Aya Maguire enchants listeners with a powerful voice on her album The Sandcastle King. Words cannot even describe her exact sound. When listening, one can find similarities with Copeland and Fleetwood Mac. From the poignant lyrics and descriptive visual metaphors, Maguire makes her voice into a storytelling instrument. Her storytelling talents are just as powerful as the acoustic guitar that hums in the background of her music. Sharing her music at first in Portland and Seattle, she then drew on the influences of folk and reflections and channeled that into her overall sound. The album exemplifies the waves of heartbreak, unrequited love, growth, and shows how one turns struggles into strengthened victories. Quoting Maguire directly, she explains that “not everything one feels can become good music, honest emotion is just one necessary component”. By mixing in authentic reflecting and a powerful voice, she makes a statement on the album The Sandcastle King that announces she has arrived for listeners to hear her stories.
In a complete artistic transformation, Temporary Hero evolves in a new way with his newest project Tusk. Compared to his acclaimed CHET, Tusk shows that Jonah Bell has a wide musical range. A complete modernization of Fleetwood Mac’s songs off the album Tusk form a linking connection with the past and present. Dubbed an “artist’s artist”, it’s clearly apparent to listeners that Jonah makes his music from the heart with heavy soul undertones. In regards to his voice style, listeners will find that it reminds them of Copeland’s Aaron Marsh, with the steady harmonies and sophisticated vocals. Jonah Bell has a way of taking his affinities for certain artists and spinning it in not only an appreciation piece, but an extension of his musical range. While the Tusk project only covers half of the original Fleetwood Mac album, Jonah Bell has brought a merging of the past and future, and hopefully a renewed interest in one of the greats in music.
John McVie? Isn’t he the bassist from Fleetwood Mac? Absolutely. But he wasn’t always in Fleetwood Mac. Welcome John McVie into this week’s installment of “Same Artist, Different Place.”
McVie got his start by playing in High School with a cover band. This has become an almost hackneyed opening to all musician stories, but High School cover bands are truly the way that most famous musicians get started. So the lesson here is to seek out the talented musicians in your High School (like McVie) and latch on to their band. Can’t play an instrument? No matter, be their manager or something. Let’s get back to reality.
McVie played music from the Shadows with his band Krewsaders until leaving school at 17 for tax inspector training. Music, at that time, became a side hobby until bassist Cliff Barton turned down a part in a new Chicago-blues style band called John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and suggested that Mayall give McVie an audition. Mayall listened and was impressed with McVie. So, Mcvie, with no formal training in music, was accepted into the Bluesbreakers. Mayall gave him albums from B.B. King and other blues musicians to study.
Before Fleetwood Mac, there was the Bluesbreakers, who would later become known as a talented platform band, where English musicians went before becoming famous with other acts (kind of like The Yardbirds). Musicians like Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Mick Taylor, “Sugarcane” Harris, Andy Fraser and Aynsley Dunbar played with the band. The band was exceptionally talented and it sustained itself with tremendously talented musicians.
After Clapton and Bruce left the Bluesbreakers (they would later form Cream), Mayall added guitarist Peter Green in 1966 and soon after added drummer Mick Fleetwood. I bet you see where this is going. McVie developed a great relationship with Green and Fleetwood and after Green was replaced by Mick Taylor he started a new band which he called Fleetwood Mac, after his beloved rhythm section of Fleetwood and McVie. It didn’t take too much convincing to get Fleetwood over to the new band and after McVie became dissatisfied with Bluesbreaker’s move towards Jazz he joined the new band in 1967.
The rest is history.
Here is McVie playing “All Your Love” with the Bluesbreakers (Eric Clapton on guitar).
The Music Court 