From sailing with philosophy podcasts to late-night takeaway pilgrimages, Mad Dog Mcrea give us a wonderfully unfiltered look at life on the road in our latest Summer Play Featured Artist interview.
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What’s inspiring you outside of music right now?
Sailing & Philosophy podcasts. Sometimes at the same time. After a heavy weekend of gigging I take to my sailboat and go wherever the wind takes me. I am lucky enough to live by a river so it’s easy for me to just jump on my boat and take off. I either blast out a bit of Kate Bush or find a good podcast when cruising up the river
What’s a song in your set right now that feels especially alive on stage?
Usually when we try out our new stuff. We are currently making a new album so trying out some new songs live is always a buzz. The new ones in our set right now is ‘Traveling’ & ‘Dusk Till Dawn’ Our audience are great at giving us feedback to whether they are any good or not! Our long time fans are very honest with us.
What’s the most memorable crowd moment you’ve had at a festival or outdoor show?
Oh too many to list but real standouts would be playing Avalon Café at Glastonbury festival when the crowd got a bit crazy and a few people climbed up the pole and nearly brought the tent down. That would have been an awesome headline although there may have been a few casualties as the tent was packed . We have had a lady go into labour & later gave birth on site & the saddest memory is someone dropping dead of a heart attack right in front of me whilst dancing.
If fans could see one behind the scenes part of your touring life, what would surprise them most?
Ha great question – After a gig when everyone goes home we usually go on a major quest to find the best kebab in every town we play. We do our research beforehand with the local audience. After a few visits to a place we get to know the late night takeaways & even the people working there. The best one by far is next door to the Globe in Cardiff where they know us by name and give us special treatment. We have even had a lock in there till the early hours. Then we go back to our Travelodge and maybe watch Naked Attraction which is usually on the telly at that time of night.
What does summer touring unlock creatively for you that other seasons don’t?
Seeing other bands at festivals that we wouldn’t normally get to see because of touring at the same time and meeting other musicians and just hanging out.
What’s one risk you’ve taken in your career that ended up paying off?
I think every album we release is a bit of a risk as the music is not always what our audience expects. Sometimes we get it right and sometimes not but that’s the journey for us. We also threw caution to the wind and took a 6 month contract to play a residency in Thailand 6 days a week . It nearly broke us but we came back to the UK extremely tight as a band so I guess it really paid off in the end.
How has your relationship with live performance changed since you first started playing shows?
When we started out we would be so nervous and to cover it up we’d play so fast and furious & drink a fair bit. As our confidence grew we relaxed more on stage and learned to be one pint behind the audience so we could perform properly and through the years leaned to interact with the audience verbally between songs a bit more and that also came with watching how other bands did it.
What’s one thing you’re bringing into this summer that feels new for you?
New songs and a proper Tipi tent for camping at festivals.
If you could curate your dream three-artist summer lineup (dead or alive), who’s on the bill?
Kate Bush, The Scratch, and Skinny Lister (that’s pretty much our playlist when we are on the road).
What’s something coming up, big or small, that you’re excited to share with people?
Our new album which is nearly complete
And finally, how do you find working with Midnight Mango?
We have been working with mango since 2011 and we’re one of their early signings . They have been more than just agents as Matt and Ian made it their personal mission to help us get our act together with marketing / branding etc. so we would have the confidence to play further afield in the UK and beyond with expertly guided professionalism. We felt we were punching away above our weight with some of the gigs and tours they were organising but they helped us realise our potential. Midnight Mango is more like a family than a business with their very hands-on approach to bands and through that we have become good friends and have shared many good nights together at festivals and events.
