Listening to songs like the first single, “Billionaire,” a rum-soaked Carribbean fantasy about rubbing shoulders with “Oprah and the Queen” that features young upstart Bruno Mars, who has since gone on to have a huge number one with
does instinctively: going out clubbing, for example. But fans of McCoy know that the soul-baring you’ll find in many of his lyrics is anything but stereotypical.
“I’m a pretty reclusive person,” McCoy admits. “And I realized that I was spending a lot of time in my house, just dwelling on
“Basically, I didn’t wanna make another 808s and Heartbreaks”
‘Just the way you are’. Standing 6 foot 5, with equally towering charisma and an enviable collection of tattoos, “Travie” - as friends and family have always
affectionately called him - has been one of music’s most instantly-identifiable figures since Gym Class Heroes burst into the mainstream in 2007 with their #1 hit, ”Cupid’s Chokehold” off their Gold-cer- tified breakthrough album, As Cruel As School Children. Given his high visibility, and equally high quotability, it might seem strange to imagine that the rebirth of Lazarus actually involved doing the things we imagine your average rock star
sh@t. And sitting in my apartment and thinking about all these things and writing songs, there was a point where my friends just said, ‘You need to get the f--- out of the house.’ And not that I became this party monster or anything, but I was getting out of the house and surrounding myself with friends,” he laughs. “And the more I got out, the more I started having fun. “That’s when a lot of these records started coming out of me.”
Blending elements of hip-hop, indie rock and soul that reflect his own eclectic musical tastes, McCoy enlisted the services of an equally diverse range of producers he’d admired from afar – a list that included Los Angeles-based trio the Stereotypes (Ne-Yo, Mary J.
Blige); Detail (Lady GaGa, Akon); the Smeezingtons (B.O.B., Cobra Starship, Flo Rida); Evan “Kidd” Bogart (Adam Lambert, Beyonce); Lucas Secon (Sean Kingston, Pussycat Dolls); and rock veteran Josh Abraham (Velvet Revolver, 30 Seconds to Mars).
Recording for Lazarus took place in Los Angeles and McCoy’s new hometown of Miami. After years living in New York City, he found the move to Miami a lot more relaxing, ’.. but I get a lot more done,” he offers. “And there’s a lot of creative people. When you’re around that type of crowd, it really pushes you.“
One of those creative Floridians and a proven hit maker, the top-hatted T-Pain, provided McCoy with some invaluable feedback to the new songs, and even appears on one of the tracks, “Manual.” “We got to know each other when my band toured with him last year. He’s got a spot in Miami too, so I got in the habit of showing him the stuff I was working on. Because if he starts dancing, I’m onto something,” McCoy says with a laugh.
The more time McCoy spent enjoying Florida, friends and after-hours fun, the more he realized that his dark-hued draft of Lazarus would require a near-complete rebirth of its own. The turning point came after recording the
aforementioned “Billionaire” and “Dr. Feel Good,” a funky showcase for Gnarls Barkley singer Cee-Lo Green, and a tune that might just be the most uplifting track McCoy has yet written.
“It’s just a totally feel good song,” says McCoy, still sounding stoked. “Working with Cee-Lo was amazing. The second he comes in, your neck just starts jerkin’. And I’m not even saying that because it’s my song!”
With those tracks in the can, “I finally realized, ‘This is the lane I wanna be in’,” says McCoy.
The positive vibe continues on numbers like “After Midnight,” a classic kissoff to a 9-to-5
“... I came out of the cave too. With a big-ass smile on my face!”
4 5 No v embe r 2 0 1 0 K i x Ma g
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76