McGaha to perform solo Saturday

In July 2010, Bloomington local Robert McGaha picked up a guitar and began to teach himself the instrument.

Within three months he had started performing his own songs for his solo acoustic act, fight well, young lions.

“I wanted to do something different with my life,” he said.

The themes present within his songs are very personal, he said, and he uses many metaphors to convey what he wants. McGaha’s album “i exist, but only in this,” which was released this past July, begins and ends with a poem.

He said he wrote the poem  based on people from his life and their perspectives.

“I try not to use just my point of view,” McGaha said. “I try to put myself in someone else’s shoes.”

McGaha will be featured in a performance Saturday  with Backwords and Jessie and Amy. He will perform a new song, “I breathe,” for the first time. He said he wrote it only a few days ago.

“He’s a great guy,” freelance audio engineer Lanis Watkins said. “He’s passionate about what he does. There’s an intensity behind his words and his voice.”

Watkins recorded McGaha’s album.

The first time he heard McGaha’s work, he said he wasn’t sure he was interested since he usually works on more elaborate productions. But the more he recorded, the more it grew on him.

“It’s simple and raw, but with a strange feeling of suspense,” Watkins said. “There’s an open space, like a lonely plea that draws me in.”

While McGaha played five shows with a full band including bass and electric guitars, he recently made a switch. He said his return to solo work has made the process  more personal.

“People can relate to me a lot more easily,” McGaha explained.

When songwriting, McGaha said he writes lyrics first. McGaha is meticulous when it comes to what he wants to sing. Then he continues to the structure of the guitar part.

“One song, ‘amiable enemies,’ is about how much people can impact your life, and you don’t realize it until they’re gone,” McGaha said.

He said he hasn’t heard Backwords before, but has some connections with another group on the lineup for the night.

He went to high school with Jessie, who is one half of the opening duo Jessie and Amy.

“It’s really amazing. Their guitars blend really well together,” McGaha said. “They’re very talented.”

McGaha’s album can be downloaded for free at http://fightwellyounglions.bandcamp.com, and he said he intends to release another album.

“He’s definitely worth a listen,” Watkins said.