Meet Steven McKinney of Stevie Mac & The Mac Daddies

Often dressed to the nines, Stevie Mac & The Mac Daddies have been blowing up venues around the city with their classy mix of jazz and pop standards for about a year now. We decided to have a little chat with frontman Steve McKinney about what they will be doing to mac the Beijing scene even harder in the next 12 months. Catch them live and witness personally what all the fuss is about tomorrow night (Jun 21) at Modernista.

What is the creation story behind The Mac Daddies?
I was in a band for about a year called the Avengers of Music. We started off very small, playing Lush and 4corners, but it was a side project of bands like Bye Bye Kitty and Violet and the Hunters. I wanted something that I was passionate about. I grew up in Louisiana and jazz was part of my upbringing, so I wanted to do this style of music. I started asking around and it all kind of fell into place after that. I used the connections I had made through the Avengers to start booking some shows for The Mac Daddies, and almost instantly it caught on. It was a big band, with a horn section, and was only supposed to be around six people, but it ended up being eleven.

Who are a couple of musicians or bands from New Orleans that have influenced your sound? Did you ever see the Preservation Jazz Hall Band?
Love, love Preservation Hall, especially their version of "Tailgate Ramble." I never got to see them live, unfortunately. I grew up in North Louisiana and would visit New Orleans and Baton Rouge regularly throughout. So when it comes to jazz, I'm a huge fan of Dixieland. Louis Armstrong is my greatest New Orleans inspiration with songs like “Hello Dolly,” “Wonderful World,” and “When the Saints.” He's the master in my eyes. I take pride in the fact the Mac Daddies have arguably one of the best versions of "When the Saints" in Beijing. When that trumpet hits, our fans explode. It always gives me goosebumps.

What are you trying to do with the Mac Daddies in Beijing? Where do you see the band in another year?
The band agrees as a whole that we want more original songs. Plans to write more songs are in the works, and a year from now, I see us having recorded an EP, with five or six songs. Who knows, maybe we’ll even do a music video. The band is catered for big city events, festivals and balls. This year, I hope to further our reputation for booking these big events regularly. The Mac Daddies are hard workers. We strive to be the best at what we do.

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Want to catch Steve and the gang do what they do best? They'll be performing for free tomorrow night (Jun 21) at Modernista as part of the ongoing Fête de la Musique.