Easy Pieces: Mac DeMarco

Mac Demarco is the latest (and greatest) export from the Great White North to grace our stateside eardrums. Despite his age – he’s only 22 – DeMarco’s been making great tunes for years now, a variant kind of lo-fi, shuffling, and naked funk that began, and was apparently forgotten, with J.J. Cale in the 1970s. Lucky for us, DeMarco and his ragged band are embarking on a US tour in Spring 2013. Catch ‘em if you can!

What's the best part of your job?
It’s casual Friday every day.

What is the best food you’ve had in your neighborhood lately or while you were traveling?
Cha Cha Depanneur is the only place I really go to eat in Montreal. It’s a couple doors down from my house. It's always completely empty, except for a couple Jamaican dudes usually hanging out, so it's nice and quiet. I like to read the rap magazines, and the roti’s are hella spicy and nice.

Briefly describe your strangest travel experience.
I remember stopping at a gas station between Saskatoon and Edmonton while on tour a couple years ago. There was a dude in there that smelt really, really funky and had a big wet stain on the back of his sweat pants. He'd definitely pissed them. I think he bought an ice cream bar or something and got back in his car and proceeded to drive directly onto the wrong side of the highway, into oncoming traffic. I wonder what the rest of that dude's day was like.

Before you were a musician, what were you doing?
Shoveling dirt for a road construction company and watching a lot of cartoons. I used to go eat at this three-dollar casino buffet breakfast every Wednesday too. The eggs were really, really sketchy.

What’s the best piece of advice you've ever received?
I used to skip exams in high school to get the answers from friends and cheat my way through. I remember my mom was very consenting. She'd say "Don't worry Mac, school's a game." I feel like that shaped me somehow. Hah!

Learn more about Mac DeMarco HERE.

 Photo by Christina Hicks