Real McKenzies real excited about new CD and world tour

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Vancouver celtic punk stalwarts the Real McKenzies believe in good humour and fun is just as important as politics for punk music.

The Real McKenzies return to Lethbridge to rock, March 6. Photo by Richard Amery
 So on their upcoming album “ Rats in the Burlap,” which they recorded with NOFX’s Fat Mike, they not only have  politically charged numbers like “ Who’d a Thought” and “Yes or No” about the Scottish referendum, but also have a tribute to McKenzie’s cat who passed away last year “Bootsy the Haggis-Eating Cat,” not to mention about friends like DOA guitarist David Gregg who passed away last year of a heart attack.


“ I always avoided the things that were bad or turned them into something that was good,” said frontman Paul McKenzie, looking forward to the album release on March 24 and the ensuing world tour which brings them to Bo Diddly’s with the Vancouver based baseball punks the Isotopes, March 6.


 The current lineup of the band is Paul McKenzie: Vocals; Mark "BONE" Boland: Guitar/vocals; Mario Nieva : Guitar, Vocals; Troy Zak: bass/vocals; Jesse Pinner: drums; Matt McNasty: bagpipes/ vocals and Gord Taylor: bagpipes/vocals.


 It can be hard on the health for a musician on the road.
“ We  had to replace Filthy Kurt. He went to the doctor and it was one of those things you’ve got to  stop today if you want to see tomorrow. Last year he played a show with us and he had to stop for 45 minutes. He was panting and sweating. You have to be tough. Not tough like violent, but you have to be able to hit and run. We didn't want to let him go. We said we’ve got  you a replacement,” he said.
 That replacement was guitarist Mario Nieva.
“ He’s a Filipino guy he’s a great guitarist. He’s got some excellent licks, McKenzie enthused.
 You can hear the effect on the crushing lick of  “Who’s a Thought.”


“ That’s Mario and Bolan playing together,” he said adding a lot of the album’s politics and some of the sound came from the band’s plus Fat Mike’s mutual love for pre-punk pioneers the MC5.
They are excited about the world tour  which will take them over to Europe again, though not  McKenzies’ homeland of Scotland.
“ We paid for this new album ourselves to our coffers are pretty low. It costs a lot to  take six guys on tour,” he said.


“I always love to play Inverness though. It’s my ancestral home so we’ll get back there,” he said.


 This tour includes the United States, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands plus France and the Czech Republic and Italy.
 In the meantime they are working on a couple of videos for the new CD for “Yes or No ” and  “Catch me If I Fall” with a Vancouver film production company.
“ They’re a lot of fun. They’re campy,” he described.

The band went to San Francisco to record the CD in Motor Studios with Fat Mike, bassist and lead singer of Los Angeles punks NOFX.

“We went down there for a a couple of weeks,” McKenzie said.
He said there are a couple of outstanding songs. “Yes or No” about the referendum and “Bootsy the Haggis Eating Cat.”

“ I had a beloved cat that passed away. I remember me and some friends were having drinks to celebrate Robbie Burns Day on Jan. 25 and fell asleep. The haggis was in the middle of the table. When we woke up it was on the floor and the cat was eating it. It was eating the vegetables too, not just the meat,” he recalled.
 
“Catch Me is a song about me to me. I can stand upright and fall asleep holding a beer,” he said.

 


He always enjoyed the Lethbridge shows.
“ If it’s the same place as we were last year, the place was packed. The firefighters all come out. Last time  it was over capacity and we said “I hope the fire marshal doesn’t come out’ and one of them said ‘ don’t worry about it the whole fire department is here,” he said adding he hopes the Lethbridge Fire  Department pipes and drums will perform again.


“They are certainly welcome. I hope they do I love to see something different,” he said.


 He noted the set will include much of the new album.
“ We’re playing six or seven a songs off the new album and a couple songs we haven’t played in a long time like ‘Sailor Man. Because that’s me,” he said.
 

McKenzie ’s ’70s punk band the Enigmas are playing a couple of shows around Vancouver.


“ We wear different clothing and out hair is slicked back. But we’re not going to tour. All of those guys have jobs and families,” he said.


The Isotopes and the Real McKenzies play  Bo Diddly’s on March 6.
 Door open at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $20, $25 at the door.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
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