“The relationship between the creator and the listener is the key thing to me. As a music fan, I don’t give a shit about how I find music, only if the music touches me in some way. Just like Merle Haggard or Run DMC has in my life. I only want to get the music as easy to people as possible, without [having to] kiss arse or bow down to unethical and/or un-credible people,” says McHugh.
Leaving behind The Beautiful Girls moniker as a promotional means has been a freeing process for McHugh. “[The band] would rarely demo the songs. I had all the parts, the beats, the bass lines all worked out on an eight-track. But I never committed to recording the final version and I’d say, ‘I’ll let the band fill in the gaps’. It would get so far down the line before I’d say, ‘I’m just going to play it myself’.”
This, in turn, allowed McHugh to indulge his widely unreported perfectionism, in the studio. “To me, a recording is like a carefully constructed work of art. Interpreting myself in the most undiluted way possible, is the basis of my creative life,” says McHugh, naming Prince as an idol of his in this regard.
McHugh says despite the varying circumstances of releasing both of his solo albums, 2008’s Seperatista and 2012’s Love Come Save Me for free download on his website, saying ‘thank you’ to his loyal fan base over the past decade was a common thread.
“[Seperatista] was more of an outlet from The Beautiful Girls. There were no expectations, except to have fun with friends. Love Come Save Me was more of a thank you to all of the people who have supported me throughout my career. I wanted to give back to those people, which is important to me,” he says.
McHugh adds that he was approached to release Love Come Save Me under The Beautiful Girls moniker, but quickly shot the idea down. “The year behind the process was really a thank you to everyone who’s ever supported me.” It was a no brainer for him. “It was going to be mine and it was going to be released for free,” adding that this is the only way he wants to do it from now on.
McHugh is readying the release of his first live album with new band, The Seperatista Soundsystem. Titled Live At Random Hall 2013, the album is made up of performances of the band’s first 20 shows, which took place around the cusp of the new year. “It’s something we tried to do with The Beautiful Girls for a decade, it never happened,” he says.
Most musicians can relate to YouTube and other social media outlets in creating a more personable fan-to-artist relationship. I quizzed McHugh about a young fan who left a touching comment on a clip of the title track of Love Come Save Me during his MoBoogie Rooftop Session somewhere in Denver, along the lines of “listened to your music, I found a dream”. He felt nothing but humbled. “Above all things, I am a music fan and I know what it means to be touched by a song. Songs have been my best friends, my teachers – not necessarily those who make it. It relates to the human condition. We’re all just here, for god knows reason trying to make sense of it all and the more connected we all are, the easier it makes our lives.”
With the upcoming release of Live At Random Hall 2013, McHugh feels he’s made the first step towards a new record. “I’m finishing up the first song off the new record, maybe today or tomorrow. There’s always a song that’s a signpost to the record. Once you hit that song, it really dictates the feel of the work from then on it. It’s been interesting following the songs’ little idiosyncrasies for the past week or two. I think this could be that signpost.”
McHugh’s work ethic is refreshing, and necessary, especially with the daily commitment of fatherhood. His schedule can be pretty tied up with his two-year-old son, but to McHugh, he’s nothing less than a miracle. “You don’t really have much time to stuff around doing superfluous things. It helps you make stronger decisions, and not waste time on a shitty song. It’s inspiring because you’re staring at a miracle every day. If that’s not inspiring, what is?”
BY MATT PETHERBRIDGE
