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o debut, he didn't know what kind of craziness he life was moving into. In this oral history video, McMahon recalls the stories that made his first record as Jack's Mannequin a true milestone. "I've always seen these records as time capsules," he says. "Once I step out of it, it becomes whatever it is in the culture of the fanbase. I'm glad I have a snapshot of what my life looked like before it got completely turned upside down. There's so much in my life that shifted during the making of 'Everything In Transit.' I was really grateful to find the time and the space to live it and write it down." Read more: Andrew McMahon announces more 'Everything In Transit' drive-in shows McMahon talks about leaving Something Corporate and being in "a scene I didn't really feel part of." He cites a recording session of two songs with producer Jim Wirt as the true beginning of Jack's Mannequin. While his professional life with SoCo had crumbled, his personal life was unraveling, as well. With no band or significant other to confide in, McMahon just wrote songs. And with influences as diverse as the Beach Boys, David Bowie and the Faint, his mindset was all over the place. However, the greatest takeaway he had from the record was more medical than musical. McMahon learned he had lymphoblastic leukemia and had to go through a stem cell transplant. It kept him from touring behind Transit immediately, but the fans still waited ardently for him. "I think the record itself had such a point of view," McMahon says. "Kind of heartbroken, but there was still this element of hope in the song arrangements that made you dance while you felt that thing. Add this layer of me getting sick in the middle of it, and I think it shined a light on the culture that had come out of Something Corporate era. Which was really good-natured fans. People who were showing up to shows that wanted to be a part of something. Getting into rooms to emote together and sweat and just shake off whatever the craziness of growing up in the world feels like. Read more: Andrew McMahon is playing 'Everything In Transit' in full at a drive-in "I think all those elements combined to make this rad little army of music lovers and fans of the album that really did bond together. A lot of it felt like it was rooted in this other love and support with what I was going through. In my mind, it just deepened the culture of my music and my fanbase. Because I felt it. There was just that energy around it that we all felt. That's a one in a million thing that a lot of artists don't get to experience. It was wrapped up in a lot of trauma for me. But it was also really healing and helped me get better." Make sure to Subscribe! And tap the bell so you NEVER miss a video: https://bit.ly/2LOLGK5 Visit AltPress – https://www.altpress.com/ FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/altpress/ TWITTER – https://twitter.com/altpress/ INSTAGRAM – https://www.instagram.com/altpress/ GET OUR NEWEST ISSUE – http://altpress.com/newissue ANDREW McMAHON TWITTER - https://twitter.com/andrewmcmahon/ ANDREW McMAHON INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/amnthewilderness/ ANDREW McMAHON FACEBOOK - @cmahonmusic/ #AP #AltPress #AlternativePress #APTV #AndrewMcMahon #JacksMannequin #SomethingCorporate #AndrewMcMahonInTheWilderness #OralHistory #EverythingInTransit #DarkBlue #TheMixedTape #OneTreeHill #Emo #AltRock #Bruised #ImReady #Albumsfrom2005 #2005 #Anniversary