| Scott
McKenna,
by Melissa
Evanko
Scott McKenna will not be having the typical summer of an
eighteen-year old. Instead of wasting the days having fun
in the sun he will touring to support his new album "You
Feel No Pain." In an exclusive interview for "The
Stage" McKenna sat down to talk with us about his new
release and his connection to the Badlees.
Scott McKenna is a native of Allentown PA. In addition to
being a vocalist, he also plays guitar. McKenna’s passion
for music came form his father, Bill who plays the drums.
McKenna’s first guitar was a Christmas present that
he received from his parents when he was thirteen.
The song that McKenna performed on "The Stage" was
"You Feel No Pain" the title track from his upcoming
album. This song made the cut because it is McKenna’s
favorite song.
June 6th is the release date for "Feel no Pain"
which features lots of straightforward guitar driven tracks
and strong vocals. McKenna’s first CD "Beginnings"
consisted of cover songs. This release is the opposite, with
all original music. McKenna feels this as a natural progression
of his music.
Saturation
Acres, located in Danville, PA is where McKenna went to record
his album. To give a little history, Saturation Acres is the
brainchild of 2 Badlees members, Bret Alexander and Paul Smith.
The material required a full band, so members of the Badlees
stepped in. The experience, McKenna sums up as "having
the chance to work with phenomenal musicians."
When he plays out, McKenna still has some cover songs in his
repertoire. His theory is that "you have to add the new
songs in slowly." With the Lehigh Valley music scene
McKenna feels that "what people want to hear is songs
they know." One day he would like to play with a band,
but now it is easier to find places to play as a solo artist.
To support his new release, McKenna will be going on a min-tour.
In July he will be playing the Outer Banks region, and in
August he will be in Texas.
Along with the expression of lost love, some of the songs
on the album have a spiritual feel, something close to McKenna’s
heart. He was brought up in a spiritual home and carries with
him many of these values.
When
it comes to writing songs, McKenna has an interesting approach.
For him, the music comes before the lyrics. "It’s
hard to plan to write songs. Nothing ever comes out when you
try to plan." McKenna feels it easier to sing to get
a point across, being able to deliver more through music than
plain words.
McKenna
tends to write about universal things for his tunes. Quick
to point out that he doesn’t write about himself, especially
the relationship songs. McKenna sums it up as "writing
songs about watching other people." Although, soon enough,
the one that people will be watching will be him.
Watch
the exclusive acoustic performance of 'You Feel
No Pain'
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