Concert Fri Jul 31 2009

Concert Preview: Michael McDermott at Old Town

True story: Four years ago, for an article I was writing for a magazine writing class in college, I had the idea of pairing the experience of two Chicago-based bands/artists -- one up-and-coming, the other more established -- and comparing/contrasting their experiences. I followed around the Mannequin Men for the up-and-coming band, and struggled to figure out who to interview for the more established act. After a few rejections from artists who were "too busy" for an interview, I received a nice e-mail from local singer-songwriter Michael McDermott, who told me he'd be happy if I followed him around for a few weeks and asked him some questions.

This guy has got to be one of the most interesting and underrated artists in Chicago. He had some success in the early '90s with a record deal from Warner Brothers and the single "A Wall I Must Climb." But even after losing his major record deal, McDermott has kept releasing music on small indies and his own label, Pauper Sky Records. His new release, Hey La Hey, is now available to download via his Web site, and he'll be showcasing these new songs at a concert tonight at the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave. He hasn't leaked any of the songs on his MySpace page just yet, but based on his 20-plus years of songwriting experience, the album is bound to be filled with brooding Americana songs about life, love and oh, those uncontrollable personal demons.

When I spent a few weeks with him, I found him intelligent, grateful and full of stories. "There's a certain arrogance that comes along with being a performer," he told me. "You think you have something to say. You really don't." Lucky for us, McDermott remains humble but continues to say something with his records, despite foolish claims that he has nothing to say. Andy Downing also has a nice piece in today's Tribune about his work. Tickets for tonight's show are $18 and can be purchased online.

— Sheila Burt / Comments (0)