"Colored With Nostalgia" : An Interview With Cameron McGill

Story by Mitch McCann 

| Published Jan 18, 2011

For better or worse, Cameron McGill is the embodiment of the modern music scene. Despite being one of the most renowned local musicians in Chicago, he’s forced to foot the bill, and essentially cobble together albums all on his own, doing anything and everything to get his music out to the masses.

He is most often seen playing as the frontman of his band “Cameron McGill and What Army”, but depending on what day of the week it is, you could also see him producing albums for other musicians, performing solo acoustic sets, or lending a hand to indie darlings Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s..

McGill, never slowing, always determined, and forever ambitious will let nothing and no one keep him from making the music he wants to make. A modern day Neil Young with a genuine voice and kind demeanor, Cameron McGill reminds us of what it means to be a stalwart gentleman in one of the most uncertain times in human history.



Dailyer: For our readers who are unaware of your music, would you like to give us a few words on your travels, tunes and misadventures thus far?

Cameron McGill: Misadventures? Too many to count, unless you count bad band deals, crooked managers, lawyers fees, fair-weather friends, crippling debt and bodily harm. Some of the songs may or may not be about any of that. Some have a general and some a quite specific tenderness. Like “Loose Tooth” from the Deserters EP; that is tender and hateful, both generally and specifically. I like traveling and tunes though, and that's really the only requirement.

We have been out on the road most of 2010 between ‘Margot’ [and the Nuclear So and So’s] and ‘Cameron McGill & What Army’; guess it's been five tours this year. In between those ‘the Army’ has been working on our fifth full-length record, and we released the “Deserters” EP in September. Got an adventure coming up; heading to Los Angeles to play a Gift Horse Project concert for the kiddos, benefiting the Art of Elysium.

DerN: You’re originally from Champaign, IL, but you currently reside in Chicago, is that right? How has your hometown and your time in the “windy city” made its way into your music?

McGill: Yes that is correct. I grew up in Champaign, though didn't come into my own musically until I had long left. I don't get back there very often, except for shows once in a while. Champaign has always had a vibrant music scene, especially when I was growing up; with Hum, Menthol, Adam Schmitt, Titanic Love Affair, and Poster Children. There were always plenty of good shows to go to. Where you are from always has a way of stitching itself into parts of your songs. So much of how you felt about growing up, about family, or making friends, or feeling left out, etc, all informs the way you look back; whether its colored with nostalgia or regret or some fierce combination of the two, which is usually how it works for me.

I have lived in Chicago for nearly 12 years now, and I am quite sure it is time for a change. I had felt this way years ago, but re-fell in love with the city thanks in no small part to [Chicago poet] Carl Sandburg. I'm certain there is nothing wrong with Chicago, just my place in it. In the course of making records, convincing people to travel and record for not much money, and commit their time and lives, eventually good will and graces get used up, even if you try to keep it honest and true. There is either some magic I haven't learned, or I am just not as good of a person as I hope I am.

DerN: I see that you’ve toured/worked with quite a few other musicians. Would you consider yourself more at home touring and recording solo or with a band?

McGill: Solo and on the move.

DerN: It seems as though you spent a hefty amount of time solely with Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s...

McGill: I started playing with ‘Margot’ in early 2009, when we began rehearsing a group of songs, some of which would appear on “Buzzard”. Since then, yes it has been a hefty amount of time. I had never seriously considered joining another band, but when Richard asked me if I would play keys, I really didn't have to think about it.

DerN: What place, if any, would you say you have in Margot's sound or vice versa?

McGill: I was friends with the band and was a fan of Richard's songwriting long before I played on “Animal!”. We had played quite a few shows together over the years, and I felt close to their songs, so joining them in the studio and on stage, felt as natural to me as something new might ever be. If I do have a place, it's to serve the songs, with keyboard parts and harmonies and when playing them, to be faithful to the previously recorded material.

DerN: How would you compare the experiences of playing in ‘Margot’ with those of your band ‘What Army’ or your other projects?

McGill: Since I front my band, it's a completely different experience on stage; playing a support role instead of carrying the show. I like doing both. Works different muscles I guess.

DerN: I’m not one to compare bands, so are there any artists you like to use as influences or model yourself after either in songwriting, in the studio, etc.?

McGill: Harry Nilsson.

DerN: I saw a little tidbit on your website back on 'Good Old November 2nd' urging your fans to get out and vote, and it got pretty deep just in those few short sentences, do you feel politics heavily influences your music or personality?

McGill: Guess I don't have enough fans then...I do consider politics when writing certain songs. Not so much politics in terms of pundits or cable news chatter, but in terms of the real-life implications of policy. You can direct your heart to many things, and it's hard to imagine people directing it to the misfortune of others. But that's what we fight against. If you don't vote, you simply give people your voice. And why give people your voice if you don't trust it in their mouth? If you are a human being living in the real world, then yes politics should and will inform a part of your art. How transparent you make it depends on the writer.

DerN: So how do you feel about the way the election turned out?

McGill: I feel upset and embarrassed about America's apparent willingness to accept regression and bigotry as a viable way of sustaining our country. Also lucky that it was only the mid-terms; we have two years to re-energize the left.

DerN: I didn’t hear much of it at the concert, but you’re typically attributed an ‘indie, alternative country’ vibe... is that something you strive for?

McGill: Yes, in all areas of my life...indie/alternative country to the core. Says it on my state ID.

DerN: How do you think you stumbled into that genre or way of playing your music?

McGill: I have played many types of songs with varied lineups over the years, loud three-piece rock bands, string quartets, etc. I had in the past done quite a few solo acoustic shows. Once a certain description is attributed to you, it can be difficult to shake, especially in Chicago, even if your recent material is unrelated to the misnomer. I only ever wanted to craft good songs. If some of them are alt-countryesque, so be it.

DerN: ...and how about the new album “Is A Beast”, can you tell us about it?

McGill: Yes, am very excited about finishing this record. The band and I started it last November in Milwaukee, WI. It's quite different from our last full-length, “Warm Songs for Cold Shoulders”; a more drastic approach to the songs. For the most part, all the songs were learned for the first time for the recording. We had not played but one of the fifteen songs live prior to recording them. In some ways I felt like we had no preconceived idea about what the songs had to sound like, so we could feel free to try a different approach to the arrangements and production. I think it's our best sounding record by far.

DerN: How does it stand compared to your previous work?

McGill: It feels the most live of all of my recordings. To me it has the best band and tones that we've gotten together in the studio as well. Due in no small part to engineer Justin Perkins at ‘Mystery Room’ in Milwaukee, who gave so much to make this record and the just released “Deserters” EP possible. Guess folks will decide how it stands compared to previous work, or they won't.

DerN: Your music feels like a story, but only for those willing to listen...would you say that’s true?

McGill: Yes, but I am really going for a book of Raymond Carver short stories...

DerN: Whether you ‘hit the big time’ or not, how would you like to see your music go down in history?

McGill: I can't think of it that way right now. I can tell you that I haven't done it yet.

To donate to Cameron's cause, Kickstarter, or the Gift Horse Project - visit cameronmcgill.com