Thursday 9 January 2014

Kings of Lowertown Q&A

Your name:
Mike Mackey.

Where are you from:
Pembroke, Ontario Canada.

Name of band:
Kings of Lowertown.

Who else is in your band?
It is a rotating cast of characters. Mostly me and a pack of strays. Jordon Zadorozny is very supportive.

How would you describe yourselves?
Ottawa Valley Dirt-blues. Good old amps and mics, Telecasters, Les Pauls, bass, drums, piano, Rhodes piano, slide guitars.

Who are your main influences musically?
At this particular moment possessing the earliest original vinyl recordings of John Lee Hooker is something of great interest to me. Hooker's wild electric guitar sound is new and old at the same time and totally inventive. Not many people have achieved that. I really dig it. Brother Mike Watt on bass continues to thrill. Jordon Zadorozny. I'm also re-visiting the music and adventures of T-Model Ford who passed on recently.       

What do you hope to achieve in music?
Writing songs that please me and hopefully one or two others. Meeting and learning from high quality musicians, producers and engineers. Nothing beyond that. 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why?
Having such a positive response from the United Kingdom via Bandcamp. Their support has led to an upcoming vinyl release of my song "Woodpile". I will never forget decent UK people who didn't download music for free - thank you!  

And what’s the moment you want to forget?
Having my treasured American-made telecaster stolen from a show in 2011.  

If you had to pick just one of your songs to represent your music, what would it be and why?
Mississippi Flood. I'm very pleased with the production and engineering that manifests on the recording. The song captures an elusive Ottawa Valley boogie feel that I've never been able to express lyrically/musically until recently. Jordon Zadorozny was of immense help.      

Where can we listen to it? 




Where can we find out more about your music?

Anything else you’d like to say about your band/music that I forgot to ask?
There will be more new dirt-blues by Kings of Lowertown in 2014 and 2015. Please check-it out the music when you folks have a spare moment.  

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