Meet Steven McKinney of Stevie Mac & The Mac Daddies

Often dressed to the nines, Stevie Mac & The Mac Daddies have been blowing up venues around the city with their classy mix of jazz and pop standards for about a year now. We decided to have a little chat with frontman Steve McKinney about what they will be doing to mac the Beijing scene even harder in the next 12 months. Catch them live and witness personally what all the fuss is about tomorrow night (Jun 21) at Modernista.

TBJ: What is the creation story behind The Mac Daddies?
Steve McKinney: I was in a band for about a year called the Avengers of Music. We started off very small, playing Lush and 4corners, but it was a side project of bands like Bye Bye Kitty and Violet and the Hunters. I wanted something that I was passionate about. I grew up in Louisiana and jazz was part of my upbringing, so I wanted to do this style of music. I started asking around and it all kind of fell into place after that. I used the connections I had made through the Avengers to start booking some shows for The Mac Daddies, and almost instantly it caught on. It was a big band, with a horn section, and was only supposed to be around six people, but it ended up being eleven.

Who are a couple of musicians or bands from New Orleans that have influenced your sound? Did you ever see the Preservation Jazz Hall Band?
Love, love Preservation Hall, especially their version of "Tailgate Ramble." I never got to see them live, unfortunately. I grew up in North Louisiana and would visit New Orleans and Baton Rouge regularly throughout. So when it comes to jazz, I'm a huge fan of Dixieland. Louis Armstrong is my greatest New Orleans inspiration with songs like “Hello Dolly,” “Wonderful World,” and “When the Saints.” He's the master in my eyes. I take pride in the fact the Mac Daddies have arguably one of the best versions of "When the Saints" in Beijing. When that trumpet hits, our fans explode. It always gives me goosebumps.

What are you trying to do with the Mac Daddies in Beijing? Where do you see the band in another year?
The band agrees as a whole that we want more original songs. Plans to write more songs are in the works, and a year from now, I see us having recorded an EP, with five or six songs. Who knows, maybe we’ll even do a music video. The band is catered for big city events, festivals and balls. This year, I hope to further our reputation for booking these big events regularly. The Mac Daddies are hard workers. We strive to be the best at what we do.

Tell us about some of these new songs you guys are working on. Do you write the lyrics or is it a group effort?
We have two original songs, “Love's Warp Speed” and “Mac Lovin’." We're going to perform these two songs throughout the summer and start writing again in the fall. Songwriting has been a collaborative effort. With “Love’s Warp Speed,” our guitarist, Jake Gerl, wrote an awesome core and the rest of the band wrote around it, vocals, horns, etc. Same deal with "Mac Lovin'." A talented musician, Jeff Deutsch, guitarist for Bye Bye Kitty, wrote the core, and our horn section wrote an accompaniment around it. The whole band puts their own touch onto our originals. That's how we'll write moving forward.

In the video you guys made for your one-year anniversary, you did a little huddle before the gig. Is this something you guys do every time before a gig? When did this begin?
We've done huddles since the very beginning. We did a huddle for our first show and have done one for every show since. It's just a way to touch base before we get started, run through the set list, notes, or casually chat it up so as to set everyone's nerves at ease with words of encouragement. It's a Mac Daddies tradition that will never go away.

If the Mac Daddies could perform anywhere, at any place or time, where would be your dream show?
Hahaha, that's a tough question to answer. Honestly, for me, every show is a dream show. Every time I step up onto the stage, no matter where it is, I'm supported by some of the best musicians in the city, and it feels like a dream, to a point where I need to pitch myself. I'm living my dream. Beijing has such an amazing foreign band music scene, and it's an honor to be a part of it. Maybe it's bragging, but the Mac Daddies came out of nowhere last year and carved out a way into the scene to a point where the buzz is palpable. Beijingers want to see a Mac Daddies show. They go out of their way to follow and support us and show no signs of stopping. What better dream is there?

Who are the core members of The Mac Daddies?
Steven McKinney (Lead Vocals) Jake Gerl (Guitar) Ray Zhou (Bass) Thierry Trotignon (Keys) Erin Luce (Sax) James Spires (Sax) Chris Gardner (Trombone) Charlie Vest (Trumpet) JP Fernandez (Drums) Miri Shlimak (2nd Vocals) Kate MacLeod (2nd Vocals).

Anything else you would like the readers to know?
I'd just like to give a heart felt thank you to everyone who showed their support this last year. We wouldn't have had the year we did without the strong support of our fans. So thank you, everyone! Year one is in the record books, and we hope to have many years to come! The Mac Daddies promise to continue our hard work, putting out the best music and shows possible! Thanks again!

Want to catch Steve and the gang do what they do best? They'll be performing for free tomorrow night (Jun 21) at Modernista as part of the ongoing Fête de la Musique.

More stories by this author here.

Email: danielkippwhittaker@thebeijinger.com

Photos courtesy of Steve McKinney