Second Cup Cafe: Edwin McCain

As a singer and songwriter who also is something of a storyteller, Edwin McCain is touring the U.S. all summer. Now he's dropping by The Saturday Early Show to talk about his new CD, "Scream & Whisper." Of course, he'll also perform.

Of the message he hopes to convey on his latest CD, McCain has said, "It's time for there to be a little more human kindness and a little less thoughtlessness and selfishness."

If you were a fan of the TV show "Dawson's Creek," then you're probably familiar with McCain's work. His song "I'll Be" was regularly featured on that program. In any case, with more than 2 million albums sold in the U.S., he has created a broad fan base.

Other popular tunes of his include "I Could Not Ask for More" and "Solitude."

According to the biography on his Web site, the seeds for McCain's blend of southern soul and acoustic storytelling were planted some 20 years ago in Greenville, where he was born and raised, and where he still resides.

As he was growing up, he sang in his church's choir. As a teen, he became a fan of artists including North Carolina tunesmith David Wilcox, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Motown sound, the Gap Band and Roger & Zapp, as well as James Taylor and Jim Croce. That's when he began writing songs.

After a semester at the University of South Carolina, he moved to Charleston, S.C., and started playing the college town's many bars, pubs and restaurants. It was there that he would befriend the members of Hootie & the Blowfish. Gigs with the band helped McCain get his first record deal.

McCain also has hosted a radio program for Sirius Satellite Radio called "The Spectrum," on which he interviewed everyone from Phoebe Snow to Poison frontman Bret Michaels.

He describes himself as "a songwriter. I'm the guy who you go to the bar to hear sing songs. I just love that moment in the small club where every single person in there has a moment where it's silent, and they get it, and it's that beautiful thing where the music coming off that stage is bigger than the players and bigger than the audience."