(By Mil)
Michael McDermott grew
up in the Chicago
suburb of
Orland Park, and moved into the
Windy
City
itself shortly after completing high school.
And, while many of his fellow alumni from Carl Sandburg High School
were still contemplating their career paths at that time, McDermott was
already well into the process of writing and recording demos of the songs that
would – he hoped – eventually catapult him to both the commercial and
artistic success of a signed musician.
Playing open mic
nights and working as a guitarist in various Irish bands around Chicago, he
soon caught the attention of then talent scout (now major motion picture
writer/director) Brian Koppelman, who invited
McDermott to perform a sampling of his songs in Koppelman’s
hotel room. Equipped only with an
acoustic guitar, his passionate vocals and an arsenal of incredibly mature
compositions for a lad barely out of his teens, McDermott made a strong
impression, and was quickly brought into a deal with Giant Records.
Seemingly on
track in terms of his career ambitions, McDermott’s first album, 620
West Surf was released in 1991, and its lead-off single, “A Wall I Must
Climb”, soon reached MTV “Buzz Bin” status in addition to earning
critical praise from Rolling Stone
and various other music industry publication heavyweights.
In the wake of
the grunge revolution that followed, however, the haunting musical tales of
rejection, redemption and what The New
York Times dubbed “an urgent incantation of the redeeming power of faith”
that formed his sophomore effort
Gethsemane
(SBK/EMI) went largely unnoticed by
the masses – but garnered the attention of another publishing heavyweight:
Stephan King. Dubbing the
album “one of the great events of my life as a rock music fan”, King soon
tracked McDermott down for a personal meeting, which led to use of lyrics from
the song “Lantern” in one of King’s novels, penning of the liner notes
to McDermott’s third album, and even services as a guest guitarist on a
hidden bonus track. Unfortunately,
none of this artistic validation translated into the staggering numerical
success then required to maintain a recording contract, and with the
re-organization of the music industry that took place in the late 90’s
(ultimately resulting in EMI’s dissolution), McDermott once more found
himself an unsigned act. It seemed
the music business had dealt its final blow and McDermott believed himself destined
"to sell
insurance or disappear".
He did neither.
For a while he
reveled in self-pity. In
interviews McDermott has joked ironically about far too many nights spent in
bars sharing the news, "I used to be on MTV".
Of that period he says, "I just didn't know what else to do.
I'm not equipped to do anything but music.”
Finally, in the spirit of The Shawshank
Redemption’s Andy DuFresne, McDermott
realized it was time to "get busy livin' or
get busy dyin'", and heartily embraced the
former by wholeheartedly delving into creation of his independent album, Bourbon
Blue. Released in 1999 (and
marketed solely through live gigs and his website, www.michael-mcdermott.com),
this endeavor proved so successful that it caught the attention of Koch
Records, a then distribution-only label seeking to branch out creatively as
well. In early 2000 McDermott
signed with Koch to make Last Chance
Lounge, an album that again showcased the honesty and insight of a gifted
storyteller and seasoned musician. Still,
for his next effort, McDermott once more chose the indie
route, releasing his 6th album under the newly minted label, Pauper
Sky. That album, entitled Ashes, received a swell of both critical notice and fan support,
with singles from the disc quickly entering rotation on various radio stations
nationwide, including XM Satellite’s “Nude Café” (on whose charts it
rocketed to #1), Chicago’s WXRT and Philadelphia’s WXPN, whose listeners
voted Ashes among the Top 50
releases of 2004.
Currently armed
with an arsenal of new material, McDermott has recently put the finishing touches on
his 7th album (a "One Little Indian" label release this
time) scheduled to hit
stores in mid-2007. In the
meantime, having shared stages with The Wallflowers, Aimee Mann and Van
Morrison among others, he continues to gift audiences with his ever growing
body of work, playing shows both on his native soil and abroad -- including a
late August/early September '05 mini-tour in England, and several November dates
in Ireland.
And, he continues to enjoy the enviable status of “artists'
artist”…as amusingly illustrated by a recent introduction to Pete Yorn.
After a perfunctory greeting, Yorn suddenly
queried, “Are you a singer”, to which McDermott, of course, replied in the
affirmative. Still doubting he could actually be speaking with THE Michael
McDermott, Yorn hesitated, then…”Wait…that
‘Surf” album…” “Yup”,
McDermott answered, further prompting Yorn to
burst into song: “Faith is a wall I must climb”…followed by a sudden
enthusiastic embrace and the words, “Holy Sh--,
I love this guy!”
And, while such
encounters may not translate into his being a household name – yet – in
offering the Ashes single, “Dance
With Me” as one of his top music download picks of 2005,
Stephen King went on to
present this song as a particularly outstanding reason why McDermott “still
could…and should” become one. Of
course, if you’ve attended any of his live shows in recent months, thereby
catching a sneak preview of the songs comprising his 2007 release,
then you’re already well aware there are many, many more.
