Names&Faces: Scranton singer-songwriter releases album 'What I Want to Hear'
Aug. 1—When Jordan McGuire got his first drum set, he already knew how to play thanks to his time spent jamming out on the video game Rock Band.
He then traded the console for the real thing and never looked back. Eventually, he picked up playing guitar and began writing his own music. His album "What I Want to Hear" dropped July 29 and is available on all streaming platforms. He'll also be selling a limited number of physical CDs at his live shows.
McGuire recently went On the Record to talk about his musical beginnings, his new album and where fans can catch him playing live.
Q: Tell us about yourself.
A: My name is Jordan McGuire and I am a singer/songwriter from Scranton. I grew up playing baseball and eventually stumbled into music. I started playing drums on this video game called Rock Band. My dad eventually took me to get a drum set out of the Paper Shop and he had no idea I already knew how to play them. When I went to college at Penn State, I couldn't take my drums with me so I got a guitar and started learning how to play from YouTube videos. I didn't really think much would come from it other than something fun to do, but as I got better, I started to write. I found that time would fly by and I had a feeling this was a career I really wanted to pursue.
Q: Describe your style of music.
A: I'd call my music style pop with a little bit of indie and alternative splashed in there. I definitely try to have a singer/songwriter feel with lyrics you might want to listen back through a second time to catch. I try for every song to have a little something that will get stuck in your head.
Q: How long have you been performing?
A: I've been performing for about two years now as a solo acoustic act, just me and the guitar. I did play trombone in the middle school band though if that counts!
Q: What can we expect to hear on your album?
A: I grew up listening to plenty of '90s and early 2000s VH1 and MTV music videos so I think there's a lot of nostalgia from that time mixed in with my dad's '70s rock from the car radio. You can expect to hear plenty of guitar and drums with a solid amount of storytelling. There's plenty of repetitive choruses that you'll be able to sing along with by the second time around.
Q: What was the songwriting process like for you?
A: I spent a solid year writing a song a day just with me and the guitar, so most of my songs come from a simple four-chord progression on the guitar and finding little melodies to hum until I can throw words in. After going at it for a while there started to be a couple songs where I was thinking, man these aren't half bad. Some days there would be a line from one song that would come out and you think, "Hey that could be good in this other one I already wrote," and eventually I got a solid 13-track story that I am very proud of!
Q: What do you really enjoy about this new music?
A: What I really enjoy about my music is the journey it's telling lyrically. I end up writing mostly about things that have happened to me, so once more and more of the songs started to really sound good, a little story was unfolding through the lyrics. It's fun for me to hear the songs back and remember what they started as and where they ended up. I have plenty of random voice notes on my phone that definitely do me dirty, but have the beginnings of what would become a lot of the songs on the album. Writing songs also helps me process what's going on in my head and clearing out the gunk if you will, so every time I get to go back and listen to each of these tracks I get to see how far I've come and that is a great feeling for me.
Q: What do you think listeners will enjoy?
A: Well I hope the listeners will like my voice! But I'm sure they will enjoy how different each of the songs are from each other and yet they still fit together, if that makes sense. You won't be listening to the same song over and over, and they each bring something new to the table.
Q: Will you perform anywhere to promote the album?
A: I recorded the whole album with Eric Ritter at Windmill Agency Recording Studios in Mt. Cobb. And on Friday, I will be playing at Ritter's Winery and Cidery, 1459 Mount Cobb Road, Lake Ariel, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Contact the writer:
570-348-9127; @gmazurTT on Twitter.
