Landon McNamara at Old Princeton Landing

Landon McNamara can feel it. Big things are coming. The singer-songwriter andguitarist from Hawaii’s North Shore is on the cusp of a major swell-familiar waters forthis accomplished surfer-but this wave is one of song and soul.McNamara’s newest drop,the laid backyet deeply spiritual “If You Only Knew,”renews the artist with strains of acoustic reggae and Hawaiian soul, underpinning athoughtful recitation on the value of life, and ultimately, the power of love. “The onlypromised thing to us all is death. And at the end of our life, when you're taking that lastbreath, would you be satisfied with how you spent your time?” asks McNamara. “Iwanna motivate people to realize life isn’t about money, or shiny things, or social status.It’sabout experiences; creating beautiful memories; family; friends; finding out who youtruly are and living that existence to the fullest. Above all, it’s about love.”“Well its inevitable that one day we all gotta go drift away, but if you hadto dietomorrow what would you do today, would you take that last breath, would you feelcontent with how that time was spent?”-Landon McNamara “If You Only Knew”“The original seeds of inspiration behind this song came from way back, since a youngkidI’ve always been aware and at time consumed by the big questions of life, where wecame from, where we will go, and that death is inevitable for us all. At the moment Imade the song, it was inspired by my Drummer and good friend Kimo (who alsoproduced this song).His father had just passed away and he shared that sad news, itfilled me with the feelings that this song was born from.As for if it’s part of a biggerprotect we got going on, there’s nothing set in stone but we have a lot of songs we arewaiting to figure out what we are gonna do with.”As the scion of one of the Islands’ esteemed surfing families, McNamara’s earliestexperiences came baptized by the power of the ocean. Yet, music, from a young age,proved as magnetic as the heavy currentof the Pacific; home video of McNamara as atoddler captures him grooving to a Ziggy Marley performance in Turtle Bay.In elementary school he established a basic foundation of music theory, gleaned tipsfrom a friend with an acoustic guitar, and endlesslystudied songs on YouTube that hewanted to master. As a teen, McNamara devotedly retreated to his basement, honinghis guitar chops and developing his voice. He shared early efforts with friends hangingat his place-an affectionately self-proclaimed “house of hoodlums”-who encouragedMcNamara. Soon, he was a regular at neighborhood open-mic nights.Music was meditative; a release. It felt good for the socially anxious musician reared onthe reggae poetry of Bob Marley and the psychedelic majesty ofJimi Hendrix. Hecollaborated with local reggae group, The Late Ones, filming an impromptu take of hisoriginal, “Jam With You,” and posted the fledgling video on YouTube.The track would surface on McNamara’s 2016 debut LP,A Dollar Short & A MinuteLate. Success came swiftly. The album bowed at #1 on iTunes and #5 onBillboard’s

1. Reggae chart; a seemingly overnight rise for the relatively unknown from the NorthShore.. A mature follow-up album,Still Kickin’, followed the hotly performing debut,while McNamara centered his focus, dropped his high-profile modeling gig with the FordAgency, and outfitted his home with proper gear and a production space.early successwasn’t without time and effort. There was also his two-year surfing/songwritingsabbatical in Tahiti. And finding his own signature vocal tone. The world around himbecame his muse. He wrote hundreds of songs, simply tucking them away in his mind,waiting for the ideal moment.“To write, I just have to be passionate-in any direction-or have something hit me in myheart,” he explains. “Which, for me, is everyday life.” In addition to the new single “IfYou Only Knew,”Landon has also completed an adventurous EP with highly regardedup n’ coming California artist /producer, singer, and songwriter, DENM. Recorded onthe North Shore of Oahu, the collection is a result of McNamara and Slum Beach Dennymixing it up and having too much fun at Landon’s home studio, all while under theinfluence of the many gifts of nature from Hawaii’sroyal landscape. The experimentyielded 5 new gems, including the next up n coming summer drop, “Wild Trip”, a headybiographical account of the duo’s exploits on the island!“Early on I got a little taste of the trajectory I was on,” McNamara says. “Now, mybiggest fear is not living up to my potential. I’m driven to live up to it and doing the workto get it to where I know it can go.”Now, you know. Big things are coming.

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