FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rick Scott 310.306.0375
Guitarist Andy McKee celebrates the whimsical and
ponders everlasting youth on
Joyland
The YouTube
sensation’s Razor & Tie debut will be released April 6th,
extensive concert dates through July
Although he’s only 30 years-old, fingerstyle guitarist
Andy McKee fondly recalls the
freedom of carefree youthful exuberance on Joyland, his sixth album and debut
for the Razor & Tie label that
will be released April 6th.
McKee produced the ten-song collection of newly recorded material in his
recently assembled
McKee composed eight songs for Joyland and recorded new versions of the
Tears For Fears hit, “Everybody
Wants To Rule The World” and the late acoustic guitar innovator Michael Hedges’ “Layover,” the later of
whom remains McKee’s biggest influence.
The title track, on which the guitarist also plays the glockenspiel,
opens the collection with a cascading quixotic melody that establishes a
wide-eyed sense of wonder. McKee
taps and slaps rhythmically amidst a gently flowing melody on “Blue
Liquid.” His hand-built 12-string
harp guitar leads the spiraling “Away,” a cut to which McKee added depth and
emotion with a cello performance.
McKee played guitar and bass, and drummer Shawn Pelton added the
rollicking pitter-patter to “Never Grow Old,” another piece inspired by McKee’s
desire to “remain the same ridiculous guy I’ve always been.” You can almost feel the ascension while
listening to “Upward Mobility.” On
“Hunter’s Moon,” potent melodic swatches intertwine with complex poly-rhythmic
beats and ambient tones. “My Life
As A CPA (Parallel Universe #43)” is a contemplative rumination of how different
life would have been if the author hadn’t picked up the guitar as a
teenager. A beautiful ballad, “For
Now” closes the album with poetic eloquence.
“My
hope is that people are affected by my music, that the listeners take something
away,” said McKee. “Each song has
its own story about what inspired it. ‘Joyland’ was inspired by an old
abandoned amusement park and serves as a metaphor for growing up. We tend to get too serious and stop
visiting our playful personas as we mature, become more responsible and have
less freedom to have fun. ‘Joyland’
and ‘Never Grow Old’ are about preserving elements of fun and amusement.”
To
prime the grid for Joyland’s release,
McKee concluded a three-week concert swing March 13th in
After a few classical guitar lessons, McKee primarily
taught himself how to play and is now recognized as one of the world’s finest
fingerstyle players. He’s appeared
on the cover of guitar magazines and was named “Guitarist of the Year” by Acoustic Guitar magazine. His five previous albums were
self-released starting with his 2004 debut, Dreamcatcher. In an effort to build a following, McKee
shot a few brief performance videos and posted them on YouTube. The clips spread like a viral epidemic
as viewers were mesmerized by what they saw and heard. At one point, McKee held the #1, #2 and
#3 most viewed clips simultaneously on YouTube, which to date have amassed over
78 million plays. His extraordinary
technique is visual, which led to national television appearances on CNN
Headline News and Last Call with Carson Daly. McKee was tapped to contribute his
uniquely original style to Josh
Groban’s multi-platinum holiday album, Noel. Harnessing the power of the internet
combined with performing over 200 shows per year has enabled McKee to cultivate
an immense fan base that spans from metal heads and rockers to New Agers and
mainstream music listeners.
Additional information along with a complete list of
concert dates is available at www.andymckee.com.
The
songs contained on Joyland
are:
“Joyland”
“Upward Mobility”
“Blue Liquid”
“Hunter’s Moon”
“Away”
“My Life As A CPA (Parallel Universe #43)”
“Everybody Wants To Rule The World”
“Layover”
“Never Grow Old”
“For Now”
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