John McDonough is a folky artist who also has elements of rock, country and Americana present in his music, as latest EP, We’ll Answer The Call, shows. Find out more about John below!
By Jane Howkins
You recently released an EP, titled We’ll Answer The Call. What can you tell us about the EP? I hear it was based around Joe Rantz and the 1936 Olympic Games.
First of all, thank you for having me for this interview! Yes, June 17th of this year, I released We’ll Answer The Call. It’s a concept EP that tells the true story of Joe Rantz, the 1930’s University of Washington rowing program, and their epic bid to win gold in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. It’s such an incredible tale of grit, determination, and personal fortitude. I feel very proud of how I told this complete story in five songs starting with the unbelievably difficult childhood of Joe Rantz, his love affair with future wife Joyce Simdars, struggling to reach his potential as a person and oarsman in
college, and ultimately achieving the highest levels of self-actualization in becoming an
olympian and winning gold.
I am also very proud of how much variety there is in the arrangements of the five tracks while never losing my grounding as a singer-songwriter. There is one member of this team still alive and well, and that is the Husky Clipper. The Husky Clipper is the actual eight man boat used to win gold in 1936. It is a beautiful boat that has been fully restored and is now hanging in the University of Washington boat house. I am so into this story I even flew to Seattle a few years ago to see the Husky Clipper. It’s a real piece of art, and it was a very moving experience for me to see it.
The last song on the EP is called Point Me East. Point Me East is actually sung from the point of view of the boat, and is a powerful ending to the EP.
You also recently released a single titled Love You Just For You. What can you tell us about the song and where can it be purchased?
Love You Just For You is the second song on the EP and is a love song for Joe and his future bride Joyce. Joe and Joyce met in high school and were immediately drawn to each other. They both had very difficult childhoods, and the love and grounding they found in each other was a huge part of their future success and happiness. I don’t write many love songs, and I feel I did a good job with this one. I felt a lot of pressure to do it right and give their love story the depth and importance it deserves. You can find Love You Just For You on my website which is johnmcdonoughlive.com. There you will also see links to listen on all major streaming platforms.
Do you plan to release any more singles from the EP?
On August 26th, I am releasing my second single off the EP, Shooting Star. Shooting Star is actually the first song on the EP, and tells the story of Joe’s terribly difficult childhood. His mom died from cancer when he was four, and his new step mom was horrible to him. Joe basically had to take care of himself starting at ten, and was totally abandoned by his family at 15. Through all of this, he kept himself in school, and made it to the University of Washington where he learned to row. The chorus of Shooting Star – “Never stop looking for your shooting star, never let others decide who you are” – is a tribute to Joe’s perseverance and strength of character.
Has the pandemic hindered your work much?
For me, the pandemic was a bit of a blessing in disguise. For the first time in a long time, I was not gigging or touring, and had the time to really work on my guitar skills. I used this time to rework several older songs that I thought were good and had a lot of potential, but just needed some tweaking in their arrangements. I also used this time to write the five songs on We’ll Answer The Call. I was very lucky in that the pandemic gave me a nice break, but now I am ready to tour again and support my latest releases on the road.
Do you have any plans to release another album or EP in the near future?
Since I just released We’ll Answer The Call in June, it will be a while until I am releasing something new. However, I am already writing for my next project. The last couple years I have been very inspired by the civil rights movement in this country, and plan to visit many of these historical places in February of 2023. I want to write several songs paying tribute to the people and places of the civil rights movement. I am also writing more personal songs about myself. I don’t know how all this will be packaged and released in the future, but I am excited about the process!
What is the writing and recording process like for you?
I really enjoy the writing process. I will have an idea for a song, and I will think about it for a while before even trying to write anything. I will know how I want it to sound, the musical style of the guitar I am after, and what I want to convey lyrically. I like to write the music and the lyrics at the same time, so I have to have a good idea of the direction I am going. I find it very therapeutic to write and express personal issues and feelings through my music. I also find a lot of inspiration from the lives of other people. I am constantly reading and watching documentary movies, and really enjoy sharing the stories of amazing people who deserve to be known.
The recording process is tough for me. I am rarely happy with myself in the studio and always wish I was a better musician and singer. In the studio, everything is amplified, and it’s hard not to be severely critical. I try to capture a live feel in the studio. For my last three CD’s, I told my engineer/producer to set up the microphones for my guitar and my vocals, to record me while I perform my songs. This is a tough way to do it because the vocals bleed onto the guitar track and the guitar bleeds onto the vocal track. With that bleed you can’t go back and edit things, so I have to get a really strong take without any mistakes. I love the second half of the recording process! Once my parts are done, we bring in the other musicians. The people I work with are fantastic, and they always add amazing parts to my songs. I really trust their musicianship and creativity, and their parts really bring my songs to life!
You’re based in Chicago. What is the local music scene like where you are?
I have been in the Chicago area for two years after living in Austin, Texas for the past 25 years! I love the scene here. Just outside the city there are many, many suburbs and villages. Each suburb and village has its own scene with their own venues. I feel so lucky to have so much variety in places I play all within two hours of where I live. The winters are long and tough here, but once the nice weather hits, everyone wants to party outside! I am very busy gigging in the summers here for sure!
Your music is quite folky. What/who influences you most as an artist? What have you been listening to recently?
I have always been drawn to the singer-songwriters like James Taylor and Harry Chapin. Their voices and lyrics combined with the acoustic guitar has always really moved me. The first album I bought at ten years of age was Harry Chapin’s Taxi! I still spend so much of my time listening to artists like John Denver, Crosby, Stills, and Nash and Joni Mitchell. I still use these artists and their recordings from the seventies as the benchmark for greatness. James Bay and Joshua James are a couple of modern artists I really enjoy and respect.
Do you have any plans to tour in the UK?
I have been to England twice as a tourist and love it there. I love the people and the history always moves me. I have not yet toured in Europe or the UK, but would love to! I had plans to tour Ireland, but everything was cancelled due to Covid. Now that things are finally getting back to normal, I really want to make it to England and several other places in Europe.
Any last words for the fans?
Most importantly, thank you for your support! I say “thank you” so often that I fear it appears to lose its sincerity, but believe me when I say it! I really mean it! I only ask my fans for one thing. Please share my music with your friends and family. With all the streaming platforms and social media out there, it is really hard to cut through the noise these days. The most effective way for me to grow my fan base is for my fans to share my music with their friends and family. And one more time, thank you!