Entrevista con - Bill MacKechnie

GL - Thanks for your time Bill MacKechnie !
BM - Thank YOU for taking the time to talk to me about the band and my music, I really appreciate it!

GL - Please tell us about your personal history and background for the fans at Mexico
BM - I was born in Port Jervis NY, a town 60 miles north of New York City and spent most of my first 18 or so years there. I didn't really start playing guitar until I was in High School. I actually was planning on becoming an artist and had training in fine and commercial art, but the music kind of grabbed a hold of me and I gave that dream up. I bought a cheap electric guitar and put together my first band SAVAGE CRIMSON, with some friends. Because I was totally self taught, we always had a much different sound than other bands.We played as much as we could but we weren't very good at doing covers of the hits, so by the time we broke up I was already writing original songs and developing a different guitar style than all the other guitarists I knew. After High School, I moved upstate to Binghamton NY and began getting into recording my original stuff. This eventually led to my forming my own record label and releasing a series of cassette only guitar albums. They sold fairly well and I've continued experimenting with different musics and bands ever since.

GL - What motivated you to want to learn to play the guitar?
BM - I've always thought that the guitar is one of the most expressive instruments on the planet and I come from a fairly musical family but I'd really have to say that it was seeing Jimi Hendrix doing "Wild Thing" and "Like a Rolling Stone" on the film MONTEREY POP that made me want to learn to play. I was blown away by the thought that that much sound was coming from one guy and a guitar!

GL - What style do you like to play ?
BM - I really don't like style labels. I pretty much like to play all styles of guitar music. I started playing blues-rock because I loved bending notes and really making a guitar sing, cry or scream-- still do--but I gradually started getting into jazz and various fusion players. I integrated them into my style but kept it really loose and evolving. I never copy anything note for note, I always mutate the influences. That's why I play so weird. About the only guitar music that I really haven't gotten into very heavily is shred. Not that I have anything against it, technique-wise some of todays players are astounding, but I've alway thought that expressing emotion is what music is all about and in a lot of super-technical speed playing the only emotion I hear is "Aint I GREAT?" In the 90's a lot of record company guys tried to get me to play like that but my heart just wasn't in it. I'd rather hear a guitarist play a simple phrase with emotion than a million note technically perfect run that leaves me cold.

GL - Tell us about your technique and how you developed it?
BM - It just developed naturally. Like I said, I'm entirely self taught and I spent most of my time writing music, not practicing.

GL - Who are your main influences?
BM - How much time do you have? I could list a million of them but the biggest ones are probably the guys who tried to do something different with the instrument such as Hendrix, and John McLaughlin (of the Mahavishnu Orchestra).

GL - Who is your favorite guitar player?
BM - I honestly don't have a favorite. If you came to my studio you'd probably hear Django Rheinhardt followed by Zakk Wylde.

GL - What projects are you currently working on?
BM - There are a lot of things going on at my studio. We've just added keyboardist David Sweet to ANUBIS SPIRE and we're busy recording our follow up to our first album OLD LIONS.

GL - Tell us about Anubis Spire your actual band
BM - ANUBIS SPIRE came about from a magical jam I had one night with some musician friends. I've always been a big fan of Arabic and Indian musics and that night we got jamming on a tune that touched upon all of the elements that eventually found their way into our signature sound.

GL - Let's move on to the "Old Lions (In The World Of Snarling Sheep)" record. What is about it?
BM - There IS a storyline and meaning that runs throughout the pieces. Some of our fans have actually figured most of it out. It's hard to figure because it's mostly instrumental, you have to look at the titles to get an idea of what were trying to tell you.

GL - What´s the meaning of this record to you?
BM - To me, it's a real aural adventure. There is a LOT going on underneath the music. If all you do is listen to it superficially, you might not understand or really "hear" it. It really is a record that you have to listen to many times before the layers of meaning and all the intricacies of the music can really be heard and understood.

GL - What´s your favorite song from this new record?
BM - If by "new" record you mean the CD we're still working on (CHILDREN OF A FOREIGN FAITH) I really don't have one yet. If you mean on OLD LIONS, I guess it would have to be OLD LIONS, the title cut.

GL - Have you ever done a song that you wish you could go back in time and un-do? If so, which one, and why?
BM - Yes, many! I'm never really satisfied with the work I've done but if I don't finally stop fiddling with stuff nothing would ever get released! On OLD LIONS, I wish I could redo THE PRISONER'S SONG. I like the song but when we did it, we slowed it down and Mike (rhythm guitarist Michael Leo Brothers) sang it in a really different way than I intended. I listened to my demo of the song and in my opinion it was a much better arrangment and stronger version than finally showed up on the CD. I feel the same way about RANSOM, but to a lesser extent.

GL - What are your thoughts on the state of instrumental guitar these days?
BM - I think it's really incredible but it seems that there are a lot of really great guitarists who are making music specifically aimed at an audience of other guitarists. It gets a little silly, ya know? It's not music for music's sake, it's like a gymnastic competition.

GL - What do you think about the new crop of talented Guitar player's that are currently out there making music?
BM - I think they're amazing! If I could give them one piece of advice it would be to develope their hearts and souls as much as they do their technique. If they do that, we're in for a golden age of guitar music.

GL - When all is said and done, years from now, how would you want people to remember Bill MacKechnie ?
BM - I'd be happy if they remembered one song or one solo of mine that touched them and made them FEEL something. That's the greatest accomplishment any songwriter, guitarist or other musician can hope for. If I reach just one person in my lifetime it'll have been worth it.

GL - What will be next for Bill MacKechnie ?
BM - We're working hard on the second CD, CHILDREN OF A FOREIGN FAITH. We hope to have it ready for release this summer. It will be a concept album with much more vocal material but just as much guitar as Old Lions.

GL - And can we expect to see Anubis Spire in Mexico any time soon?
BM - We'd love to tour and play in Mexico! After the CD is done we'll be looking at our touring offers. If you're reading this and are a promoter who might be interested in bringing us to Mexico for a concert, drop us a line.

GL - Is there anything else you would like to share with us that I have not asked?
BM - Only that I really appreciate your interest and we're working hard to give all our fans the best music we can. I'll end by saying, hang on, the best is yet to come!

GL - Thanks for your time Bill MacKechnie, i really appreciated it!,
BM - You're very welcome, thank you.

No olviden visitar www.billmackechnie.com