Thanks for the reminiscences about Mac. A trip to the Lucky Lounge was a mandatory stop whenever friends were in town Thursday evenings. I got to chat with him once, shortly before he died, when he was excited about the Faces reunion. It's so sad that never came to pass.
Yeah! the Great Mac! I wrote a Steve Marriott story "Smokin'" about the small faced lead singer who died young at 44. "You're here a short time and gone a long time so make the most of it." as Bo Diddley told me in '81. Your article makes the point that these were true Bands with a capital B. What an era and Mac lived up to the task at hand, rocking out for the fans as part of a whole whether it worked out down the road or not. Rod was a good guy mostly even got me and his limo driver into Studio 54 where I ran into Richie Havens for the first time and had nice chat. Picked Jimmy Z for the group seeing him at a Hollywood club and said to him , "If you can learn the sax parts you've got a gig." Played MSG and the great harpist told us this true rock tale when we hung out all night at the Parker Meridian. Rod knew how to give back and was nice in those hot legs days. As always your writing is inspiring ✨️
Thank you for your fond remembrances of an artist I did not get to see as I was not in town when he was here. But I have to say that the Small Faces were one of the influential British bands for me.
Here we are at the end of 2024 (im not too late) and this magnificent article pops up talking about some rare people i was blessed to know. No i am not religious (except for Music) but my time with Mac and Kim was something out of a dream.
To wit, the Bumps were backing Bonnie Raitt ( quite a while ago ) and i was asked ro be FOH and road dog for a California run. Mac, Bassist Ray Ohara, Guitarist Jonny Lee Schell, some guy named Mitch Mitchell drumming and Bobby Keyes playing the Sax. Talk about rock heaven for an engineer...
Legendary dudes who all were shredders in their own right ALL ON STAGE TOGETHER rockin like nobody's business.
I digress...
All the lads were awesome to be traveling with and the ir kindness was second to none.
Mac and Kim opened their home to me for a number of days during rehearsals - they of course didn't HAVE TO- it was who they were.
It seems the kindness was distributed throughout the band , Bobby has me over to his LaJolla home for dinner back when and Dez were married.
i could go on but the point here is that these were not your run of the mill museos, they were Royalty and that height of accomplishment never got in the way of their being truly great folks.
I miss my friends dearly.
MIchael, this was a lovely bit to read.
Thank You, im sure Mac and Kim would have been deeply ouched.
I got to see Mac and the Bump Band play in 2004 at Davey's Uptown Lounge in Kansas City, Mo. I arrived at the bar early as the band was finishing its sound check. I passed the time having a few beers and chatting with the bar's owner. She must have appreciated my company, as she gave me a promo poster for the just-released Faces boxed set, "Five Guys Walk Into a Bar ,,,"
After the show, which was great, Mac stuck around to sell merch and sign autographs. I got him to sign the poster and a copy of the band's live CD. We talked for a bit, and I told him how I liked his playing on Paul Westerberg's first solo record, "14 Songs." Mac's eyes lit up, and he told me how he loved playing with Paul, and how disappointed he was when scheduling conflicts prevented him from accepting Westerberg's offer to join his touring band. That would have been an amazing tour.
I rarely attempt to meet any of my musical heroes, fearing that it would end in disappointment. Mac was the rare exception. He was a legendary musician and a damn fine bloke, too. I still miss him.
He couldn’t have been a sweeter and more gracious 5’5” bloke! I used to go see him play at ye olde Saxxon on South Lamar long before his residency at The Lucky Lounge!! Had the pleasure of running into him at a show in Western Mass and hoisted a few beers with him and John Notarthomas and other friends! Great times! Great article! We miss Mac!!!
Fucking beautiful, Michael. Thank you.
Heard him at the bugle boy in Lagrange a few years ago. Corcoran, you’re the real deal.
Thanks for the reminiscences about Mac. A trip to the Lucky Lounge was a mandatory stop whenever friends were in town Thursday evenings. I got to chat with him once, shortly before he died, when he was excited about the Faces reunion. It's so sad that never came to pass.
Mac was a lovely guy. He played with Mick Taylor and myself at the Roxy in LA in 1990 and many other studio albums of mine. Kept us all in stitches.
Yeah! the Great Mac! I wrote a Steve Marriott story "Smokin'" about the small faced lead singer who died young at 44. "You're here a short time and gone a long time so make the most of it." as Bo Diddley told me in '81. Your article makes the point that these were true Bands with a capital B. What an era and Mac lived up to the task at hand, rocking out for the fans as part of a whole whether it worked out down the road or not. Rod was a good guy mostly even got me and his limo driver into Studio 54 where I ran into Richie Havens for the first time and had nice chat. Picked Jimmy Z for the group seeing him at a Hollywood club and said to him , "If you can learn the sax parts you've got a gig." Played MSG and the great harpist told us this true rock tale when we hung out all night at the Parker Meridian. Rod knew how to give back and was nice in those hot legs days. As always your writing is inspiring ✨️
Those years seeing him at the Lucky Lounge were so cool.
Seeing Scrappy Jud Newcomb play with the Bump Band before the Stones took the same stage at Zilker is one of my best days ever.
Thank you for your fond remembrances of an artist I did not get to see as I was not in town when he was here. But I have to say that the Small Faces were one of the influential British bands for me.
Thanks, Michael. As usual, a very beautiful tribute. Looking forward to your new book being released!
Excellent remembrance. Mac’s memoir is Grade A, and a very enjoyable and emotional read.
Here we are at the end of 2024 (im not too late) and this magnificent article pops up talking about some rare people i was blessed to know. No i am not religious (except for Music) but my time with Mac and Kim was something out of a dream.
To wit, the Bumps were backing Bonnie Raitt ( quite a while ago ) and i was asked ro be FOH and road dog for a California run. Mac, Bassist Ray Ohara, Guitarist Jonny Lee Schell, some guy named Mitch Mitchell drumming and Bobby Keyes playing the Sax. Talk about rock heaven for an engineer...
Legendary dudes who all were shredders in their own right ALL ON STAGE TOGETHER rockin like nobody's business.
I digress...
All the lads were awesome to be traveling with and the ir kindness was second to none.
Mac and Kim opened their home to me for a number of days during rehearsals - they of course didn't HAVE TO- it was who they were.
It seems the kindness was distributed throughout the band , Bobby has me over to his LaJolla home for dinner back when and Dez were married.
i could go on but the point here is that these were not your run of the mill museos, they were Royalty and that height of accomplishment never got in the way of their being truly great folks.
I miss my friends dearly.
MIchael, this was a lovely bit to read.
Thank You, im sure Mac and Kim would have been deeply ouched.
I got to see Mac and the Bump Band play in 2004 at Davey's Uptown Lounge in Kansas City, Mo. I arrived at the bar early as the band was finishing its sound check. I passed the time having a few beers and chatting with the bar's owner. She must have appreciated my company, as she gave me a promo poster for the just-released Faces boxed set, "Five Guys Walk Into a Bar ,,,"
After the show, which was great, Mac stuck around to sell merch and sign autographs. I got him to sign the poster and a copy of the band's live CD. We talked for a bit, and I told him how I liked his playing on Paul Westerberg's first solo record, "14 Songs." Mac's eyes lit up, and he told me how he loved playing with Paul, and how disappointed he was when scheduling conflicts prevented him from accepting Westerberg's offer to join his touring band. That would have been an amazing tour.
I rarely attempt to meet any of my musical heroes, fearing that it would end in disappointment. Mac was the rare exception. He was a legendary musician and a damn fine bloke, too. I still miss him.
Fortunate to have him as an honorary Arc Angel as well.
Another amazing Austin story, Michael. Bravo!
This is lovely. Thank you
He couldn’t have been a sweeter and more gracious 5’5” bloke! I used to go see him play at ye olde Saxxon on South Lamar long before his residency at The Lucky Lounge!! Had the pleasure of running into him at a show in Western Mass and hoisted a few beers with him and John Notarthomas and other friends! Great times! Great article! We miss Mac!!!