There are certainly plenty of songwriters who thrive on drama and conflict during the creative process.
Pianist and singer Andrew McMahon, who records under the band name of Jack’s Mannequin, knows all about writing albums during tumultuous times. But he thinks having a more calm backdrop to his life might be the best thing that can happen to him as a songwriter and creative person.
“I’ve been writing like crazy since this record closed up,” McMahon said, referring to the current Jack’s Mannequin CD, “The Glass Passenger. “It’s been amazing and it’s been liberating, and in some ways when you have the freedom to write a couple of different kinds of songs rather than being shackled to sort of this elephant in the room, I think there’s a freedom to that that I think will be reflected in the next thing that I do.”
o What: Jack’s Mannequin, in concert.
o When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6.
o Where: Roseland Theater, 8 N.W. Sixth Ave., Portland.
o Cost: $22.50 through TicketsWest, 800-992-8499 or ticketswest.com.
o Information: roselandpdx.com.
There have actually been several elephants in McMahon’s songwriting room in recent years.
Everything in flux
While he was writing the first Jack’s Mannequin CD, the 2005 release “Everything In Transit,” the status of McMahon’s well-known former band, Something Corporate, was up in the air. The band had not officially broken up, and McMahon wasn’t sure if he was taking a temporary step outside of the band to do “Everything In Transit” or if he was about to become a solo artist under the Jack’s Mannequin name.