Artist Profile: Chris McCann of My Other Axe

What is your earliest music memory?

Sitting on a picnic blanket at an outdoor B.B. King show

Where is your favorite place you've performed, and why?

Houses, back yards, jams. It helps me to feel like I'm more a part of people having fun, being on stage kind of separates you from everyone else.

Why did you start playing music?

I grew up with music on constantly and instruments in the house and my parents always encouraged my creativity. It was inevitable

What does your creation process look like?

I usually have a pile of unfinished lyrics and a pile of unfinished music. Songs happen when something from column A seem to match up with something from column B. You rework, add bits, remove bits, polish both until they fit snugly, and practice until it sounds good, then you have a song.

Talk about the strangest thing you've discovered about yourself through music

As a mandolin player I really, really love bass tones. Upright, electric, slap, synth, the low horns, it doesn't matter. I love those crunchy low-end sounds that are completely inaccessible on my instrument.

Who are some artists you admire? (Musical or otherwise)

Punch Brothers, Snarky Puppy, The Band, Julian Lage, Gorillaz, Michael Daves, Forq, my friends who are all out there doing their thing and making good music.

What's your secret special skill that nobody knows about?

When I shave I use a cut-throat razor.

If I could play anywhere, I'd play [location]

To a crowd on a mountain somewhere.

What inspires you?

SO many things. Good music, interesting technology, beautiful places. Friends, family, good books, anything that sticks with me can be inspiring.

Check out Chris's music HERE

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