As a guitarist and improviser, Bill MacKay specializes in collaboration and openness. He’s that way as a listener too. Today he joins us for an essay about Laura Nyro’s third album, 1969’s New York Tendaberry.
Search Results for: Bill MacKay
Bill MacKay and Nathan Bowles: Keys / Black Twig Pickers: Friend’s Peace
As its title suggests, Keys unlocks all kinds of musical doors, welcoming the listener into spaces that are alternately joyous and mournful, weird and deep. Make yourself right at home.
Bill MacKay & Katinka Kleijn :: Stir
On the heels of the excellent Fountain Fire, Bill MacKay returns with his second LP of 2019, this time alongside “Chicago’s first lady of the cello,” Katinka Kleijn.
Bill MacKay: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Chicago guitarist Bill MacKay returns with another winningly eclectic solo LP for Drag City. Fountain Fire sneaks up on you; its songs are unassuming at first, with a loose, conversational feel to them. Ahead of the album’s release, MacKay joined Aquarium Drunkard to discuss his shifting approaches, cinematic inspirations, and establishing his own musical language.
Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker :: Lonesome Traveler
The stellar Chicago duo of Ryley Walker and Bill MacKay return next month with SpiderBeetleBee , a collection of fluid acoustic freedom flights, floating from Britfolk excursions to hazy rambles into unclassifiable zones. Walker […]
Bill MacKay :: Esker
In recent years, guitarist Bill MacKay has served as Ryley Walker’s six-string sparring partner , built luminous soundscapes with Rob Frye (Bitchin Bajas, Cave) and led the jazz-inflected Darts and Arrows collective. A varied resume! MacKay maintains this healthy sense of adventure on Esker […]
Dynamic Duos :: James Elkington & Nathan Salsburg / Bill Mackay & Ryley Walker
With John Renbourn passing into the great unknown this year to join his six-string brother in arms Bert Jansch, it’s a good time to be reminded of the wonderful sounds two acoustic guitarists in joyous communion can make. These […]
Bill Callahan :: Cowboy
For the track “Cowboy”, off last year’s Gold lp, Callahan tagged up with filmmakers Anthony Gasparro and Mikey Kampmann to bring the song to visual life.
Below, we flip the script as Callahan catches up with the pair to discuss their working relationship, storytelling, synchronicity, rippling kindness and the power of the tuna melt as edible nostalgia.
Aquarium Drunkard Presents: The Drop Bear’s Song
At 44 tracks, the digital relief album serves up a massive helping of AD compatriots including, but not limited to, Steve Gunn, Mary Lattimore, James Toth, Sarah Louise, Maston, Bill MacKay, MV & EE, Andrew Tuttle, and loads more.
Mute Duo :: Lapse In Passage
As Mute Duo, pedal steel guitarist Sam Wagster and percussionist Skyler Rowe drift and rage with unusual grace. Best known for collaborations with Ryley Walker, Bill MacKay, Ben Lamar Gay, and Tim Kinsella, the two players stretch out gloriously on their latest, Lapse in Passage, which twists and churns within the heady post-everything frame work that has flourished in their hometown of Chicago, evoking loose-limbed spiritual jazz, inverted exotica, and ragged improv.
Catching Up With Peter Prescott
Author and artist Dmitry Samarov’s new book, Music To My Eyes, was released last month via the Chicago based Tortoise Books. A 264 page love letter to independent music, Samarov’s words and minimalist illustrations flow in tandem, presenting a portrait of fandom and appreciation, from Nick Cave to Bill MacKay. Below, Samarov catches up with one of the subjects of his new book, Mission of Burma’s Peter Prescott.
Aquarium Drunkard :: 2021 Year In Review
Here it is: our Year In Review 2021. Unranked and sprawling as always. A guide to the music that stuck with us throughout another strange year.
Steve Gunn :: Other You
Since it was recorded in California, it’s tempting to call Other You Steve Gunn’s most sun-kissed effort yet. And to be sure, the record features some of the singer-songwriter’s sweetest melodies, his warmest vocals, and most inviting arrangements.
Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: April 2021
Freeform transmissions from Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard on dublab. The April broadcast features new episodes of Range and Basin and Doom and Gloom from the Tomb plus Tyler Hale’s Tumbleweed and Uncle Tio’s Feathered Serpent. April 18, from 4—8 PM Pacific time.
Transfigurations 2021 :: Recent + Recommended 21st Century Guitar
A survey of genre-expanding guitar soli from Yasmin Williams, Rob Noyes, Mason Lindahl, Adeline Hotel, Steffen Basho-Junghans, and more, each expanding what you can do with six (or 12) strings.