Jacksmannequin's Journals

DEAR JACK IN STORES TODAY

The long awaited "Dear Jack" film is in-stores and via digital download now at iTunes.

Also, This musical companion to the Dear Jack film, the Dear Jack EP featuring four previously unreleased tracks: “Dear Jack,” “Diane, the Skyscraper,” “There, There Katie,” and “Swim (Music Box).” is now available exclusively through iTunes

MAKING OF SWIM MUSIC VIDEO

Head over to AOL RED today to watch the exclusive making of the video for Jack's Mannequin's new single "Swim” from The Glass Passenger. The Steven Murashige (Incubus, The Ataris) directed clip was shot last month in Los Angeles and features friends, family and fans of the band. The song's message of hope and encouragement is reflected in artwork submitted by fans incorporating the word swim. Stay tuned for the official video premiere on Myspace next week!

SWIM MUSIC VIDEO AND MAKING OF LAUNCH

The brand new official video for “Swim,” directed by Steven Murahsige, has been completed and will debut next Tuesday, July 21st, on myspace.com/jacksmannequin.

Also premiering next week will be “The Making Of ‘Swim,” which will be viewable on AOL RED on Friday, July 17th, and features plenty of behind the scenes footage, interview and more. To view “The Making Of” visit http://bered.com on July 17th.

WANT TO BE IN THE NEW JACKS MANNEQUIN VIDEO?

Jack's Mannequin are creating a special music video for their powerful single "Swim" The lyrics, music and video are about keeping hope alive and growing in the difficult times that the world is now facing. The video is designed to inspire strength, courage and perseverance in the face of all obstacles.

The band will be shooting a music video for “Swim” in June and want fans' artwork in the video. Within the context of the song, the word “Swim” is used as a metaphor for “hope, perseverance, courage, determination and strength.” Andrew McMahon and the band are asking members of the fan community to create pieces of artwork that feature the word “Swim" and illustrate, in any way chosen, the meaning behind the word. They can be represented in an abstract or representational manner…any way the artist sees fit, in any medium the artist chooses!

Head over to JacksMannequin.com to find out all the submission details. Deadline is for all artwork is May 29th.

JACK'S MANNEQUIN TO TOUR US SHORTLY

Weâ�™re sure by now youâ�™ve heard that the Honda Civic Tour, that we were rumored to be on, has been cancelled. Rest assured weâ�™ll still be touring the US as soon as we wrap up a few international dates. Keep your eyes peeled to JacksMannequin.com for ticket information and presale info. Letâ�™s just say marking Feb. 6th on your calendar would be a good idea.

THE MAKING OF THE GLASS PASSENGER!

A few weeks ago we released a short â�œMaking of the The Glass Passenger" video for everyone in the official Jackâ�™s Mannequin street team, The Messengers - http://www.jacksmannequin.com/TGP/themessengers/. With more and more exclusives being added to The Messengers each week, we decided to let everyone take a look at this short clip from â�œThe Making of The Glass Passengerâ�. Come back to http://www.JacksMannequin.com on 8/19 to see the video!

The Glass Passenger

â�œMy past is my past and a lot of The Glass Passenger is about that,â� says Jackâ�™s Mannequin frontman Andrew McMahon, â�œbut itâ�™s also about trying to write myself out of it. This is a record about trying to get out from underneath something. I want people to receive the music for what it is and not have to contextualize it against my own personal battle.â�

That personal battle is the elephant in the room, so before we get to The Glass Passenger, the long-awaited second album from SoCalâ�™s pop-rock balladeers Jackâ�™s Mannequin, letâ�™s shove the pachyderm out of the way so we can move on, shall we?

The story goes like this: After his hard-working punk-pop quintet Something Corporate decided to take a break in the summer of 2004, McMahon found himself writing a batch of confessional piano-driven songs that explored his return home to Orange County and his attempt to reconnect with the people he had alienated when he left to tour with Something Corporate. With the help of several musician friends (which included producer Jim Wirt and MÃ¶tley CrÃ¼eâ�™s Tommy Lee), McMahon began recording Everything in Transit under the moniker Jackâ�™s Mannequin.

In June 2005, the day he finished mastering the last song, then 22-year-old McMahon was diagnosed with leukemia. He was forced to postpone all music-related activities and immediately undergo chemotherapy, which led to a bout with pneumonia that nearly killed him. Two months later, on August 23^rd, 2005, Maverick Records released the sardonic, sweetly melancholic Everything in Transit, which debuted at No. 37 on Billboardâ�™s Top 200 Albums chart and was well-received by both fans and critics. After going into remission following a stem-cell transplant from his sister, McMahon was able to make a full recovery. (His year-long journey is documented on Dear Jack, a raw, unflinching documentary he made about trying to release an album while battling illness.)

â�œThe Glass Passenger is not about recovering from cancer,â� McMahon says. â�œitâ�™s just about recovering. I was trying to use the music to sort through and reconcile with the adversity of my past.â� With music as his emotional release, McMahon was able to inject his songs with an uplifting positivity that engages everyone he meets. The albumâ�™s tone is set with the first single â�œThe Resolution,â� which is about accessing the positive, and continues through the moody, layered â�œSwimâ� (about fighting for the goodness in life at all costs), the feel-good sing-along â�œAmerican Love,â� and the propulsive â�œSpinning.â� McMahonâ�™s lush tenor voice and expressive piano playing underscore the lyricsâ�™ unabashed honesty. But while it is essentially autobiographical, The Glass Passenger is not meant to be interpreted as a direct description of McMahonâ�™s life, which is what makes it so universally powerful.

â�œI want to be able to relate to people when I write songs,â� McMahon says. â�œPart of whatâ�™s driven me to make music is this idea of connection; taking my experiences and writing about them honestly, but in such a way that someone in a completely different situation can still relate to them. I wanted to make a record that wasnâ�™t exactly about what I had seen, but what I had felt along the way.â�

Co-produced by Jim Wirt (who produced Everything in Transit and who has also worked with Incubus and Hoobastank), The Glass Passenger was written and recorded over the course of the last two years, during which time Jackâ�™s Mannequin embarked on several tours, including the 22-city â�œTour for the Cure,â� which raised more than $125,000 to benefit The Dear Jack Foundation â�” a non-profit organization founded by McMahon to fund cancer research. In 2007, the band made the rounds of the major summer festivals, including Summerfest and Lollapolloza, and contributed an inspired cover of John Lennonâ�™s â�œGodâ� (with Fleetwood Macâ�™s Mick Fleetwood on drums) to the charity CD Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur, which also featured such best-selling artists as U2, Green Day, and R.E.M. They also appeared at Coachella, the Bamboozle Festival, performed on the main stage of the Vans Warped Tour, and hit the road with Paramore over the summer.

McMahon could not be happier that The Glass Passenger is finally ready for the fans and everyone who supported him to hear. â�œThe completion of this album and its release represents the closing of a chapter,â� he says. â�œIt was a difficult time, but also one of immense hope. It was during this period that my music and my life were the most seamlessly bound together â�” a truth that makes this album's release far more pleasing for me than most could ever imagine.â�

JacksMannequin.com, Pre-Orders & TheGlassPassenger.com Have Launched!

The new JacksMannequin.com has launched!

Pre-order The Glass Passenger now and receive an instant gratification track titled â�œMiss Californiaâ� here.

Remember to mark your calendars now because on August 4th weâ�™re going to launch the first single from The Glass Passenger live from MySpace.com/JacksMannequin. Then on August 5th The Ghost Overground will be available for purchase exclusively on iTunes featuring new music from The Glass Passenger.

Finally, TheGlassPassenger.com experience is now live. We will be giving you one clue a day for fifteen days. On the fifteenth day solve the puzzle to be rewarded with an exclusive b-side you wont find anywhere else but here and a sneak peak inside â�œThe Glass Passengerâ�.

Win Jack's Mannequin's Autographed Mic from Warped!

Submit your best photos of any band members who perform at Warped Tour '08 using a microphone. Only one lucky winner will win the actual microphone that Jack's Mannequin frontman Andrew McMahon used throughout the Warped Tour. The deadline to enter is July 21, so get to it HERE

Andrew from Jack's Mannequin Best of 2007

Expect big things in 2008.

Top 10 Albums in 2007: (not in any particular order)

1. Tom Petty
Highway Companion (Special Edition)

2. Elliot Smith
New Moon

3. Tegan and Sara
The Con

4. Lucinda Williams
West

5. Treaty of Paris
Sweet Dreams, Sucker

6. The Shins
Wincing the Night Away

7. Stacy Clark
Apples & Oranges

8. Arcade Fire
Neon Bible

9. The Academy Is ...
Santi

10. Silverchair
Young Modern

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