Corporate man: McMahon rocks out with Tommy Lee
By KELLY WILSON
Get Out

Something Corporate lead singer and pianist Andrew McMahon recently spent some time with someone surprising — Mötley Crüe's notorious drummer Tommy Lee. The artists collaborated on a couple of different projects.

“We share a manager, so he asked me to come in and do some writing with him,’’ the 22-year-old singer says of Lee and his new album, which will feature several of their collaborations. “I did some things on the production end as well, and that was a lot of fun. In turn, Tommy came and played drums on my side project record, which was amazing.’’ So what was it like working with the heavy-metal bad boy?

“He's such a notorious character, but the truth is that he's about the sweetest, coolest, nicest human being you can imagine,’’ McMahon says of Pamela Anderson's on-again, off-again flame. “He just loves music. I know it seems like an odd pairing that we would work together on anything, but he and I just get along great and have a lot of fun working together. ... I wasn't really sure what to expect. We ended up developing a really cool rhythm.’’

When asked if the two will tour together anytime soon, McMahon says they have joked about it.

“Since he plays drums on most of the side project I did, I'm hoping that one day that will happen even if it means he comes out and does a cameo at some gig in LA or something. But there's not any plans in the works as of yet.’’

McMahon is currently in the midst of a whirlwind tour with his own SoCal pop-punk act, supporting their sophomore album, “North,” which was released in 2003.

“Things have gotten so exciting on tour and so good,’’ he says. “It shocks us that we've had ‘North’ out for a year and a half and the demand for the band on the road has been greater than ever. And strangely enough, we're still selling a decent amount of records every week, which to me indicates that there are still a lot of new people still finding out about the band.’’

McMahon credits the album with helping the group — whose sunny songs include “Punk Rock Princess,” “I Woke Up In a Car” and “Drunk Girl” — get out of a rut.

“This album is a little darker,’’ McMahon says of “North,” which includes the single “Space.” “When we made that album, it was a very confused and dark time in general for us.”

McMahon says the group is looking forward to returning to Arizona this week, where they hope to catch up with old friends such as KEDJ (103.9 FM) operations director Nancy Stevens.

“Nancy Stevens is a huge supporter of the band,’’ McMahon says. “She's kind of like our family on the road when we go out there.’’

Something Corporate
With: Straylight Run, Armor For Sleep, Academy
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe
How much: $10
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