Edwin McCain
July 24th, 2007 Posted in MusicOne of America’s Most Respected Balladeers
With songs like “Solitude,” “Ill Be,” and “Could Not Ask For More,” Edwin McCain knows how to put his hands on the pulse of America. For more than ten years, the alternative, indie singer-songwriter has been a staple in an ever-changing music industry. With his Edwin McCain Band, he has tour relentlessly to every section of the country’s population
with adoring fans and standing ovations. “Solitude” was featured and included in the soundtrack of the 2004 film, A Cinderella Story.
Edwin’s single, “Hold Out a Hand,” which was co-written and performed with singer/songwriter Maia Sharp, is available for a 99¢ download on iTunes.com with all the profits benefiting relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Known throughout his music career for his long hair, McCain recently shaved his head prior to an appearance at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach. It was soon discovered afterwards, that he donated his hair to Locks of Love. “Edwin makes you feel good about yourself,” Eileen Mattingling, a long time fan told us. “It’s in his music, his life and his actions. You ‘Could Not Ask For More’!”
I f there were some formula, some mystical algorithm floating around somewhere out there in the space-time continuum that promised to create the ideal musician and artist, Edwin McCain would be it. Not only lyrically and musically talented, Edwin is also the kind of passionate humanitarian that it’s a real shame we don’t see more in today’s celebrities.
He was born and raised in small town Greenville, South Carolina. Like a lot of rural southern kids, Edwin was introduced to music through the church at a young age. “I had a great choir director that taught me how to sing. Once that bug bit me, it was pretty much over. It was a done deal after that,” he says. A lifetime dedication to music is a testament to that fact.
While his entrance into the world of music was natural and supportive, it wasn’t always as easy for Edwin to follow his own musical interests. He played in bands in high school, but didn’t seriously consider pursuing the craft as a vocation, despite making some money on the side. “The possibility hadn’t escaped me, but my father made me promise that I’d never be a musician.”
At first glance, it may seem that small-town conservatism was behind Edwin’s father’s motivation concerning his wishes for his son. Further scrutiny reveals a love and concern of a father for a son, in a world that Edwin’s dad was all too familiar with. “He played in a few big bands in college and was around a lot of musicians. At that time and place, many, many people were enamored with Charlie Parker’s playing. Unfortunately, everyone thought that the way to play like Charlie was to do drugs like Charlie. A lot of good folks got tangled up in heroin and I think my father was afraid that a similar fate would await me out on the road.” A concern that is certainly all too valid in today’s pop culture society.
Edwin’s dad wanted him to be a good student and leave the guitar at home. “I went to college without any thought of playing music for a living. But truth be told,” he says wistfully, “it’s the only thing I was ever really good at.” Edwin sort of just fell back into playing.
It wasn’t long after he landed a gig at a little restaurant called San Miguel’s in Charleston, SC that things really started to pick up. “I started playing down there myself and making some money. A friend of a friend showed me how to book my own gigs and watch after my own money. I went out there and started playing as many shows as I could get my grubby little hands on. At one point I was playing ten shows a week. Man, was I busy.”
Edwin freely admits to the tension between he and his father once word started to spread about his new hobby. “I got the big letter where he cut me off and told me if I was going to do this, I would be on my own. They still loved me, but I was officially cut loose. It was a good thing though. It made me work harder and it made me realize I actually had to go out and achieve or sink.” A lot of people in a similar situation might have been “scared straight” by the possible enormity of the consequences involved, but Edwin says his reaction was just the opposite. “I was so happy just to be out in the world and doing my own thing and not having to go to school anymore.”
Edwin’s musical style is something that truly makes him stand out from the vast array of performers out there. Like all of our most outstanding singer/songwriters, Edwin’s style is a unique melding of the traditional musical roots of his family and more contemporary tunes of an older sibling. “Obviously you pick up things your parents listen to. They listened to a lot of Bing Crosby and big band as well. My sister ended up really being a bigger influence on me than anyone else. Her music was Earth, Wind & Fire, Tower of 
Power, The Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye and a lot of the Motown stuff.” So far, you may see the unique ingredients forming that created Edwin’s own musical flavor. We’ve got Bing and the big bands, soul and Motown. One more key influence on Edwin helps give him the originality that allows him to sound unlike anyone else.
“My uncle, Marion Boatwright, was one of the leading authorities on Eastern Appalachian Folk music. He studied, archived and collected huge amounts of this music while he was at UNC Chapel Hill. All of these factors created a really weird amalgam of the Motown and Soul music influencing me, combined with this precursor to bluegrass music mixed in. It’s a really gritty type of folk music. These two vastly different influences make me what I am today. If you hear us play, the way I sing is very much in the style of soul music, but the way I write songs and the content I use is very storytelling and very esoteric. The method is very derivative of all folk music. It follows many of the same patterns. It is a strange little marriage of styles we have going on here.”
It didn’t take long for the buzz to start spreading once Edwin was in the swing of things. A truly exceptional performer willing to work hard can be rare in the rural southeast, but Edwin knew dedication, hard work and talent could get him there, as it did with those before him. Starting small and with a dogged dedication to touring, Edwin’s first and most prolific stop was the college market. “At the time, the fraternities and sororities were the ones paying the bills,” he jokes. “In the early days we (Edwin often traveled with other musicians and crew) lived in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill triangle. We would play as many gigs as we could around Duke, NC State and Chapel Hill until we could make enough money to afford to go to bigger markets that were farther away to spread the buzz.”
Edwin made his mark in the college market and knew he was on the right track. “We knew we could make it in the college market by working hard and playing good shows. That was the way Dave Matthews did it and so did Hootie and The Blowfish. We sort of followed their lead, which created a foundation for us to make a national network for our music.”
Edwin still performs in the college market when the opportunities arise, but he honestly admits that time has shifted his appeal and his focus. “I am not as relevant in the college market today as I once was. When I was in my twenties, I was a college kid playing for college kids. My audience has grown up and I play different venues now. I am a parent now. I play venues that start at 7 o’clock instead of midnight. I still play outdoor festivals and shows at the colleges, but the days of me playing until the wee hours of the morning in a college bar are pretty much over.”
Edwin’s main strides now have come in areas that are of special interest to the readers of this magazine. From corporate functions and private events to performing arts theatres and special celebrity functions, Edwin has the look, sound, reputation and appeal, which are perfect for our readers.
“I do a TON of corporate work. From Gulfstream to GlaxoSmithKline, I have done performances for more corporate clients than I can remember.” From the NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL all the way to NASCAR, you name it, Edwin has probably done it. “I do a ton of private events for the NASCAR drivers. I just sang at Bill France’s (creator of NASCAR) funeral. I do so many functions, from National Anthem events to the intimate private storyteller cocktail parties.”
Edwin has done any kind you can imagine for all sorts of groups and is well aware of how widely each performance may need to vary from the next. “It all depends on what the client’s needs are. I have done huge corporate events with a full orchestra backing me for Toyota and I have done the 15 person coffee shop circle sit down on the back of a private yacht in the Azores for Dale Earnhardt before he passed away. I have done pretty much every gig you can possibly imagine. I have even done gigs with no power or sound, just me and a guitar on top of a cooler at the beach.
Edwin says while a lot of performers may just pack in and out of their gigs, he loves performing for corporate and special events as much for the opportunity to see new people and things as to play his music. “I get a glimpse into how someone else’s business works. I did the ACE awards through Peter Jacobsen’s company PJP and I got a chance to sit with all these high level insurance agents and get a perspective on how their industry works. I really didn’t know anything about it. When I did an event for Gulfstream I got to see the planes and meet the pilots which was really exciting.” Being an amateur pilot himself, this was especially exciting for the musician.
He says one of his greatest pleasures in doing shows for the corporate markets is the audiences he knows he can look forward to. Aside from the somewhat strange sensation of occasionally performing for a crowd full of formal evening wear (something Edwin surely didn’t see before the corporate market), he says the attentiveness and respect he gets from these groups is quite relaxing and reassuring. “The difference in corporate events is that everyone is having a great time. When you deal with the general public, there is quite often a wild card situation. There is always a crazy person in the audience or someone who is drunk and screaming or going bonkers. While you learn to deal with this over time, it can still be off-putting. In corporate and association settings, everyone is very kind, respectful and calm.”
One feature of the entertainer’s personality that shows a prevailing maturity and wisdom perfect for these venues is his ability to recognize and accommodate different types of groups. “A real challenge for me is how to play each and every different event. Sometimes I am asked to be the main attraction and outwardly be the entertainer and show master for the event. In other cases, it is better for me to be optional. I may be
playing off to one side of the event and when people want to come over and engage me and hang out and listen to music they can. When they want to go back to get some food and mingle that’s fine as well. Sometimes it is hard for entertainers to know (or admit) when to do which. I have a lot of fun figuring it out, as well as making sure the songs and material I present are appropriate for anyone who is watching me.”
His focus is right where it should be for every event. “I ask myself at every function I play, ‘How can I be most accommodating? How can I be the easiest part of this event?’ When meeting planners and producers look back on the event, I want them to say ‘Wow, Edwin McCain was the least stressful and most helpful part of this event!’ That is my goal. I show up an hour ahead of time, I may play longer than they expected, I talk to anyone who wants to see me after and then I’m out of their hair.” Edwin completely understands that the entertainment portion of the event can be the make or break of the entire day.
Edwin is also a staunch supporter of pre-show audience research. “The worst thing you can do is to not know your audience. If I am playing in front of a crowd, I want to be careful to avoid topics that could spark a debate. I don’t want to try and deliver a political message in front of an international crowd. After the show is over, people will talk. You don’t want to be the cause of tension over a controversial topic just to make a point. It is just as important as keeping a show G-rated for clients because there will be children in the audience. It’s a very crucial point to consider.”
With all the freedom and satisfaction he gets by being able to perform so many corporate functions, Edwin is also able to refocus his energy on another thing that truly matters to him, which is giving back.
Edwin does a lot of public service. In this respect, he is the role model that every entertainer should be. By design and by luck, entertainers are some of our highest profile members of society and as such should be held to a higher standard than we have seen recently. Role models and heroes are what they should be, not criminals and drug addicts. Edwin McCain is an example many could learn from.
From a young age he had trouble in school due to learning disabilities and speaks to kids on the subject of overcoming their problems and making the most of the talents they have. “The idea of being able to say that I have lived a very colorful and blessed life does not exclude me from working in service and doing good things, especially in the case of kids with learning disabilities. I was severely dyslexic and learning disabled and it was really hard for me growing up. For me to be able to go to these special schools and talk to these kids is dear to me. I can say to them ‘Look, it’s hard now and maybe it seems like there is something different about you. Well, there is, but it’s a good ‘different.’ You can take what is different about you and capitalize on it and do great things.’ It is just a matter of finding the things you do well and working hard at those things.”
He speaks to corporations about getting their members involved with public service, something anyone in the position to do so certainly should. He has built homes for low-income families. Edwin regularly works with the Make-A-Wish Foundation for terminal children. He personally funds a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in his hometown of Greenville. “As much as I love playing, I think that at the end of the day what we are for each other is really in service to one another. I think the better part of our nature is in our ability to help others. To reach out and leave our communities in better shape than we found them.”
Edwin McCain is one of the most significant ways you can impact your next audience. From a performer in the national spotlight on radio and special guest appearances on television programs like the Dr. Phil show, Edwin McCain is one of the most inspirational artists and truest humanitarians that you could consider for your next event.
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Cass Scripps
Metro Talent Group
770-395-1000