Edwin McCain strives to play music that he loves and to give his fans something meaningful after switching record labels. McCain has sold millions of records, toured endlessly, played in front of huge crowds with big nam acts and made hit songs. Now, he finds himself in a position where he is starting all over again. After a successful run with Atlantic Records, McCain will make his next album, The Austin Sessions, with ATC Records. McCain said that he thought he needed to get away from the corporate music scene.
“I’m very proud of the music I made with Atlantic,” McCain said. “It was probably just time for that relationship to come to an end. It’s going to be a lot less hassle (to play for ATC). I’m so relieved that I don’t have 15 committee members to decide whether or not I’m going to wear black pants on television.”
Despite leaving the corporate music scene, McCain still attracts a very excited and loyal fan base. Some of the fans on one of his fan’s Internet sites, www.edwin.com, call themselves “Edwin heads” and “Edwin fanatics.” One female poster talked about how McCain’s voice makes her heart skip a beat every time she hears it. McCain remains humble throughout all of the praise, because he realizes that he is the same guy he has always been.
“One of my main rules is to never read the press about me,” McCain said. “I feel blessed to play guitar and sing for a living. I don’t want to let all of that stuff get to my head. I’m thrilled to have this job.”
McCain said he loves the job he has now partly because he remembers old jobs he used to have. McCain spent time weed eating a creek for twelve hours a day during summers as a teenager. He also spent time burying dead animals for a pet cemetery. He said that his favorite part of playing music is never working a real job.
“People don’t realize how hard weed eating can be,” McCain said. “It will wear you out. I love playing music for a living. It enables me to never have to find a real job. I’m not a 9-to-5 type of a guy.”
Playing music is not all fun and games for McCain. He said that constantly touring and answering questions drags on him. McCain acknowledges the fact that touring takes away a few years from his life.
“It’s definitely not a healthy lifestyle,” McCain said. “There is too much partying, not enough sleep, bad food and too much playing. I still love it, though. Touring is a good and bad thing.”
McCain’s biggest musical influences include David Wilcox; Earth, Wind, and Fire and Randy Newman. The list of his favorite bands to play with include the Allman Brothers, Leftover Salmon and Hootie and the Blowfish. McCain played with Hootie and the Blowfish when he first started getting national recognition with Solitude in the summer of 1994.
“That was a crazy summer,” McCain said. “To experience something like that when you’re just starting out is an awesome experience. We played in front of packed audiences and just had a blast. I probably had a little too much fun.”
Finding inspiration to play music is never too hard for McCain. Since changing record labels, McCain has also found new incentives. McCain said that leaving a big record label means leaving money.
“We have to restart our earning after leaving Atlantic,” McCain said. “The shows have been good so far. A lot of people have consistently showed up. As long as the fans want to hear my music I’ll continue playing.”
McCain said if he could change one thing about the music industry, he would get rid of all the music video stations.
“Music videos place too much emphasis on the way a band looks,” McCain said. “People pay more attention to fashion than the music now. Music is not about fashion or the way you look-it’s about the way the music sounds and how it makes you feel. I wish there was an ugly people video channel and a pretty people video channel. I guarantee the ugly people channel would sound better.”
McCain said that he would like to thank all of the people who have supported him.
“I can’t imagine anything that I would rather do,” McCain said.
McCain is touring from now until the end of December. In February 2003, he will release The Austin Sessions, which will include new songs, fan favorites and a few covers.