Roosevelt graduate student Bill MacKay believes that the best music should be honest and flow naturally.
“I always want things to retain their purity, the emotion, mood or picture.” MacKay said. “Things that are built into it, as well as being solid in the melody, in the shape of it.”
MacKay is getting his Master of Arts in Spanish. MacKay has done some undergrad work at the Berklee College of Music, Portland State University and then finished up his undergraduate studies at Roosevelt.
But on the side MacKay is also an inspiring musician who has played in several bands in the Chicagoland area.
MacKay’s musical journey started at a young age when his father first introduced him to the world of music.
“My fascination with music started at the age of 9 when my father started bringing me to orchestral and jazz concerts,” MacKay said. “There were lots of experiences that made music a mystery worth exploring and the discovery of all sorts of great rock and other bands created a new sort of direction for me.”
MacKay began his musical career by playing the guitar.
“I started on a little guitar from a local department store,” MacKay said. “I worked on my mom to get me lessons and then she relented after a few weeks of badgering.”
Along with playing guitar, MacKay also specializes in the requinto guitar, which is a Spanish guitar.
But playing guitar is just one of MacKay’s interest in music. He also considers himself a composer and songwriter.
“I strive to write the best material I can,” MacKay said. “I may work on a song for months, while another song may be done in an hour or less.”
MacKay said his musical tastes vary over time, but he always likes to try new genres.
“My current interests intersect a lot,” MacKay said. “I like experimental folk, exploratory rock and creative improvisation, always something with a melody.”
MacKay said he performing by himself and enjoys performing in bands as well.
“I play solo when I can, with my friend Tyler Beach as a guitar duo,” MacKay said. “I am also a member of his [Beach] band Leaf Bird and I have a group called Darts & Arrows.”
MacKay said Darts and Arrows are about to release their debut CD.
MacKay has gone to different schools throughout the country and has played many venues over the years as both a solo artist and in bands.
“I’ve played in all the cities I’ve lived and visited Pittsburgh, Boston, Denver, Portland and Chicago,” MacKay said. “Here in Chicago the type, size and style of place has varied, from coffeehouse to bars to performance lofts and even galleries.”
Having been a musician for so long, MacKay believes that no matter what, a musician needs to get their voice heard.
“An artist ought to do things to get their work heard and seen,” MacKay said. “To share it and see what sort of life it can have outside…I believe in the music and I want people to hear it.”
MacKay still loves playing music and does not know where this life will lead him. The destination is something that will occur along the way.
“The destination is still always the next song,” MacKay said. “Success is measurable in so many ways…most ideas star with somebody working in a room by themselves, if what you’re doing has meaning, then everything that comes afterward is an unexpected diamond.”
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