EDDIE MAC: Eclectic Vinyl Love
An interview by Sarah Kidd.
Eddie Mac has been around the Australian music industry for the best part of twenty-five years; this of course includes his time with Kiss FM Australia who he has been involved with since 1994, with his Bionic Boogie Show running for over an impressive ten years.
He has Dj’ed all over the world and has a love for vinyl, a love that impressed Prince so much that he was invited to DJ Prince’s after parties; a once in a lifetime experience for sure. Having been involved with Splore in 2017, Eddie is looking forward to returning to New Zealand in the capacity of a DJ and sharing his love of music with the attendees.
I recently spoke with Eddie to discuss his time in the industry and his time with the famous man with a penchant for purple…
You have been involved in the music industry for the best part of twenty-five years now, what would you say is the greatest lesson you have learned so far?
“In radio, one thing, you never know who is listening to your show and you don’t realise that radio is a very different sensibility compared to DJing in a club or a bar or a festival, so it’s quite a powerful medium. People that listen in may be in faraway countries, I have had listeners in Guatemala and the Caribbean. But you know at the same time people that discover you it might be from five years ago, they might discover an archive of the show … or ten years ago that’s quite powerful as well and how it can impact younger people.
Especially as far as music out there right now it’s crazy; people are trying to work out the good from the bad and what they’re really into. All I can do is present this show and you know I’ve just been DJing the same, I give one hundred percent whether there’s three people in a room or three thousand people or thirty thousand people, it doesn’t matter I always treat each show as if every gig is my last, I just think it’s really important to give it your all; and hopefully you can feed off that set whether it be a Dj set or a radio show.”
I totally respect that ethos, I have seen bands that play quarter of a million people in Europe then come down to New Zealand and play to a crowd of only a thousand, but they still give it everything they have…
“You do notice that even in say here in Melbourne, it can go both ways though can’t it? Or they can come and say ‘Well it’s only three hundred people, let’s pull out the default set’ and they play the boring same old, really safe set or they’re not really into it you know?
I know for a fact that some artists or some … I won’t say the genre, but I will say that some artists obviously take this for granted sometimes and don’t realise how deep the knowledge and the passion is here with Melbourne and a lot of Australia as well. There has been a lot of that where people come over and they’re like ‘Wow didn’t realise that you guys are big fans and are so passionate’ so they dig a little bit deeper, and some of them just come for just a holiday and go ‘Right, the default, just play all the hits’ and you’re like ‘Is that it? [laughs] you know?”
Give us some of those rarities!
“Yeah exactly! [laughs] or they just want to get out of here and get back to Dubai, Hong Kong or Tokyo. You know they call Melbourne, Sydney and Sydney, Melbourne and they don’t really care, it’s just a bit of a pay day. So that’s why I think it’s really important to raise the bar, because if you are giving it everything and people are into it, it means people are listening. I think the same with radio, you never know who is listening and that’s the beautiful part of radio.”
Radio is certainly an interesting medium sometimes.
“It is I think, although it’s not for everyone you know – for me its fine because I have a music gig coming up so I can play all those records which gives me a chance to play my set but also I can interview all those artists that are awesome to talk to about all those questions. Even like breaking in the local – and when I say local I mean Aus and New Zealand artists – great new music and getting that to the rest of the world is important to me and always has been, it goes both ways and I like that, new and old it’s nice to keep discovering and sharing.”
Now with your DJ work, what’s the secret to remaining current as a DJ?
“I’ve always found that I have my own sound, I think it’s having your own sound. Once you have your own sound – I’m quite eclectic I play across the board – but I think the key to longevity is to have your own sound, I’m into a few young DJ’s and they are all like ‘What do I need to do?’ Have your own sound that’s true to you, I think it’s pretty easily found out when you try to play someone else’s music or it’s not your style or you know copying a track listing from some big DJ … that’s not really you, so I think you need to know your lane and stay in your lane, it’s really important to do that you know and a lot of people don’t.
I’m quite happy being the guy that plays third in a small little area that doesn’t have a domain stage at a festival as long as I am true to what I play and I always have been. Be true to that sound, even if it isn’t popular, you just have to believe in what you do you know? And the people, they can feel that energy as well.”
Now this question always raises a bit of a debate; are you really a real DJ if you can’t DJ with vinyl?
[laughs] “You’re trying to get me in trouble [laughs] I’ll try this way, I’ve never used a laptop to DJ, I’ll put it that way [raucous laughter] I don’t think so, that’s not true what you said. I’m a big vinyl collector you know and I love vinyl, I play a bit wherever I am; however that’s not true, I know a lot of great DJ’s that love vinyl but it’s really restrictive because they can’t take their vinyl when they travel a lot and it’s very hard. But I know they learn how to use laptops and the latest technology in such a way it’s amazing you know? They are using it like vinyl and I respect that, the technology is there I guess to be used and although a lot of them love playing the vinyl they just can’t, and a lot of them have been scarred by losing vinyl.
To me it’s different I guess, I take a small bag of 45’s as carry on wherever I go so I always make sure I take my little seven inches wherever I go, and I try and buy vinyl in each city that I travel to. But no not at all – you are just trying to get me in trouble! [mutual laughter] I think technology is what you make with it and what you do with it as well, how you embrace it, look it’s horses for courses, I just like the touch and feel of vinyl, I know there’s an emotional attachment there as well … not just for me but also for the listener as well if they can see I’m getting into it. Almost every record I can look at the cover and remember ‘Oh I bought this one back in the 90’s or I bought this one in Paris last year, or I bought this in Tokyo this year’ you know I can make those connections, where I was and what I was doing. It’s quite tangible as well, I like holding it and hearing the vinyl. I know a lot of great DJ’s who don’t use vinyl and are doing just fine.”
In 2016 you Dj’ed with Ken Walker at Prince’s after party in Melbourne didn’t you?
I did indeed, I did indeed. I was very, very fortunate to get the call up and I played some Chaka Khan which he must of loved because he got up out of his seat and danced, so yes I was very lucky, very fortunate.
He enjoyed it so much I got a call on the Sunday from his manager and he said he’s got a gig in Sydney and he wants me to play some music for the after party in Sydney, so [laughs] I – in truth I thought this can’t be a real call, but they were right – was having lunch with my Dad, I left that and threw all my records together and left for Sydney. Watched him play in The National Theatre, State Theatre and then played at the after party at a bar called Casablanca; and he was there with his crew and it was great, good fun.
I was very, very lucky; I don’t do a lot of social media and I think Prince is one of those guys – may he rest in peace – is one of those guys, he kinda liked the fact that people don’t take too many photo’s for social media. He liked to go through the records, he loved records, he was talking about you know old school, jazz, funk, soul so we would talk and he would go through records and kinda liked it. We’re both from music and we both geeked out on music which was good and then through records we hung out and we would talk about pancakes and stuff like that so it was pretty funny.”
I’m jealous of you for life, I hope you know that. Just to be in the same room…
“It was very cool, it was very, very, cool. I was very fortunate; and as I said he was very relaxed around me, I didn’t take any photographs or ask for any autographs I was just happy to hang out and talk music and play music which was cool and pancakes … and he loved that … blueberry pancakes.”
Those are my favourite as well, damn…
[laughs] “Yeah we talked about pancakes, I asked him ‘Do you still make pancakes for people who come to your house to play basketball?’ and he said ‘Well no, I don’t play basketball as much, my hip’s a little bit sore, but if I have a jam session or a party at my house, I’ll make some cookies and cream, or choc-chip cookies and milk and I’ll make some pancakes’ like different types, choc-chip pancakes, blueberry pancakes and raspberry pancakes for guests at his house. I was like ‘Really, you still cook?’ and he was like ‘Yeah I love to cook, early in the morning, late at night, I’ll definitely do that’ I said ‘You do it yourself?’ and he said ‘Yeah, it’s about the cooking.’
I like to cook too, so it was about cooking and relaxing, I put some records on, he liked vinyl as well, quite eclectic vinyl which was good. He would go to his local record shop in Minneapolis and giveaway some CD’s or some records, and he would actually buy some records himself as well, he would buy some of the latest stuff, so it was pretty cool, really cool.
It was a real shock – I was very lucky, it was only a couple months before he passed away.”
I woke up to the news, it was dreadful…
“Yeah, when he was here in Australia he looked great, he didn’t miss a performance, he would perform twice a day, he went to parties you know and would ask, ‘What else is happening, where else can we go, what else is going on, what about tomorrow night, what about the next night?’ He was always asking about going out just for music, he was just so alert and sharp, so yeah it was quite a shock, I was really shocked. I was devastated. But yeah it was a great talk and I was glad I got to spend that time with him.”
You recently had another legend as well, a name that may not be as recognisable to some people, but you had Sister Nancy in Australia. We recently hosted her here in Auckland and I was lucky enough to be mere inches from her, when she performed. She is an absolute goddess.
“Yes and a really strong woman as well, it was an amazing gig at Laundry Bar and yeah it was an amazing gig in Melbourne. To think of what she went through, being a woman, in the 80’s you know in the reggae industry is amazing; and to still power through it, raise her kids as a single mum. She’s a smart girl though, she owns the publishing and she knows her rights so I think with some of the producers and hip-hop artists, she let them go ahead I believe the story goes and she just waited her time and then got some really good lawyers and she got paid. And it’s really amazing to see a woman break the glass ceiling and she obviously powered through in the 80’s in a male dominated industry like reggae was in Jamaica, so respect and big ups to her. And she still sounds great!”
She did didn’t she? It was a fun performance but very moving as well.
“It was very moving, she was the queen, she was in charge and she made sure that all the air conditioners were off, it was a hot sticky room. She was saying that it affects her voice, and she needed to do it you know, and it was amazing. She did two shows, in a blink, no problem and I was like wow!”
When she played here in Auckland, the venue obviously had a stage, but she insisted on playing at the opposite end of the venue. So she was basically standing on the floor; she said ‘This is about roots, I am down with the people and the people are with me’ so you were basically standing right beside her as she played which was amazing.
“Yeah it is amazing and I love seeing legends that are still passionate, still got the fire burning; and she had that, she had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand from the start through to the end. She said she felt the love and the good vibrations there, it was very special. Especially for someone who loves reggae music, to see her live was amazing and not just struggling, I think – as you said – she bossed it; she was the boss lady!” [laughs]
Obviously you are playing the upcoming Splore festival, excited?
“Yes! Very excited. It will be my second Splore, I came to Spore in 2017, but it was in a different capacity, as I was a tour manager so a little bit different, but I loved it though, loved it. I really enjoyed it and yeah I’m very excited, I mean I was only there for one day, I came in Saturday afternoon and it just rained biblically [laughs] and thunder stormed so it was a pretty crazy Saturday, but I loved it and people were so kind, I got that community vibe and there was a real conscious attitude there as well. I like the whole eco-sustainability thing about the festival, it made an impact on me, it meant a lot to me. The staff were so friendly and everyone was just so nice there.
Very fortunate to be coming this year as a DJ, can’t wait! It’s a beautiful part of the world, I like the energy and the whole vibe of Splore fits with me.”
Us kiwis are good like that [laughs]
“I always hate leaving New Zealand, it’s always beautiful and I mean that, I mean that. It’s always kinda sad, because I just get into it, I like the vibe.”
So what can Splore attendees expect from your set?
“It’s going to be a truly eclectic set, it’s going to have a sunshine vibe so I’m going to play everything from Sade B sides to some rare Marvin Gaye, there will be some grooves as well, so I’ll be bringing the sunshine vibe as I always feel good in New Zealand especially at Splore!”
Eddie Mac is one of the amazing artists performing at this years Splore Festival, running from the 23rd – 25th February at the stunning Tapapakanga Park in Auckland. Tickets to the festival are still available from iTicket, but get in quick as it’s selling out fast!
