The Mac Saturn guys are back and making a racket! It was great to reconnect with Carson, Angelo, Mike, and Ian.
The band has had an unusual start. Sidelined by the pandemic, then, a now ex-member sentenced to jail for child porn, the guys are focused on another chance to prove they belong in the big leagues, on the big stages.
They sat down with me earlier this week to discuss everything happening with Mac Saturn...
"It's Been A Hell Of A Year"
With all that's happened in the past, I just asked them: How's the state of the band? Singer, Carson Macc said, "Well, it's been one hell of a year, year and a half, I'd say. We've spent a lot of time together. You know, we've been brought closer as brothers, and we've been doing a lot of writing. We've got a lot of new songs that we're trying out on stage, as well as the songs from Hard to Sell that we still love playing. And we're just trying to push our sound, push ourselves, and push each other to be the best we can be. And we're excited to bring that back to people. But, it's been quite a year." Bassist Ian Lukas piped in on how much they've been inspired. "It's been such a terrific period for really being inspired by our audience. Really plotting, you know, what we want to come back with, what kind of, like, direction we want to go come back with. And we're just super psyched with how it's going so far."
The guys have primarily been playing smaller shows to get back in the groove. Something that Carson said is a chance to connect with the fans. "People were playing to, these crowds that are extremely engaged. And we get to engage with every single person. We kind of lost that a little bit in some of the shows when we opened for Dirty Honey
and the Struts, obviously, at that level. You know, there's a few people in the back that you can't really make eye contact with. But on these shows we've been playing, we are connecting with every single person in the club. And it's an exciting thing for us. And it really is informing us a lot on the songs that we've been working."
Working With Al Sutton, Herschel Boone, and Marlon Young
The guys are no strangers to Rust Belt studio, helmed by the legendary Al Sutton. I asked what it's like to work with him. "Well, I will say, you know, Al is a big part of it. But Marlon Young and Herschel Boone. The other two guys. You know, Marlon's definitely in the music world and in the guitar world. And Herschel, me, and Herschel, definitely lock in on the vocals. And he works with the guys on the backgrounds. He gets these guys to sound like a 35-piece choir on the background." Carson went on, "It's crazy. So I would say it's definitely a team effort. But Al is just so passionate. And he is so, he's matured so much since we've even started working with him. And the process that we have with him now, there's so much trust involved. And there's such a free communication that he really lets us bring in ideas and see where they lead to. And, you know, he reaches out to people that he knows and tries to get them involved as well."
For those who don't know, Marlon and Herschel have been in Kid Rock's Twisted Brown Trucker band for over two decades.
Being A Detroit Band
I asked the guys about representing Detroit rock abroad. Guitarist Mike Moody said, "We're so proud of Detroit. And it's such a cool conversation starter, too, because we are repping it as much as we possibly can. So I think a lot of people have really cool experiences with something that they love from Detroit. And we love talking about that."
Angelo piped in, "Everyone's got some artists they love from Detroit. He said that even a city like Nashville has many musicians from this area. "Well, I think we wouldn't be who we are without where we are always. You know, we're very in tune with our environment, just all the guys in general. And I think a real, true no frills band has to be affected by where they are, you know? And I'm just so thankful that it's this city because what can be combined in this city, not only music-wise, but style-wise, vibe-wise, energy-wise, hustle-wise, what you can combine here, you can only do here. It's one of one place, and it makes us want to be one of one. And I, you know, as much as I owe everything to the band and the producers and everything, we owe just as much to the city for making us want to be who we are and want to be a Detroit thing," said Carson.
Ian chimed in, "It's a privilege to be a part of the music scene in Detroit, and take that on the road."
Playing Saint Andrew's Hall On November 15th
It's a big show for the boys, as drummer Angelo Coppala explained, "It's my dad's birthday. There's a lot going on. We got to kill it. We got to do it. So we're excited for that. And we've got our eyes on that target. But it's all, it all feels like the first time. But it's also like the first time with all the knowledge that you have. So we're really excited to take different steps than we did last time when we were kind of at this point."
I'm glad the boys are back. They're good dudes, and I hope this time they're around for a long time!
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