Jack's Mannequin

He may be a star now, but back in the day, Andrew McMahon had to haul his piano into the basement of the former Nile Theater in Mesa just like the rest of them. "I've definitely got a lot of good memories from Phoenix," McMahon says, remembering the Valley as...

By Nicki Escudero

February 11, 2010

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He may be a star now, but back in the day, Andrew McMahon had to haul his piano into the basement of the former Nile Theater in Mesa just like the rest of them. "I've definitely got a lot of good memories from Phoenix," McMahon says, remembering the Valley as one of the early markets to support his band Something Corporate. The singer is playing much bigger venues now, with his current pop rock project, Jack's Mannequin. The band is set to start recording a third album this year. While the group's going strong now, the fate of Jack's Mannequin wasn't always so solid — in 2005, McMahon was diagnosed with leukemia. He made a full recovery and has moved on from his battle with the disease, now focusing his writing on his day-to-day life experiences, especially his relationship with his wife. "It's definitely been a much freer writing experience because I've cleared the deck of all that drama," McMahon says. The drama may be gone, but McMahon is still sharing insight into what he went through with a documentary of his recovery, Dear Jack. The film, released late last year, has been shown across the country. But enough sad stuff — on their current tour, McMahon says fans can expect an energetic performance of Jack's Mannequin hits, as well as some B-sides fans have requested.

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