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Macka

About Me


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Hey everyone. My name is Rob Mackenzie. My friends & gig goers know me as Macka! Thanks for dropping by :) I’ve been a fulltime Guitarist/Singer/Entertainer for some time now & LOVING IT! The only thing I HAVEN’T done in the music business is put an official CD out so I aims to put this right VERY soon. I guess my perfectionism has gotten in the way, but no longer! The raw songs you hear on this page are my homemade demos in my home studio recorded many moons ago (maybe you can tell? hehe) ahh but WHAT THE HECK! good music will always be in style so I have finally after all these years uploaded something of my toils. Please listen to & rate Calm Before the Storm, Beefcake Baby, The Castle Walls & Satchlike 4 Mike. Satchlike 4 Mike really is just a toss off jam done in one take. I was mucking around with a rhythm track & instead of leaving it bare with no vocals I chucked on a temporary lead & this is what it sounds like when you haven't a CLUE what scales or mode to use with it & you're kind of FEELING your way around hehe, by the end I had actually semi-worked out a hybrid scale. My friend Mike is a HUGE Satriani fan (we went to the G3 concerts together HI MATE!) & when I listened back I thought I probably won't use this but it sounds a little bit like Satch so I think I'll give this to Mike, so there you go! Also I have included some more recent live performances as a solo act. It’s all very eclectic as you can hear, just like my influences. I listen to EVERYTHING old & new & find SOMETHING of value in nearly all forms & pieces of music. Currently I perform from Tweed Heads to the Gold Coast & even as far north as the Sunshine Coast in QLD. Mostly I perform solo with backing MIDI file tracks which I program & sometimes with a mate Dave Brown who plays bass & does some backing vocals for me as a duo. As a solo I go under the name of Macka & in duo mode it’s Mackenzie – Brown. Mostly you will find the duo at The Cooly (Coolangatta Hotel) at least once a month & it’s a pretty happening vibey gig so I would invite anyone to come down for a good night I will post any upcoming dates or email me to find dates that might be local to you. I am also in Sydney on tour for a couple of times a year. At the moment I play mostly classic rock covers in solo & duo modes. Anything from Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton on acoustic to Metallica! My specialities are weddings, parties, functions, pubs & clubs, ANYWHERE that needs a guaranteed good time show. For the near future I am working on a studio album of my own originals & re-workings & arrangements of some of my favourite blues songs that are more funk, soul & rock whilst still based in the blues. There will be lot’s of Brass/Horns & Hammond Organ on there along with lots of guitar solos & vocals from yours truly! The whole album is very groove orientated so u can shake your ass to it while the band cuts it up. For this reason some of the tracks will be recorded LIVE! together in the studio to get a dynamic & organic feel to them. They should be exciting party pleasers to perform live & I can’t WAIT to play in a band again! In the past I formed & played in two really EXCELLENT 3 piece bands. Eliminator (The ZZ Top Tribute) & Southbound Train. Eliminator was pretty spectacular & fun to do with dancing girls, hot rod car & cactus all on stage. But Southbound Train was my baby & my home. Southbound Train was a blisteringly hard working, hard rockin blues force. I intend to re-invent “The Train” to tour for & promote the new blues CD I mentioned above it should be AWESOME! Cheers & keep a rockin Macka

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 19/06/2008
Band Website: www.macka.com.au
Band Members: Rob 'Macka' MackenzieMacka live medley

Influences: Stevie Ray Vaugan, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Satriani, Robert Cray & The Fabulous Thunderbirds. My favourites are what i call "The Big Four" Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin & Pink Floyd you get it all with these guys from blues to hard rock to metal to prog rock even space rock & ambient. My favourite Aussie bands are Kevin Borich Express, Wolfmother, The Truth & the Cruel Sea. Having said the above my listening is VERY eclectic from a little bit of classical, jazz & pop to a healthy dose of Metal, Prog & Blues. My most recent discovery are the band Suncaged, very musical & VERY EAVY :) The music i don't favour is the bland formulaic stuff with crap lyrics or unimaginative musical accompaniment, I won't say I HATE ANY music because even the bad stuff I can get a laugh out of so it's all good! The other side of the coin would be a band like RUSH (another of my favourites & a HUGE latter day influence of mine) who have wonderful lyrics & at times interestingly complex musical arrangements along with incredible musicianship.SLIDE SHOW BELOW OF MY KID'S GUEST APPERANCES AT MY SHOWS..

Sounds Like: Classic rock from Eric Clapton unplugged to Metallica
Record Label: Unsigned

My Blog

Music that'll DRIVE you on

Recommended albums to drive to Heya people,I have just returned from a mini tour of Sydney which was great fun where I caught up with fans at the venues & visited familyNow being an 11 hour drive each...
Posted by on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 06:07:00 GMT

Proud of my lil Monsters!

I am SO proud of my lil Monsters Jess & Corey, who were collectively The Nuggets when they would guest at my gigs with me (we are thinking up a new name for them now they are older)It seems the fruit ...
Posted by on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:39:00 GMT

It occurs to me

Mistakes are often the linchpin of our successes
Posted by on Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:32:00 GMT

Love a good Concert

Early this year I posted this review of a Budgie concert I went to in Brisbane Australia on a group board. It was an auspicious occasion as the band (going since the early 70's) had never be...
Posted by on Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:44:00 GMT

Macka live video medley

Hi all, Just letting you know I have uploaded a fun live video of me partying down live with new found friends at a gig. It's a medley I will upload the full versions of the songs when time permits. ...
Posted by on Sun, 13 Jul 2008 19:01:00 GMT

I surprise myself

I sometimes surprise myself. Like getting through the gig tonight for instance amazed me. The common cold or flu is a singer's worst nightmare & I thought I got over this one last week, then THIS ...
Posted by on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:56:00 GMT

Kicking Ass

I have had some really great gigs in the last few weeks & I REALLY REVELLED in KICKING some SERIOUS ASS! So whilst in a silly euphoric late night post gig buzz in the style of Jack Black I w...
Posted by on Sun, 29 Jun 2008 08:45:00 GMT