Page 12 - ION Indie Magazine JULYAUG 2024

MM: How much time have you got for this one? Just kidding. This biz is relentless.
Every day, you pour your heart and soul into songs or strategies or ideas, and
most of the time it falls on deaf ears. Night after night, you go to bed basically
saying, ‘Well, that was fun -- absolutely nobody cares about what I am doing.’ Then
you wake up the next morning and go, ‘Let’s try something new today.’ I think the
biggest obstacle for me has been that I’m not very ‘obvious.’ I straddle rock and
country and my songs don’t really sound like what down-the-middle Nashville
country sounds like. So, figuring out how you market an artist like me isn’t’ always
obvious. Which in our business means…not willing to take a risk. But I have
pushed through. It’s been worth sticking to my guns. If there’s anything an artist
can take from this interview, it’s never stop being you, no matter what anyone tells
you.

MH: Where do you see yourself in the next couple of years? Any big music
plans?

MM: Continuing to tour the country and hopefully, international. I love playing live
so much. I just want to keep doing that on a bigger and bigger scale. We’ll put out
this new record and it’s going to blow up and we’re going to become world famous
and my manager Dustin and I are going to buy an island and twenty jet skis and
invite all of our friends to the island for a BBQ…I hope.

MH: What advice would you give other artists following in your footsteps?

MM: DO NOT get into this business and DO NOT keep going if your vision is only
about fame and money. You have to care about the craft and the songs and
changing the world with music, or it’s not worth doing. The fame and the money
find you. You have to stay true to you and your style. If you give up being YOU,
it’s a short lived run.

MH: Mark, thank you for giving us a little of your time. Any last inspiring
words for our readers and your fans?

MM: Nah, man. I just appreciate you having me. I look forward to meeting some of
you out there on the road. Come see a show and stream our tunes and tell
everyone you know to check us out! Thanks again!

Website: https://www.markmackayofficial.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markmackayofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/markmackay/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarkMackayOfficial