By ASHLEY BANKS
Copyeditor
Everyone has defining moments in his or her lives. For me, one of the most important of those moments was the discovery of Something Corporate.
I can still remember exactly where I was the first time I heard a Something Corporate song: sitting in the passenger seat of my older cousin’s car driving down Main Street in Acworth. The song was “Punk Rock Princess,” and even as a ten-year-old I felt a connection to the music coming through the speakers.
I had mostly forgotten about the song until a few weeks later I was on the search for the perfect song to play on my OpenDiary.com account. I clicked on a link, and heard the same song I had heard earlier. From then on, I was hooked. I couldn’t get enough of this band.
Something Corporate began in 1998 in Dana Point, California. Vocalist and pianist Andrew McMahon formed the band with bassist Kevin Page, guitarist Josh Parrington and drummer Brian Ireland.
The foursome started out by playing local high school battle of the bands shows and released a demo CD, “Ready…Break,” independently in 2000. McMahon’s talents as a pianist gave Something Corporate a unique sound that not many other bands managed to capture.
In 2001, guitarist William Tell joined the lineup, and the band was signed to Drive-Thru Records. They released their first EP, “Audioboxer,” which featured the single “If U C Jordan;” the music video aired on MTV thanks to the appearance of “American Pie” star Chris Owen.
2002 brought the band’s first full-length album, “Leaving Through The Window.” The album contained singles such as “I Woke Up In A Car,” and “Punk Rock Princess.”
In 2003 the band released their third and final album, “North.” The only single this album produced was “Space.”
During the summer of 2004, the band announced plans to go on a hiatus. The guys just wanted time to explore their interests outside of the band.
They reunited briefly in 2010 to release a “Best Of” CD, and go on a small reunion tour. The band hasn’t done any projects together as a band since then, but Andrew McMahon has built a very successful solo career since he ended his solo project, Jack’s Mannequin, in 2012.
McMahon now performs a mix of Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin songs when he performs or goes on tour, along with his newer songs that he has written as a solo artist.