
So we'll just kind of go around the country and
play probably small theaters and performing arts centers, that kind
of thing. And you know, I'm headed to Seattle. I'm
playing in Cape cod for an event next weekend, like
the thing about how music and music therapy can benefit
(26:12):
people's mental health. So I love doing that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3 (26:15):
I love going out to Cape Cod.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
It's beautiful, oh beautiful this time of year. Absolutely, yeah.
Oh so you know you're always welcome here. This was great.
Better Side of Me is out. John mccandrew dot com
is the website. Anything you want to add on, Well, I.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Just want to thank you for listening and helping promote
the record, for playing a track. You know, and I
guess the message is is we're all just human beings
and we're gonna mess up a little here and there,
but hopefully, you know, the better side of us is
what people see today, and that's just a hope for
me and hope that.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
The record kind of instills that in some folks.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Great job, John, thank you so much and best of luck.
We'll speak soon.
Speaker 3 (27:02):
Thank you, brother Chow Chow.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
John mccandrew new album, Better Side of Me. Pick up
your copy now until next week. Happy collecting to all.
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