Featured Artist of
June 18, 2019
with
the song: I Am
Growing
up in the small town of Kapunda near South Australia’s Barossa Valley,
Brendan McMahon discovered his love of music at the tender age of 14 after
being “awed and floored” seeing Jimi Hendrix play on television; amazed by
the sounds that Jimi could pull from a guitar and captivated by the iconic
performer’s showmanship. Borrowing money from his mother (and paying it back
at $2 a week) he promptly bought himself a $60 guitar and amp rig from a
mate.
Initially wanting to be a glam-rock superstar in the 80s and 90s (think Van
Halen, Kiss, Def Leppard), McMahon later transitioned to the more
storytelling driven tunes of songwriters such as Paul Kelly, Harry Manx,
Richard Thompson and Garth Brooks, artists that continue to inspire him
today.
Spending his late teens and early twenties as a lead singer/lead guitarist
in rock cover bands playing across Adelaide and country Victoria, McMahon
honed his skills the hard way – in front of demanding Australian pub and
club crowds. In 1998, and now bitten by both the songwriting and performance
bug, McMahon released a 7-track EP called ‘Picture This’ with his band The
Cunning Stunts. ‘The songs, mostly pop rock, now seem too cluttered and
uninteresting compared to the music I write today, but I still love to
listen to them once in a while as they bring back great memories.”
In 2015 and 2016, Brendan released the solo albums ‘Falling To Earth’ and
‘Marker 7-58’ under the moniker of Satellite Gods, and in doing so was
fortunate enough to collaborate and work with some renowned Australian
musicians including Peter Maslen (Boom Crash Opera), Jason Vorherr (Darryl
Braithwaite), Bob Spencer (The Angels), Simon Hosford (Vanessa Amorosi) and
Wilbur Wilde (Ol’ 55).
Brendan explains “I met these fabulous musicians through the recording
studio I use (Soggy Dog Recording Studio in Upwey, Victoria). Not only did
they contribute their instrumental talents to these albums, they also opened
up my mind to new concepts and helped me understand the importance of
‘leaving space’ in the music.”
After supporting artists such as Russell Morris, Wendy Stapleton and The
Chantoozies in Australia, Brendan released the LP ‘On This Fine Occasion’ in
2017, which received great reviews both locally and internationally.
“Whatever it is that makes his music just so amazingly addictive, the
American audience is not only ready to take Brendan McMahon in as one of
their own, but they’re ready to catapult him to a level of fame that he
hasn’t already previously known in his already well accomplished and
hard-fought career in this business.” - Cash Box Magazine, Canada
“On This Fine Occasion is a collection of tracks which blends a variety of
multi genres seamlessly to create a sublime absorbing listen.” – Indie
Buddie Around the same time, the EP ‘About Joe’ was released and promoted
exclusively to the US market, again earning McMahon stellar reviews, and was
followed soon after by a couple of live gigs in Nashville.
“This EP gets top marks” – No Depression “McMahon’s personal style of
songwriting discovers a new peak with this release thanks to his continuing
refinement of the cinematic imagery powering his songwriting. ‘About Joe’ is
an intensely human collection; Brendan McMahon doesn’t write about life as
he would have it, but rather life as he sees it … it’s every bit as
immersive as a full length release and one of the more substantive studio
recordings I’ve heard yet in 2018.” - Vents Magazine.
“I am amazed by this music … It’s so beautifully written and full of
stories, expression and peace. Listen” - Beat Media.
“A luxurious listening experience.” – Blog Critics.
2019, and some 20-odd years after the release of his debut McMahon, who now
calls Melbourne home, is gearing up for the release of a new LP ‘In The
Moment’ – an album he feels is his strongest yet. Maturity, reflection and
drawing on his personal experiences, his inspired yet refined lyrics again
take listeners on a captivating journey.
Recorded with Steve Vertigan at Soggy Dog Recording Studios, and again
drawing upon Australian music royalty in its creation – namely Dave Leslie
(Baby Animals), Danny Spencer (Jimmy Barnes Band), Brett Kingman (James
Reyne Band), and the previously mentioned Peter Maslen and Jason Vorherr,
plus a string trio from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Sarah Curro, Gabi
Halloran and Paul Zabrowarny), this powerful album embraces the essence of
story-telling and leaves you thinking about the songs long after the last
track finishes.
Having visited over 50 unique and varied countries over the last decade
(McMahon and his wife share an extensive and adventurous bucket list),
Brendan’s travel experiences, specifically his observations of history,
cultures, people, architecture and nature are at the root of his creativity
and songwriting. These themes again feature prominently throughout ‘In The
Moment’.
The first single from the album ‘I Am’ proves that McMahon has always had an
adventurous and explorative spirit. Ignited from a memory of a childhood
attempt to run away from his warm and loving home Huckleberry Finn style -
with clothes and food tied in to a hamper at the end of a stick. McMahon
tidied his room in anticipation of a clean getaway, opened the escape hatch
(his bedroom window) – and realised it was cold, dark, windy and raining
outside. So the escape adventure was put on hold, but the itch to travel had
been lit.
‘No Rush Today’, track five on the album was written on Mo’orea Island in
Tahiti (French Polynesia) and is about the marine wildlife, the island
itself and the backdrop of the mountains that appeared to resemble the shape
of a dragon, while ‘Tethered’ was inspired from a passage from a book
written by T Lobsang Rampa, which motivated McMahon to travel to Tibet to
explore the local culture in more depth.
From Bhutan to the Baltics, Tahiti to Tibet or Morocco to the Maldives,
being able to share his experiences, thoughts and conversations during these
travels is what continues to deepen and drive this talented story teller.
‘In The Moment’ is yet another fine journey to take with Brendan McMahon.
Social Media Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrendanMcMahonMusic
Web:
https://www.brendanmcm.com
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/brendanmcm758/.
Full Album
of:
May 20, 2018
Album Title:
Universalist EP
Brendan McMahon is a
singer/songwriter/guitarist who records with some of
the Australian music industry’s legends including
Bob Spencer (Angels), Peter Maslen (Boom Crash
Opera), Wilbur Wilde (Ol'55), Dave Leslie (Baby
Animals) plus more.
Brendan recorded as Satellite Gods and released 2
albums under this name, Falling To Earth in 2015 and
Marker 7-58 in 2016… Brendan is about to release his
3rd album, “On This Fine Occasion”, which will be
his first release under his own name… due for
release shortly. “My music touches many genres, my
inspiration comes from people, travel & life
experiences… I like to think of myself as story
teller”.
Universalist EP (2017)
Universalist is a 5 track EP and prelude to the soon
to be released "On This Fine Occasion" album. I've
written a bit about each track below: I enjoy
bushwalking and there is a national park behind
where I live so I quite often walk up through that
park. At the centre of the park there’s a look out
with a trail marker erected on it… it stands about
12 to 14 foot tall and has a tag hanging from it
which has “Marker 7-58” on it. It’s a very peaceful
spot and it has amazing 360 degree view from it.
Marker 7-58 was the inspiration for the title of my
second album and also for the opening track on the
Universalist.
Hotel Hemingway’s inspiration came from the Ambos
Mundos Hotel in Havana, Cuba. Earnest Hemingway
spent quite a bit of time in Cuba in the late 1950’s
and early 1960’s, he also wrote 3 of his novels in a
room in the hotel. The room has been kept as
Hemingway left it in 1961, his bed, fishing rods &
typewriter are all still in the room as it’s been
set up as a memorial to him. I visited Cuba a couple
of years ago and wrote the song about Earnest and
the hotel.
Friday’s In December’s inspiration came from Peter
Maslen (Maz) who is the drummer on all of my music.
We were sitting in the studio between takes and we
started reminiscing about the freedom of youth and
the importance music played in both of our young
lives… there’s even a reference to one of Maz’s
bands, Boom Crash Opera, in the lyrics… “hands up in
the air” which is a Boom Crash song.
I don’t think there would be too many questions
about the inspiration for the song Mother once
listened to. I wrote this song in memory of my
mother for my 3 sisters and myself… she passed away
many years ago at a very young age. I also intended
for this song to be one of utmost respect for
everyone who has lost their own mother.
It’s a very personal song and I remember the night I
was writing the lyrics as it’s the only song I’ve
written with tears flowing freely down my face.
Beat is a song about the experience of recording my
first solo album. I found myself in Soggy Dog
Recording studios working with some of the finest
musicians in Australia… musicians that I’d grown up
listening to and admiring.
The experience was somewhat surreal but the
musicians were great people and I’m very happy to regard them as friends
these days… I’m still recording with many of them
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