Three Pianos
Princeton Architectural PressFrom beloved indie musician Andrew McMahon comes a searing, honest, and beautifully written memoir about his childhood and his career, told through the lens of his three pianos. The lead singer and songwriter for such bands as Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin grew up in Southern California as a talented child prodigy, learning to play piano and write songs at a very early age, stunning schoolmates and teachers alike with his gift for performing as well as his unique ability to emotionally connect with his audiences. But behind this incredible pop talent lurked a darker tale, a child dealing with a father prone to opioid addiction and a mother whose own fragility enabled a worsening situation for Andrew and his sister, Kate. Uprooting the family numerous times as a fallout of his own drug abuse, Andrew's father miraculously saved the one treasure that would keep his son connected to hope, creativity, and solace: the family piano. Told through the lens of his connection to three pianos-as a child, then as a newly established adult musician, and then as a father Three Pianos takes readers on a beautifully rendered and bittersweet American journey, one filled with hope, heartbreak and an unwavering commitment to shedding away our past in order to create a better future.