Today we’d like to introduce you to McKay Johnson.
Hi McKay, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was raised in a musical family and began singing and performing in musical theatre and plays at a young age. I began teaching myself the guitar at the age of 10 – I am the youngest of 4 children and wanted to be like my dad and older brothers who all play guitar. However, it wasn’t until the age of 12 that I discovered what would become my biggest passion for many years: drums. My oldest brother got the new video game Rock Band for us younger siblings as a christmas present, and as soon as I started playing drums on it I felt something I’d never felt before. I began persistently pestering my parents for real drums and for my 13th birthday was delighted to receive a cheap drum set and lessons with a local teacher.
I progressed very quickly as a drummer and was playing paid professional gigs and recording in professional studios with the Caleb Chapman Soundhouse program by the age of 15. I cut my teeth playing lots of big band jazz, funk, soul, pop, and rock during these formative teen years.
Though I am no longer religious (which is a whole other story in and of itself – look up my intereviews with Mormon Stories Podcast, LADBible and Unfiltered Stories!), I was raised mormon and so took two years after high school to serve a 2-year mission for the church in Brazil. When I returned I attended BYU in Provo, Utah on a music scholarship which they had held for me while I was on my mission.
Simultaneous to my studies, I began an alt rock band called Phantom Future with a couple high school buddies and a friend we met at university. After winning a battle of the bands and recording our first EP, we played many gigs and learned a lot about navigating the industry for a few years.
In 2019, I joined another alt rock band called Suit Up, Soldier as my first band was falling apart. I poured my heart and soul into SUS for the next 4 years of my life as the drummer and a co-owner, songwriter and producer in that band. We achieved a lot in 4 years including a $20k kickstarter for a full length album, released said album in May of 2021, opened for large acts such as COIN and Vertical Horizon, toured regionally, and achieved over 3 million streams independently on our single Tongue Tied Twisted on Spotify alone.
Suit Up, Soldier came to an end in late 2023, right at the time I got an opportunity to go on my first large scale tour – a 6-week, 29-show nationwide run with Sunsleep, supporting Jonny Craig as he headlined his first tour back sober and performed his songs from his old band Emarosa. I learned and grew a lot as both a musician and a person on that tour; it was somewhat of a baptism by fire into the larger industry but I survived and knew I was ready to finally take the plunge and move to LA to pursue a full-time music career – and big change in my life.
After the tour with Sunsleep and working out some challenges in my personal life, I packed my car with everything I could fit and drove from Utah to LA on June 10, 2024. I had taken a trip to the city that April to make connections and scope things out, and I actually met the artist I’d tour with next – Darro – while in town. I toured as his drummer that summer and also worked fiendishly making industry connections, getting my bearings in a new city and just generally figuring out life.
I’m almost a year into my journey as a transplant to LA and can honestly say I am loving it more and more the longer I am here. I’ve been fortunate to connect with a plethora of extremely talented artists, musicians, bands and others and am regularly recording drums for people now, playing live shows, and going on more tours. The caliber of artists I’m working with continues increasing as does the level of the opportunities coming my way. It’s been a lot of hard work, some uncertainty at times for sure, but I’m so grateful for the chance to do what I love and wouldn’t change the process to achieve success in it for anything.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a long, winding, meandering road haha! The path of becoming a successful artist or professional musician is not an easy one, especially for someone like me who moved to LA from another state and wasn’t exactly connected from the get-go due to family or anything like that. I went through a painful divorce at the age of 24 partially due to my refusal to change my career path, I lost a relationship after my first big tour, I lost my former faith (yet discovered myself in the process), and have often had to scrape by to survive in the last few years of my life pursuing this dream. However, things have improved over time and the path to the proverbial “top” becomes a little less obscured in fog each day. I am happy and grateful to be in the thick of it all 🙂
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am both a solo artist and a professional for-hire drummer doing live shows, tours and session work! I’m known for being a very advanced virtuoso drummer with a distinct style on the kit yet also having impeccable pocket, groove and timing. I am proficient in many genres ranging from jazz to metalcore to rnb to rock to pop and everything in between. I am very proud of my ability to enhance other artists’ music through my drumming and musicianship. As a trained vocalist and guitarist, I have a lot of melodic sensitivity on the drums which enhances my rhythmic capabilities tremendously.
I am also developing a solo project right now to finally put out many of the songs i’ve written and am still writing about my life experiences. I have been a singer since I was little and took lessons as a kid, and recently have been putting more time and effort into “shaking the rust off” so to speak in preparation for recording, releasing, and promoting a large body of songs for that project.
Additionally, I DJ private events such as weddings and parties. I have a knack for putting together great playlists and thought I’d put it to use last year, and before I knew it I was DJing energetic sets to large crowds.
I think the greatest thing that sets me apart as an artist is the personality and life experience that I infuse in my playing, my singing, and my songwriting. The depth of suffering I’ve endured is apparent in my solo songs, yet so is my love for life and indomitable human spirit and positivity. I have been knocked down many times, hurt badly, and yet always stand back up and return stronger, wiser and more determined than before.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Get everything in writing before making deals/agreeing to work with or for people! Take the time to envision exactly what you want, write it down, and make plans to get there. Be specific! And overall: be persistent and tenacious. Expect that the road will be very challenging and disheartening at times, but as long as you believe in yourself and are willing to put in the work to achieve your dreams, you can do ANYTHING.
Pricing:
- I send quotes for my music and DJ services per inquiry. 🙂
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themckayjohnson/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@themckayjohnson
- Other: https://www.gigsalad.com/dj_mj_los_angeles
