Twenty-six year old Paul McDonald has been around the block a time or two, playing in bands, trying to break into the business since 2006. In an interview with the Press Democrat conducted before the San Jose Idol concert, he talked about his attempt to school his fellow S10 Idols in the realities of the music business:
“I don’t know if they get it. I keep sticking it in their heads like guys this is a misbelief of what rock ’n roll is like. It’s not gonna be like this always. When a half-dozen of them are complaining I want to like shake em …
“We get to pretend like we are rock ’n roll stars for a summer. We are seeing what it’s like to play before thousands a night. After the show it won’t be like that unless you have like hit records. You don’t go from arenas and then back to arenas. You go back down to the club circuit and build your own name.
“I tell them to soak this all in cause you aren’t going to be cruising in six tour buses and a crew with catering. Normally you are loading in your own gear and hopping back in the van and cruising to the next city.”
Yep. He totally gets it. While Stefano Langone doesn’t want to become the next Lee DeWyze, Paul understands that when this is all over, it’ll be back to the grind–same as it ever was, albeit with a higher profile.
Here’s a fun fact I bet you didn’t know (I didn’t) Season 2 3rd place finisher, Josh Gracin, played in Paul’s band at one point.
(ETA: Josh Gracin was never in Paul’s band. He tweets, “Ahh…He must have been in a band that was opening for me at Talladega speedway… I was signed by then and I had my own band.”
“I never watched this show, never got into it. I joked about it, ” McDonald said prior to the Idol Summer Tour concert here last Wednesday night. “One of the guys who was in our band, I think he won like third place one year (Josh Gracin, actually he finished fourth in Season 2 of Idol). I kidded him about it. I would say “Ah, American Idol, whatever…”
“We were playing this show at Talladega Speedway and I thought. ‘This is crazy, ’ cause he had all these little girls out like holding up posters of him. … which, of course, are the same posters that now I have.”
It will be interesting to see how music veteran Paul McDonald parlays his bit of fame once the tour is over, compared to the s10 newbies.
Oh, and about the age difference between him and the rest of the Top 11. “Dude I have to tell you I felt pretty much uncomfortable the entire time (during the show), ” he said.
