Meet Dave Mackay

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dave Mackay.

Dave, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started piano lessons when I was six years old and fell in love with the instrument right away. When I was 12, I auditioned to study classical music every weekend at the Royal College of Music Junior Department in London and was offered a place. I spent six years learning classical piano there, but never saw myself becoming a concert pianist – I’ve always been more drawn to jazz and rock music. In between all those music lessons, I was messing around at home with recording gear and teaching myself how to engineer and produce music. Most of my free time was spent writing/recording songs or gigging with bands.

In 2009, I moved to the US to go to Berklee, always assuming I’d head back to the UK right after college. Instead, I wound up spending four years in New York, where I made my first three records and started touring with my own band. I did a lot of sideman work in New York too – with Grace Weber, Lapsley, Chord Overstreet, and many others. In 2016, I got a call to tour with Art Garfunkel as part of his intimate acoustic show: just voice, piano, and guitar.

We spent the next two years on the road, traveling to roughly 120 different cities around the world. I moved to Los Angeles in 2017 and have been working on a ton of new music since I got here. Most recently, I’ve been touring the US/Canada alongside prog guitarist Plini.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not in the slightest. I think all creative careers are inherently turbulent; it’s just the nature of making things and taking risks. It has taken me a lot of time to accept that I’ll probably never feel ‘ready’ for anything.

Every worthwhile creative step I’ve taken was one that was just slightly out of reach – one that I didn’t feel quite ready for. Making things is a weird game – you can often find yourself feeling very stuck, even though the universe is nudging you along and things are actually working out fine.

Sometimes the only way to trick yourself into action is to create a set of unavoidable deadlines – booking the studio before you’ve finished writing the album forces you to finish it; announcing the release date to the world forces you to let go of your creation, even if you’re feeling unsure about it; spending a lot of money on a project forces you to follow through with it, even if you have days when you lose interest in what you’re making.

Honestly, I feel most of the struggles are internal – you’re always negotiating with the needs of your soul and the wants of your ego.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I write, produce and perform music, mostly as a pianist/keyboardist and as a singer. I’ve released a few records over the years; some belong in the progressive rock world, some are more at home in the jazz world.

My most recent project is called THREE: Vol. 1. It’s the first installment of three records I’m making with three different trios in three different cities that have been pivotal in my life: Los Angeles, New York City, and London. I want to explore what effect these cities have on the creative process – it’s quite a different thing to write music in a tiny, cramped Manhattan rehearsal room, versus slowly piecing together a record in sunny Los Angeles, where everyone has a home studio set up in their spare bedroom. So this first volume is the LA trio – it features the immense talents of Antoine Katz (bass) and Aaron Steele (drums) and was made entirely in Los Angeles, California.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t really believe in luck – it implies that you’re a bystander to your own existence. I believe the universe has its way of offering you opportunities/challenges and how you choose to navigate them is really up to you. I’ve had some big tests of mental strength over the years, but I wouldn’t consider them bad luck – they’ve helped me grow as a human. I’ve also had some amazing experiences in life – maybe they were moments of good luck… or maybe those sorts of opportunities are more readily available than we think – they just require you getting out of your own way to receive them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dave-mackay.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/davemackaymusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/davemackaymusic
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0OP43xZYPF7td5hkJr0dsi?si=82O6BAxIRiSK3FS2aLAxqg

Image Credit:
Merrick Winter, Leonardo Mascaro, Matthew Craig

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