Andrew McMahon

Andrew Ross McMahon (born September 3, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter.

He was the vocalist, pianist and primary lyricist for the bands Something Corporate and main songwriter for Jack's Mannequin and performs solo both under his own name as well as his moniker, Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.

He briefly lived in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, until 1991, when his family moved to Bexley, Ohio, where he attended Cassingham Elementary School.

McMahon's family relocated frequently due to his father's occupation in retail.

McMahon recalls that while he was in fourth grade, they briefly stayed in California to support his mother's family after the loss of her brother.

Following the death of his uncle, who was an artist himself, McMahon became inspired to get involved with music and began teaching himself piano soon afterward.

McMahon's family decided to settle in California shortly before he entered eighth grade.

He would later describe himself as "a pudgy, outgoing, artistic little kid who never quite fit into the California scene".

McMahon started his first band, Left Here, with his high school friends and future Something Corporate bandmates Kevin "Clutch" Page on bass and Brian Ireland on drums in 1997.

Even though they won a local battle of the bands competition, they soon broke up.

McMahon went on to record the self-released eponymous four-track demo CD Andrew McMahon with the aid of several friends of his, including guitarist Josh Partington, whom he had met his second year in high school.

Joined by rhythm guitarist Reuben Hernandez (who was later replaced by William Tell), the quintet formed the piano rock band Something Corporate in 1998.

McMahon met the rest of the group in high school, and later decided on the moniker Something Corporate as a joke.

He graduated from Dana Hills High School in 2000.

McMahon started playing the piano at age 9.

The following year, he began performing piano solos before he could even read music.

McMahon stated, "my mother was a good player and I started playing by ear. After a year of that, I began writing songs, and found outlets to perform them at school assemblies. Eventually, I got lessons."

Fronted by McMahon, the group recorded their self-released ten-song demo album Ready... Break in 2000, which led to a record deal with the indie record label Drive-Thru Records.

Drive-Thru released the band's nationwide distributed debut EP Audioboxer the following year.

McMahon's vocals, songwriting skills, and incorporation of the piano earned the album rave reviews and caught the attention of Drive-Thru's distributor MCA (now Geffen).

Due to the labels' distribution deal, MCA was able to sign over Something Corporate and released their major label debut Leaving Through the Window in May 2002.

The band promoted the album by playing concerts across the United States, which included the main stage at Vans Warped Tour as well as supporting New Found Glory on their European tour.

Something Corporate released their second full-length album North on Geffen Records in late 2003.

The initial impulse behind McMahon's solo project Jack's Mannequin was "Locked Doors", a song he recorded in December 2003, which he felt was too different from previous Something Corporate material.

He realized that, if he would ever decide to release it, it would be on a solo album rather than a Something Corporate record.

As of 2004, the band is no longer under contract to any label.

The idea seemed to be off the table until, in late summer 2004, both McMahon and his bandmates were exhausted from months of touring and decided to take a break.

The first album, Everything in Transit, was released in August 2005.

After the release and success of the first album, McMahon then proceeded to compose his second Jack's Mannequin album, The Glass Passenger, which was released in September 2008.

On December 4, 2009, Something Corporate announced a reunion show at Bamboozle Left 2010 with an additional show later added at Bamboozle Chicago 2010.

After Bamboozle, the band announced their reunion tour, which took place in August 2010.

On September 3, 2022, Something Corporate reunited for a 5-song set for McMahon's 40th birthday celebration concert.

It was later announced the band would reunite once more to play the 2023 When We Were Young festival.

Jack's Mannequin's third and final album, People and Things, was released in October 2011.

On April 30, 2013, he debuted his first solo work, an EP titled The Pop Underground, which was followed by his debut album Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, released on October 14, 2014.

His second album, Zombies on Broadway, was released on February 10, 2017.

He released his third album, Upside Down Flowers, on November 16, 2018.

His fourth album, Tilt at the Wind No More, was released on March 31, 2023.

His memoir, Three Pianos, was published by Princeton Architectural Press on October 26, 2021.

McMahon was born in Concord, Massachusetts.