zaterdag 13 september 2008

Jon McLaughlin Readies Aptly Titled ‘Ok Now’

Jon McLaughlin Readies Aptly Titled ‘Ok Now’
By: Chad | Source: Alternative Addiction


Saturday, September 13, 2008

Singer/songwriter Jon McLaughlin has set October 7th as the release date for his new album “Ok Now.” In a recent interview with Alternative Addiction, McLaughlin explained his struggles in gaining the inspiration to write the new album.

“After I got done with Indiana, I didn’t write a song for a year,” McLaughlin told Alternative Addiction referencing his 2007 major label debut. “Just totally so sick of writing songs, I didn’t even try writing a thing for a year, and then I slowly got back into it.”

Getting back into a song writing mode wasn’t an easy one for McLaughlin, after being away from it for so long while recording and then touring in support of his debut album.

“It kinda freaked me out a little bit,” said McLaughlin. “You keep telling yourself, ‘It’s not that I can’t, I just don’t want to write a song.’ You always have that thing in the back of your mind every time you finish a song that it’s going to be the last song you ever write.”

McLaughlin wasn’t totally on his own in writing the new album, he instituted the help of Bleu McAuley, or better known as Bleu, who recorded several solo albums including 2003’s “Redhead” on Sony Music. McAuley co-wrote a handful of songs for the new album with McLaughlin.

“This record I probably wrote half the number of songs that I wrote for the last record. Each song was a little more purposeful. We had our 20 songs we had to narrow down.”

One major change for the new album was writing the songs on guitar instead of piano like McLaughlin did on “Indiana,” a change that the songwriter initially rejected.

“I am a piano player at heart. If I died tomorrow, I would want to be remembered as a piano player, and then a songwriter, and then a singer,” said McLaughlin. “That’s part of the reason why I was hell bent on having a lot of piano on that [first] record.”

Over the course of recording “Ok Now” McLaughlin began to realize there was some value in writing songs on a guitar, and entered the studio with a totally open mind.

“For whatever reason, I didn’t feel that kind of identity desperation anymore,” said McLaughlin. “I’ve been trying for the last couple of years to write myself away from the piano and write songs that aren’t so piano based.”

If McLaughlin’s debut single, “Beating My Heart” is any indication, McLaughlin has successfully transitioned from his piano dependence, and his songwriting’s never been more hook filled. While he may have struggled in several stages of making his new album, he’ll tell you since its all behind him, he’s definitely Ok Now.

Listen to the Audio interview here:

http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/interviews/audio/player_mp3.asp?id=270

Source:

http://www.alternativeaddiction.com/musicnews/article.asp?id=1175

zaterdag 6 september 2008

'Smack Into You' Off "OK Now"

Here's an excerpt from the Q&A section of Jon's site where he confirms the track 'Smack Into You' has been taken off the album. It could be the reason why the label pushed the album back and had to come up with a new song to include.
-------------------------------
Sep 6, 2008
Hey Jon -

So I read the Billboard article and saw that "Smack Into You" is no longer going to be on the new record - how come? I also noticed you took it off your myspace page...any chance it'll come out some day?

Thanks!
Lauren :)
asked by StarMesa on Sep 2, 2008 3:36pm
Hey Lauren -

Yeah so the song is off the record, yes, but the song's up for another artist to record and will be out again, promise!

But I am sorry for putting a song out there then taking it away!

Thanks Lauren - take care! -j-

dinsdag 2 september 2008

Mainstream Spotlight: Jon McLaughlin

September 2, 2008 ·

Jon McLaughlin is a piano-playing pop/rock singer-songwriter from Anderson, Indiana. His debut project “Indiana” with the hit single “Beautiful Disaster was released last year. Now he’s ready to drop a new project “OK Now”, but before it comes out we wanted you to get to know more about him in our exclusive interview. Jon talks about how he ended up signing with a mainstream label, the story behind “Beautiful Disaster”, why he’d love to have Billy Joel on tour with him and how Tom Petty has impacted his life.

ST.net: Where are you and what are you doing today?

Jon: I’m in Indiana on my way home today actually. I have about a week to just relax a little. Maybe do some writing.

ST.net: Whenever I hear “Beautiful Disaster” from your current project “Indiana” on the radio I immediately think of my 3 little girls (Isabella 9, Grace 7, & Victoria 1) and how much they need to hear me say their beautiful. More importantly that their Father in Heaven also thinks they’re beautiful. What is the story behind the song?

Jon: I wrote Beautiful Disaster with a guy named Jamie Houston who produced a lot of “Indiana”. We wrote it the first day that we met. It wasn’t written about one certain incident or even for one certain person although I think Jamie and I had a few people in mind when we wrote it just as you thought of your daughters. Everyone has a warped self-image to some degree no matter what you look like. It’s a lot easier for us to see the beauty in others than it is to see it in ourselves. And it’s always frustrating when trying to make someone see what you see; to make them see that they are beautiful.

ST.net: Many our of readers may not know your music and think you’re a new artist. I know that this is untrue, but can you bring us up to speed on how long you’ve been in the music game and who you’ve toured with in the past?

Jon: I read an article in a local paper in one of the cities I was playing the other day that said after performing at the Oscars, I was an over-night success:) In reality, I have been doing this for the last 6 years. I started out at Anderson University, playing at regional colleges and churches. Then I slowly started traveling a little more and more to the point where I was gone every weekend playing sometimes 4 shows. Then after college I signed with Island Def Jam records and have pretty much either been on the road or in the studio ever since. My band and I have played with Sara Barielles, Jonny Lang, Kelly Clarkson, One Republic and lots of other really great bands and artists.

ST.net: When can we expect a new project?

Jon: I just finished up a new record called “OK NOW” and it will be out October 7th. I’m counting down the days.

ST.net: What’s the theme or story you’re hoping to tell through it?

Jon: This entire record is about relaxing. Not in a “vacation” way but as a way of life. I’ve noticed a pattern in my life where I’m always looking back to last year’s summer tour or the last recording session or even the show last week and 2 things always happen: I always remember how stressed out I was at the time and I always wonder why I was so stressed out. SO I have really made a conscious effort in the last 5-6 months of my life to just relax and enjoy it as it happens. I’m trying to be better at sifting through what matters and what doesn’t. That’s the message of this record.

ST.net: If you could have any artist on tour with you, Christian or mainstream, who would it be and why?

Jon: That’s a tough question. I’m bad at this one… I think, at this moment, I would say Billy Joel. He was my first inspiration to be a musician and he’s still my biggest.

ST.net: Any tours coming up that we should tell people about?

Jon: I have a few things coming up in the fall that I’m excited about. I’m doing some shows with the Hard Rock Cafe to raise money for breast cancer research with their Pinktober campaign.

ST.net: What’s the one thing you “Must Have” on the road?

Jon: Caffeine. Must have. The schedule gets so ridiculous sometimes, and there’s almost this element of ‘I want to see just how many places I can possibly be over the nest 24 hours’ - :) and I definitely need God’s grace and hand in all of it, I need my wife with me, I need sleep…and I NEED caffeine:)

ST.net:
What one artist or speaker has had the biggest impact on you and why?

Jon: Tom Petty. Aside from the fact that I love and admire his music, I also just love and admire the way he has carried himself through his career. I don’t know whether he’s a beleiver or not but I think he’s a very wise man who has been extremely blessed and who has something to say.

ST.net:
Have you ever Googled yourself?

Jon: Yes, it wasn’t that interesting:)

ST.net:
Do you drink coffee or tea?

Jon: Tea

ST.net: Do you roll in a bus or van on tour?

Jon: Last year we were in a bus and I missed my van. Now I’m in the van and I my the bus.

ST.net: Are you a cat or dog person?

Jon: Dog

ST.net: Do you use myspace or facebook?

Jon: Myspace

ST.net: Do you prefer a Subway sandwich or a Quizno’s sandwich?

Jon: Quizno’s

ST.net: Is it the journey or the destination that keeps you going?

Jon: Journey

ST.net: Thank you Jon.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Jon will be hooking up with the Hard Rock Cafe for their “Pinktober” live music series at the end of the month. Committed to its “Love All, Serve All” creed, Hard Rock Cafe will donate proceeds from their Pinktober events worldwide to breast cancer research and awareness organizations around the globe. Jon is another great example to me of artists who happen to be Christian showing the love of the Lord to a hurting world through their music.


http://www.stereotruth.net/2008/09/mainstream-spotlight-jon-mclaughlin/


Pop singer McLaughlin gets "OK" for eclectic album

By Mikael Wood Mikael Wood Mon Sep 1

NEW YORK (Billboard) – Jon McLaughlin can't deny that millions more people saw him perform at the Academy Awards than heard his new album.

"Indiana," his major-label debut, has sold 98,000 copies since its release in 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That pales against the viewership for the Oscar telecast, where he performed "So Close," a tune from the hit fantasy "Enchanted."

Still, though the 25-year-old singer calls his "Enchanted" appearance "a great thing," he also admits, "I don't really want to be known as the guy in the movie who also has a CD coming out."

The October 7 release of McLaughlin's second Island Records set, "OK Now," may provide some help in that mission. An appealingly eclectic pop-rock disc laced with touches of blue-eyed soul, ELO-style glam and what McLaughlin calls "totally cheesy '80s pop," the album covers much more ground than the piano-heavy "Indiana" did.

John Fields, who produced the new album, says that considering how young McLaughlin is, "his musical complexity is refreshing."

"I work with a lot of kids his age," adds Fields, who's produced records by Mandy Moore and the Jonas Brothers. "A lot of them use the same chords -- what I call 'the four chords of doom.' Jon understands that you've got to try to diversify from that. He can kind of do anything."

McLaughlin cites as motivation the "not uncommon dream for an artist to go into the music world and just be able to do whatever." He points to Ray Charles' "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" as an example of the kind of creative freedom he covets.

"OK Now" was originally to have included a would-be pop hit called "Smack Into You," which was written and produced by the team behind Rihanna's "Umbrella." Yet after McLaughlin and Fields completed the rest of the album, the singer decided "Smack Into You" "didn't really fit in" with the other tracks.

"As you sit with a record you start changing your mind about certain things," McLaughlin says. "That wasn't the only song that was going to be on the album that we took off."

Fields says he can understand the label's desire to hook up McLaughlin -- "a great-looking guy who looks like a lifeguard" -- with proven hitmakers. But he insists "Beating My Heart," the album's lead single, has serious top 40 potential as well, and the label hopes it will broaden McLaughlin's audience beyond his fan base of 18- to 34-year-old females.

McLaughlin just completed a headlining tour, and he'll begin a stint on Hard Rock Cafe's Pinktober trek September 29 in Chicago.

McLaughlin says he's currently more concerned with the number of shows he plays than with the number of records he sells. "You could sell 5 million and not see any long-term benefit," he says. "Or you could sell 100,000, keep doing it the right way and watch it build."

Reuters/Billboard

http://news.yahoo.com/story//nm/20080902/music_nm/mclaughlin_dc

maandag 1 september 2008

Jon McLaughlin on The Cover of David Atlanta




Why you should know who Jon McLaughlin is

By BUCK C. COOKE
Aug. 20, 2008

HE'S HANDSOME, TALENTED AND puts on a passionate live show. So why have most people never heard of Jon McLaughlin?

McLaughlin’s debut album, “Indiana,” received wide acclaim, and his performance at last year’s Academy Awards of “So Close” from the Disney movie “Enchanted” garnered stellar reviews.

Others may remember him as the answer to the question: "Who is that cute guy who opened for Kelly Clarkson?"

Well, now's your chance to get in on all the buzz. McLaughlin rolls into Atlanta Aug. 22 to promote his new album, “OK Now,” due out in October.

The piano man tells David all about how the new album is less driven by the ivory 88 than his debut, and how he taps into some retro roots.

“I am into the ‘80s right now, so there’s a little bit of pop influences on the record,” he says. “It’s really diverse, stylistically. There’s a straight-up jazz song on there. It’s more upbeat and danceable.”

For “OK Now,” McLaughlin says he “definitely went into the writing and recording process way, way, way more open."

“I am a piano player. I love Ben Folds Five,” he admits, but also, “I like Radiohead, and in the past, I would hear a song by them but never think that I could write music like that.

"Going into this album, I was open to anything and everything, not to feel that I can’t write any genre of music.”

The results should yield more radio play and sales for McLaughlin. He combines artful turns of phrase with considerable skills behind the piano, and the results are spellbinding.

“BEATING MY HEART,” the lead single for “OK Now,” still features the piano, but the track is guitar-driven and would fit right in on pop and adult contemporary radio. On “We All Need Saving,” McLaughlin went for “an a capella thing.”

“It’s stacks of me singing these ‘ooos’ like a choir,” he says, adding that the song evolved in many forms: “Me at the piano, me on the guitar, a big band version…”

On “Four Years,” McLaughlin speaks directly to teenagers.

“You realize the rest of your life is before you and that high school is only four years," he says. "Your life is more than the stupid, petty, little things that annoy you. I wish I could go back in time and not worry about the stupid stuff.”

AS HE GEARS UP for his show in Atlanta, one of the last stops on this leg of his tour, McLaughlin reflects on the special place our city holds in his heart.

“I think the first time I played Atlanta was at Eddie’s Attic, and it was probably the worst show I have ever played,” he laughs. “We had a great turnout, and I totally freaked out. It knocked me off my game that people were there. I didn’t know what to do.

"Afterward, I thought, ‘I can’t do this for a living. I wasted everyone’s time.’”

Good for all of us, and apparently thanks to some of us, it all turned out alright.

“Atlanta’s one of the only cities that has supported me since the beginning,” he says, adding that this tour is wowing even him.

“The fans have been seriously great,” McLaughlin says. “I leave this tour feeling like I want to write a thank you card to every single person who came to the show.”

That's OK, Jon. Just keep doing what you're doing. We'll listen. Oh, and keep posing for pictures.

"Beating My Heart" Billboard Review

Beating My Heart
JON McLAUGHLIN
Producer(s): John Fields
Genre: POP
Label: Island

It's high time for singer/ songwriter Jon McLaughlin to earn his due. While the 25-year-old grazed the top 30 at adult top 40 radio last year with "Beautiful Disaster," he has become a frequent onscreen contributor, including TV's "Scrubs" and "Ghost Whisperer" and films "Georgia Rule" and "Enchanted," where his "So Close" earned an Academy Award nod. "Beating My Heart," the launch from second full-length "OK Now" (due Oct. 7), is a joyous uptempo romantic romp, featuring hook after hook, from tinkling piano to driving percussion and a start-and-stop bridge, alongside a joyous effortless vocal that soars with falsetto to the high heavens. The accompanying video is simple enough, but effectively illustrates McLaughlin's charms as a palatable sex symbol. "Heart" pumps with instantaneous hit potential, and proper promotion of it could propel the artist to superstar status. —Chuck Taylor

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/singles/e3i602b52c6d164943ada45e88ff29767a8