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| David Black |
Mackenzie First is a Canadian alternative;
pop, post-punk band formed in 2001 by singer/songwriter Dave Black &
guitarist songwriter Domenic Berardi in Montreal, Canada. Black & Berardi
worked for the next few years on the bands development and songwriting. After
countless demos and club dates to fine-tune the material, the band was starting
to show results. The music soon became an outlet allowing them to air their
views on the social landscape and its changing tides. The sound was also taking
on a new shape. Experimental pop textures were infused with timely subject
matter, (always with a tongue-in-cheek delivery) yielded refreshing results,
such as their first single and video BETTER on their debut album. Mackenzie First’s
music had now evolved into their very own distinct brand.
It’s not often that a band makes it past the harsh reality of the
industry and keeps its, course creating the music it believes in. Mackenzie
First has proven to be the exception. They have stayed on track and continued
to write songs that inspire. Since their inception in 2001, they have remained
strong and faced adversity with a smile. Their strong morals and humoristic
approach to world events brings about a refreshing take on music.
Click Here to here the song --->"BETTER"
the world Premiere of the video "BETTER" is scheduled to be release at Ottawa Fashion week on September 30th at 9:00 PM, at the premiere of "Element Fire" Spring/Summer 2012 collection of Ralph Leroy.
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| David Black |
How did
you become "Mackenzie First" ?
We
all grew up together in Laval. We had several different bands
and band names along the way and Mackenzie First was an inside joke about Dom
and Dave flunking Grade 10 history class. (Thinking that Mackenzie was the
first prime minister of Canada) when we got onto the 123 punk album in 2002 the
name just kinda stuck. People knew who we were and more importantly we felt
that it actually had a special meaning to us.
How did
you meet Ralph Leroy?
We
met Ralph threw a mutual friend of our label (Tab Records).
Can you
describe what it was like to work with Ralph?
We really liked
working with Ralph. He was direct and to the point. Ralph understood the
dynamics of the band and our individual personalities very well and it came
across in his choices of clothing for us. From then on in he had our complete
trust. He's also a very honest man who doesn't hide his feelings or tip toe
around the truth which was very refreshing and he was not afraid to
tell us the truth where are style and our best interest
was concerned. If something we were doing looked bad we were able to
count on his utmost honest opinion. In this buisness that's the kind of person
you really need.
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| Domenic Berardi |
How
would you describe Mackenzie First's style? (Wardrobe and music genre)
Were
very colorful characters and our wardrobe and music
style definitely have to represent that. Ralph understood us right away and was able
to help us bring this out I would say
musically were a cross between The B52`s and Aerosmith, clean pop sound with
funky overtones and a rock edge. Wardrobe wise were a mix of Britt pop
fashion and 70's vintage.
What
are your thoughts on the Fall/Winter 2011 Collection?
From what we have
seen we think it looks AMAZING and we're very excited to see more at Fashion
week!
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| Zook Zuccaro |
Do you
have favorite pieces you would like to wear from the Collection?
Dave: The pieces Ralph gave us for the music video suited
my personality so well I honestly don't think I've ever felt more "In my
skin" The Scotch checkered Jacket was Super cool and Very
something I'd wear but i think the red leather jacket would have to be my favorite.
I'm just a sucker for the classics!
Dom: I love the bright colored suit jackets. I used to
wear a lot of Black/Grey and now I'm really into the
vintage colorful styled jackets.
Ever since I saw
myself wearing the bright colors in the video I'm never going back to those
boring colors again!
What do
you want your listeners to retain from your album?
To have a positive
outlook on some of life's toughest issues, One thing were
all about is finding the light in a soar subject.
You don't always get to choose your path in life but you can
choose how your going to walk down it. With the right attitude and a little
Rock & Roll magic you can always turn everything around!
When our singer
Dave was 9 his older sister Jillian tragically passed away from cystic fibrosis.
For years he was depressed and thought nothing but why me. It was only when
he realized that all the biggest and greatest
philanthropists in the world have also suffered great losses.
That he began to realize there was another way. With great loss comes great
understanding. It’s all relative.
Our new single
Better is about just that! Everyone in our circle is positive and works
hard! We may not have been born with every advantage in this world but we'll
keep spreading are positive message and trying to good by people. Not
for some crazy religious purpose but just because it’s the right
thing to do and if we win we all win.
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| Mario Telaro |
Where
do you see your music in 5 years?
All over the
world!
I expect to be on
a world tour as soon as our new single is released!
Check it out
Here : “BETTER”
Can we
expect Mackenzie First and Ralph Leroy to collaborate on future projects?
Absolutely! Ralph
did stellar job and we look forward to working with him
again on all our big projects!
By Blame_coco
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| David Black |
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| Mackenzie First: "Better" |
Courtesy:
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Photos: Janie Fontaine
The "Jackie" dress from Ralph Leroy's collection is reminiscent of the 1960's (fall is full of sweet nostalgia this year) with it's tweed construction and unexpected pop of crimson silk. (Need I say more? Oh, but I will) Seen all over the runways, red the color of power, gives this dress that edge you won't find in any other traditional tweed piece. This dress is for the powerful career woman with drive flowing in her veins. She has chosen it among her top choices to wear to the office (add a trench coat for those chilly mornings and switch into a blazer at night) but will also be compelled to let her hair down and wear her Jackie to the cocktail party she's been planning her whole season around. Don't be shy to add that touch of red-lipstick. All eyes will be locked on to you!
