Bill MacKay

Last updated
Bill MacKay
Bill MacKay. October 9th, 2022. Photo by Yvette Marie Dostatni.jpg
Bill MacKay, 2022, Chicago.
Background information
Birth nameWilliam Dwight MacKay
BornTarrytown, New York. U.S.A.
Instrument(s)Guitar, voice, piano, bass, requinto, organ.
Years active2002-Present
Labels Drag City, Inc
Websitewww.billmackay.com

Bill MacKay is an American composer, guitarist and singer based in Chicago. He grew up in Pittsburgh, PA where he studied with guitarist Joe Negri, and in Rochester, NY. He also studied for a year at Berklee College of Music. [1]

In 2017 he began working with Chicago record label Drag City. [2] [3]

Mackay’s first Drag City release, Esker, was described by reviewer John Mulvey of Uncut "as a neat sampler of his unshowy virtuosity, at once brisk and mellow." [4]

His arrangement of the Steely Dan song Deacon Blues appeared on the collaborative covers album by Bonnie Prince Billy and Bill Callahan, Blind Date Party (Drag City, 2021) [5] [6]

MacKay is a member of Black Duck, along with Douglas McCombs (Tortoise, Brokeback) on guitar and bass, and drummer Charles Rumback. [7] [8] and BCMC with Bitchin' Bajas' Cooper Crain. [9]

In April 2023, MacKay's scored music for artist Michael Rakowitz' film I'm good at love, I'm good at hate, it's in between I freeze [10]

MacKay has also been involved musically in theatre, appearing as musical guest in Chicago experimental theater troupe Neo-Futurists show Elements of Style in June 2023, [11] and in Little Carl, a production by Theatre Y in April 2023. [12]

"Among MacKay’s early inspirations were Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix, but he also names British folk guitarist Davey Graham and Indian sarodist Ali Akbar Khan as influences." [13]

MacKay's most recent solo record, Locust Land, was released May 23rd, 2024. [14]

Bill MacKay at Acme Records in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 17th, 2024. Photo by Ryan Sarnowski. Bill MacKay. October 17th 2024. Photo by Ryan Sarnowski.jpg
Bill MacKay at Acme Records in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 17th, 2024. Photo by Ryan Sarnowski.

Discography

As Leader or Co-Leader

As Collaborator/Contributor

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Callahan (musician)</span> American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1966)

Bill Callahan is an American singer-songwriter, who has also recorded and performed under the band name Smog. Callahan began working in the lo-fi genre, with home-made tape-albums recorded on four-track tape recorders. Later he began releasing albums with the label Drag City, to which he remains signed today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Oldham</span> American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1970)

Joseph Will Oldham is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace. After briefly publishing music under his own name, in 1998 he adopted Bonnie "Prince" Billy as the name for most of his work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Sweeney</span> American musician

Matt Sweeney is an American musician and record producer best known as a guitarist of Skunk, Chavez, and supergroup Zwan.

<i>Ad Age</i> Marketing magazine

Ad Age is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. Ad Age appears in multiple formats, including its website, daily email newsletters, social channels, events and a bimonthly print magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Oldham discography</span>

This is a list of recordings by American singer and actor Will Oldham.

The Dakotas are a group of British musicians, which initially convened as a backing band in Manchester, England. Their original vocalist was Pete McLaine who Brian Epstein replaced with the singer Billy J. Kramer, a Liverpudlian who was the lead vocalist for the group during the 1960s. In the U.S., they are regarded as part of the British Invasion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Bishop (guitarist)</span> American composer, guitarist and singer

Richard Bishop is an American composer, guitarist and singer best known for his work with the Sun City Girls. He styles himself Sir Richard Bishop.

This a detailed discography of American singer-songwriter Bill Callahan. All of his work was released under the alias Smog, except where noted.

<i>Woke on a Whaleheart</i> 2007 studio album by Bill Callahan

Woke on a Whaleheart is the first record released by Bill Callahan under his own name instead of his nom de plume Smog. It was released by Drag City on April 24, 2007, and released a week earlier in Callahan's home state of Texas. A single, "Diamond Dancer," preceded the release of the album on March 20, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meg Baird</span> Musical artist

Meg Baird is an American musician based in San Francisco, California, United States, who, in addition to her solo career, is known as a founding member, lead vocalist, and drummer for Heron Oblivion, along with members from Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound and Comets on Fire. She was also a guitarist and the lead female vocalist in Philadelphia psychedelic folk rock band Espers, and played drums in Philadelphia punk band Watery Love. Baird frequently collaborates with the Los Angeles-based harpist Mary Lattimore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drag City (record label)</span> American independent record label

Drag City is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, established in the city in 1989 by Dan Koretzky and Dan Osborn. It specializes in indie rock, noise rock, psychedelic folk, alternative country, and experimental music. The label has featured numerous critically acclaimed artists, including Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Bill Callahan, Joanna Newsom, and Silver Jews.

Cave is an American primarily instrumental psychedelic drone band based in Chicago, Illinois, composed of guitarist/organist Cooper Crain, guitarist Jeremy Freeze, bassist Dan Browning, drummer Rex McMurry, and multi-instrumentalist Rob Frye. The band was formed in Columbia, Missouri, in 2006, and has released six full-length albums. Cave has toured widely in North America and Europe, and played the Pitchfork Music Festival in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmett Kelly (musician)</span> American musician

Emmett Kelly is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is the primary songwriter and recording artist of The Cairo Gang, one half of The Double alongside drummer Jim White, one third of The CIA and a founding member of Clinamen. He has contributed vocal and instrumental work to a variety of international musical projects, appearing on recordings by the likes of Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Ty Segall, Angel Olsen, Azita, Joan of Arc, Edith Frost, Women and Children, John Webster Johns, Jeff Harms, Chicago poet/singer Marvin Tate, Matteah Baim, Japanese musician Takuma Watanabe, Earth Girl Helen Brown, Joshua Abrams and Rob Mazurek. Kelly has toured in several of the aforementioned acts in addition to with Baby Dee, CFM, Mikal Cronin, Sonny Smith, Beth Orton, and Terry Reid; and in other instances, performed live with Chan Marshall, Scott Tuma, Joan of Arc, and Pillars and Tongues. He is also one half of the band The Surf, The Sundried, and a founding member of Chicago's Psychojail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryley Walker</span> American singer-songwriter

Ryley Walker is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Rockford, Illinois.

Tompkins Square Records is an independent record label producing new and archival releases of gospel, blues, jazz, and country music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitchin Bajas</span>

Bitchin Bajas is an American band operated as a side-project by Cooper Crain, who is also guitarist/organist of the Chicago band Cave. The other members are Dan Quinlivan and Rob Frye.

<i>Deafman Glance</i> 2018 studio album by Ryley Walker

Deafman Glance is the fourth studio album by American musician Ryley Walker. It was released in May 2018 under Dead Oceans Records.

<i>Blind Date Party</i> 2021 studio album by Bill Callahan and Bonnie "Prince" Billy

Blind Date Party is a collaborative studio album by Bill Callahan and Bonnie "Prince" Billy, released on December 10, 2021, via Drag City. The project consists of covers of other artists' songs, many of which are from the duo's Drag City labelmates.

<i>Ytilaer</i> 2022 studio album by Bill Callahan

Ytilaer is a studio album by American musician Bill Callahan, released on October 14, 2022, by Drag City. It is the eighth solo studio album released under Callahan's own name, and his nineteenth overall when including LPs released as Smog.

<i>Course in Fable</i> 2021 studio album by Ryley Walker

Course in Fable is the sixth solo studio album by American musician Ryley Walker. It was released on April 2, 2021, through Walker's own Husky Pants Records. The album was produced by John McEntire. The album combines the folk rock elements of Walker's previous albums with elements of progressive rock and art rock.

References

  1. "Bill MacKay Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More..." AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  2. Gotrich, Lars (April 21, 2017). "Bill MacKay's Solo Guitar Fades Quickly, Beautifully On 'Twilight'". NPR.
  3. Margasak, Peter (2017-05-11). "On his charmingly low-key Drag City debut, veteran Chicago guitarist Bill MacKay shows his full range". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  4. Mulvey, John (2017-05-23). "Reviewed: some more of 2017's hidden gems". UNCUT. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  5. Sodomsky, Sam (2020-11-16). "Bill Callahan and Bonnie "Prince" Billy Cover Steely Dan's "Deacon Blues"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  6. Pearis, Bill (8 November 2021). "Bill Callahan & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy prep 'Blind Date Party,' share Scout Niblett cover". BrooklynVegan.
  7. Pareles, Jon; Russonello, Giovanni; Zoladz, Lindsay (2023-06-09). "PinkPantheress's Bittersweet 'Barbie' Tune, and 11 More New Songs". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  8. Bambarger, Bradley (August 26, 2023). "Black Duck Casts a Cinematic Spell". Premier Guitar.
  9. "Bill MacKay & Cooper Crain Announce Collaborative Project BCMC: Hear "The Swarm"". Stereogum. 2023-08-14. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  10. Elderton, Louisa (2023-06-21). "Michael Rakowitz's Fading Fandom". Frieze. No. 237. ISSN   0962-0672 . Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  11. "Elements of Style". The Neo-Futurist Theater. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  12. "Youth Puppet Production: Little Carl". Theatre Y. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
  13. "Musician Bill MacKay moved to Chicago on a whim. It defined his career". Washington Post. 2024-05-27. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  14. Krakow, Steve (2024-05-13). "Chicago troubadour and guitar god Bill MacKay releases Locust Land". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2024-07-03.


USAGuitarIcon.svg

This article about an American guitarist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.