STEVE MACKAY
Saxophone player Steve Mackay has known no boundries when it comes to confronting varying musical forms. His effortless transition between playing methods engages the instrument he accompanies, equally capable of joining a background drone or leaping to the forefront.
An active professional musician since the mid sixties, Mackay first found fame as the Funhouse-era sax player for The Stooges, (once inspiring Miles Davis to forcefully plug his ears during an NYC gig) then continuing on a long, varied voyage through styles as a member of the Violent Femmes, backing Residents' guitarist Snakefinger and recently collaborating with J Mascis and Mike Watt.
In the most bizarre twist to his lengthy career, Mackay is considered dead by major media and rock historians. Reports of his drug overdose in the 70s have been perpetuated by MTV, VH1 and Rolling Stone. A steady stream of inquiries to Steve's mortality has persisted since his re-emergence with Radon.
From 2001-2003, Mackay teamed with Radon to meticulously compile his experimental epic "Michigan and Arcturus". The fresh blood of his sonic architect, co-conspirators has inspired a venture into wholly unique musical territory. For the Radon Uropa 7 inch series Mackay donated the painful clamour of his pinball duet Punk Machine and supported this release with west coast shows in 2003.
The past 2 years, Mackay has accelerated his activity with a barrage of collaborations. He has regularly joined the Violent Femmes on stage and in the studio, toured 5 continents with the Stooges and Radon Ensemble, lent his talents to a track on the second Grails record for Neurot Recordings, backed Smegma for concerts and recordings and appears on the first 2 volumes of Radon's Portugal series.
2006 will see the long awaited release of Michigan and Arcturus and various line-ups of the ever-changing Radon Ensemble will convene to present the next wave of Mackay's unceasing musical vision.
STOOGES REUNION:
The impact of the 2003 Stooges reunion sent ripples through the music world. Long time fans have finally realized their never dreamed of opportunity to witness Iggy Pop once again fronting a Stooges line-up featuring Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton and Steve Mackay, along with newcomer Mike Watt on bass. After the initial performance at the Coachella music and arts festival in the desert of southern California, they moved on to the eastern US and finally Europe. Fans flew from around the world to mix with a younger generation being exposed for the first time to the group who shaped and influenced so many of the bands they know today.
Their return to Detroit was especially siginificant, bringing the stooges home where it all began. After a forced rescheduling, brought on by the famed power blackout that crippled so much of eastern America, 14,000 turned out in an atmosphere of religious fervour. The NYC appearance fell on the Virgin records showcase during MTV awards week. The show was also a benefit concert for AIDS relief organization Life Beat. Joining mid-set to belt out classics from the Funhouse album, Steve Mackay, the only Stooge still exclusively using his same 1970 instrument, lifted the fanatical fans of the Stooges to a higher level of elation and gained praise from press. Festival appearances in France and Spain only spread the fire, making the reunion one of the most noteworthy and talked about musical revelations of the year. In 2004, The Stooges continued their activity, dispelling all doubts this was another of the plague of punk rock, cash-in, comebacks. Iggy in the Stooges have already crossed both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and show no signs of slowing. A new DVD of footage from their 2003 Detroit gig documents the live show and it is now confirmed that they will be recording a new cd in their current line up for Virgin records.
Nobody knows how long Iggy will continue to hit the stage, but in the last months, the Stooges show no signs of slowing down, with tours including visits to South America and Oceania.
STEVE MACKAY RADON ENSEMBLE
The Radon Ensemble is an ever-mutating group of musicians uniting to back Steve Mackay under his leadership. Though based mainly on savage live improvisational performances, many of the people involved are featured on "Michigan and Arcturus". Having already given concerts in both the US and in Europe, the recorded debut of Steve Mackay and the Radon Ensemble was on the You've Got Your Orders Volume 2. The group received tremendous praise following their first tour in 2003, including an extensive feature Bull Tounge, the Arthur Magazine column of Thurston Moore and Byron Coley. Amongst the musicians who have played in this project: Sam Lohman, Scott Nydegger, Noah Mickens, Kamilsky, Ripit, Mr Natural, Yann Geoffriaud Travis McCallister, Jason Waugaman, Frank Pullen, Marlon Kasberg, Giovanni Donadini, Jason LaFarge, Paul Beauchamp, Jon Cash Slave, John Weise, Gustavo Costa, Suzanne Thorpe, Kim West and members of Soopa, Mecanosphere and Temple of Bon Matin.
