FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 12, 2012
MICHAEL MCDERMOTT TO RELEASE HIT ME BACK IN SEPTEMBER
Chicago singer-songwriter Michael McDermott will be releasing his next album, Hit Me Back, on September 25, 2012, via Rock Ridge Music (with national distribution via ADA). It was produced by CJ Eiriksson (who engineered albums for U2 and Matchbox 20, as well as McDermott’s 2007 album Noise From Words).
For the first time in his recording career, McDermott is a father, a philanthropic entrepreneur, and has experienced the loss of an adored parent. All are major life changes which have found achingly honest expression in his songs. Hit Me Back also exudes McDermott’s trademark embrace of faith and hope in the face of adversity. The lyrics are, as always, uniquely evocative: McDermott sings in poetry; his tunes are literate story-songs. On the haunting “Ever After,” he offers the listener palpable insight into the jarring confusion and doubt felt in the days that followed his mother’s passing (in October 2011). The wryly observed title track puts a new spin on fighting a long-time nemesis, alcohol. His demon-banishing in “Scars From Another Life” is echoed in the love-is-redemption refrains of “Let It Go.” The exploration of temptation and bowing to its siren call is explored in the Americana-laced “A Deal With The Devil.”
It’s been quite a ride since McDermott’s talent for mature and lyrically dense songwriting caught the eye—and ear—of then-talent scout Brian Koppelman (now a screenwriter, novelist, director, and producer; best known as the co-writer of “Ocean’s Thirteen” and “Rounders”), who immediately signed him to Giant Records. His first album, 620 West Surf, boasted a Billboard Hot 100 charting single, (“A Wall I Must Climb”). Influenced by such musical giants as Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, McDermott continued to write introspective, character-driven songs that won him an enduring band of appreciative followers. McDermott released five more albums in the decade that followed—some with label distribution, others independently. Hit Me Back is the follow-up to 2009’s Hey La Hey. In the liner notes for McDermott’s self-titled album, bestselling author Stephen King wrote: “Michael McDermott is one of the best songwriters in the world and possibly the greatest undiscovered rock ‘n’ roll talent of the last 20 years.”
Through the years, he has played countless live shows and plans to tour heavily in support of the forthcoming album (see confirmed tour dates below; more will be forthcoming very soon). Fans in select cities had a special in June: McDermott played several new album preview shows in New York, Philadelphia, Freehold (NJ), and Chicago. For fans in Austin, McDermott is planning a residency at the Saxon Pub in September and October.
MICHAEL McDERMOTT TOUR SCHEDULE:
7/13/2012 Three Oaks, MI / The Acorn Theater (w/Callaghan)
7/21/2012 Marshfield, WI / Columbia Park
7/22/2012 Chicago, IL / Sheffield Garden Walk
8/25/2012 Rosemont, IL / Montrose Room (Album Release Celebration)
9/25/2012 Austin, TX / Saxon Pub
10/2/2012 Austin, TX / Saxon Pub
10/9/2012 Austin, TX / Saxon Pub
www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Mcdermott/31384295724?ref=ts
www.twitter.com/michaelmcdermot
For more information, please contact:
Krista Mettler / Skye Media & Rock Ridge Music