Stu Mackenzie | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Stuart Douglas Mackenzie |
Born | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 26 October 1990
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Instrument(s) |
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Years active | 2005–present |
Labels | Flightless |
Member of |
Stuart Douglas Mackenzie (born 26 October 1990) is an Australian musician best known as the lead vocalist of psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. Trademarked by his energetic live presence, he has been nominated for multiple awards and in particular won Live Guitarist of the Year at the National Live Music Awards of 2020. [1]
When performing, Mackenzie often sticks his tongue out, stands with a back-and-forth rocking motion, and displays feats of guitar showmanship, such as playing behind his head. In addition, his frequent shouts of "woo!" and "eeeyup!" both live and on recording have become a staple of the band's sound. [2]
Stuart Douglas Mackenzie was born on 26 October 1990, [3] [4] grew up in Anglesea, and went to school in Geelong. [5] His father played guitar to him and his brother growing up, which influenced young Mackenzie. Due to his father being a left-handed guitar player, Mackenzie originally learned to play guitar upside down. [6] His early influences were AC/DC, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Paul Kelly. He began playing guitar and other instruments at age 15. [7] He played garage rock and rock and roll later. [8] Mackenzie was part of the local music scene in Geelong and performed at various open mics. [5] [9] Mackenzie would join and form several bands within the local Melbourne music scene, some of which included future King Gizzard members such as Michael Cavanagh, Lucas Skinner (now Harwood) [10] and Cook Craig. [11]
Mackenzie has been the chief songwriter, vocalist and co-lead guitarist of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard since their formation in 2010. Additionally, Mackenzie occasionally plays bass, keyboards, sitar and flute, and was originally a drummer. [12] The band was formed not long after the group's members left school, and was intended to be a jam band with a focus on improvisation. [7] Mackenzie also built a microtonal guitar based on the Turkish bağlama, with other band members later modifying their instruments to play microtonal music. [6]
Mackenzie is married. His daughter Araminta (Minty) was born in November 2020. [12] [13] They live in Melbourne. [5]
Mackenzie announced in 2022 that he suffers from Crohn's disease, and that the remainder of King Gizzard's European summer tour would be cancelled due to him seeking treatment amidst a "personal health crisis". [14] Mackenzie confirmed in a Reddit AMA that he is vegan, [15] and it inspired some of the songs on the album Fishing for Fishies . [16]
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (KGLW) are an Australian rock band formed in 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band's current lineup consists of Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood, and Michael Cavanagh. They are known for exploring multiple genres, staging energetic live shows, and building a prolific discography.
Nonagon Infinity is the eighth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 29 April 2016 on ATO Records. The album is designed to play as an "infinite loop" where each song segues into the next and the last song segues into the first, so that "the record can be played front-to-back-to-front-to-back and the sound won't break". The title is a reference to this idea, as there are nine songs on the album that could be played "infinitely".
Flying Microtonal Banana is the ninth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 24 February 2017 on Flightless Records in Australia, ATO Records in the United States, and Heavenly Recordings in the United Kingdom. It is the first of five albums released by the band in 2017 and their first exploration of microtonal music, utilising custom built instruments.
I'm in Your Mind Fuzz is the fifth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 31 October 2014 on Flightless Records in Australia, just over a week later on 11 November in the United States on Castle Face Records, and on 1 December that same year on Heavenly Records worldwide. At the J Awards of 2014, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year. I'm in Your Mind Fuzz was the band's first album to chart on the ARIA charts, peaking at number 85.
Sketches of Brunswick East is the eleventh studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and the third by Mild High Club. The title is a reference to the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick East and Miles Davis' 1960 LP Sketches of Spain, which inspired the album's jazz-oriented sound. It was released on 18 August 2017, by Flightless in Australia, ATO Records in the United States, and Heavenly Recordings in the United Kingdom. It is the third of five albums released by the band in 2017.
Polygondwanaland is the twelfth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. The album was released under a BY-ND Creative Commons license—the band uploaded the master tapes online for anyone to freely use. The fourth of five albums released by the band in 2017, it was released on 17 November 2017.
The discography of Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard consists of 25 studio albums, 16 live albums, three compilation albums, one remix album, three extended plays, 59 singles, and 60 music videos.
Fishing for Fishies is the fourteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 26 April 2019 by Flightless and ATO Records. The announcement of the album was accompanied by the release of the title track and its video.
Infest the Rats' Nest is the fifteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 16 August 2019 by the band's record label, Flightless, and ATO Records. The album sees the band using a heavy metal and thrash metal style, which they had only briefly touched upon on previous albums. Its lyrics address environmental themes such as climate change and ecological disaster through a cli-fi narrative involving space colonisation.
"Planet B" is a song by Australian rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, first released on 8 April 2019 as the lead single for the band's fifteenth studio album Infest the Rats' Nest.
Live in Paris '19 is the first in a trio of benefit live albums by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, which was released digitally to Bandcamp on 10 January 2020. It was released simultaneously with one other live album, Live in Adelaide '19. The third album Live in Brussels '19 was then released five days later. The album debuted at number nine on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Live in Brussels '19 is the third in a trio of benefit live albums by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, which was released digitally to Bandcamp on 15 January 2020. The previous two live albums, Live in Adelaide '19, and Live in Paris '19, were both released five days prior. The album debuted at number 34 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Live in Adelaide '19 is the second in a trio of benefit live albums by Australian psychedelic rock band, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, which was released digitally to Bandcamp on 10 January 2020. It was released simultaneously with one other live album, Live in Paris '19. The third album Live in Brussels '19 was then released five days later. The album debuted at number six on the ARIA Albums Chart.
K.G. is the sixteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 20 November 2020 on their own label. The album was preceded by four singles, the first three were released alongside music videos uploaded to YouTube. K.G. is a sonic "sequel" to Flying Microtonal Banana, which was subtitled "Explorations into Microtonal Tuning, Volume 1" and also a direct predecessor to L.W..
L.W. is the seventeenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 25 February 2021 by Flightless. The album was preceded by 3 singles, which were released alongside music videos uploaded to YouTube. L.W. is a companion album to K.G. Explorations into Microtonal Tuning, Volume 2, released only four months before, and a continuation of microtonal themes first featured in Flying Microtonal Banana (2017).
Butterfly 3000 is the eighteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 11 June 2021. It is the band's first album not released on Flightless Records, instead being released on the band's own label KGLW. It is their second studio LP of 2021, following February's L.W.. The album was described as "melodic" and "psychedelic" upon its initial announcement on 10 May, along with the words "cross-eyed autostereogram", in reference to the album art.
Made in Timeland is the nineteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 5 March 2022 on Flightless in Australia, and ATO in the U.S. Produced by Stu Mackenzie, the album consists of two fifteen-minute-long tracks, each taking one side of the record.
Omnium Gatherum is the 20th studio album and first double album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 22 April 2022. The album was announced on 8 March 2022 and made available for pre-order on 22 March. It marked the first studio release where all band members are playing together live since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As with previous releases, the album features music of numerous genres, including psychedelia, progressive rock, heavy metal and synth-pop, as well as the band's first experiments with hip hop. It received generally positive reviews, although critics were divided on its length and consistency.
Laminated Denim is the 22nd studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 12 October 2022; five days after their previous album Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava.
"The Dripping Tap" is a song by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released in 2022 as the lead single from their twentieth studio album, Omnium Gatherum. Over 18 minutes in length, the song was first composed during studio sessions for Fishing for Fishies and re-recorded with all band members present following a period of remote collaboration during COVID-19 lockdowns.