By José Oliveira & Rosine Alleva – Rock At Night EU Editors
The Real McKenzies were founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1992;
the group was the brainchild of lead singer and songwriter Paul McKenzie, who has been the only constant member of the group sincère the start.
With twelve albums under their belt, since the release of their last album “Beer and Loathing” in 2020, they are constantly on the road for an endless ceilidh.
They have a particular style that pleasantly blends the instruments and traditions ( bagpipes, kilts, tattoos and electric guitar) of Celtic rock and Scottish culture.
It’s the bagpipes on stage that’s one of the particular attractions of the musical frenzy of these Canadian Guinness lovers.
Still reverberating on the Woodstock Guitare Live stage, the band rolled into a specific set list, chosen between their last works. With Paul McKenzie raw power voice, the fantastic musicians’ sound added passion to the lyrics.
Before the show, José had a little chat with the leader, Paul McKENZIE.
He was so happy to discover this beautiful venue in Ensisheim . “How is it possible to find such a beautiful music shop in a little French village? “They have very good and cheaper material than in Canada!!! Our bass player told me that he was interested to buy a new Bass amplifier. I’ve just told him not to lose this opportunity. It’s half cheaper than in our country. And we left with a new investment”
Some bad memories came up with punk bands. In the 80s when THE DAMNED came to play in Colmar Dave VANIAN organized himself to look like a vampire, on stage, with white foundation and the appropriate getup, he took José’s camera and threw it against a wall!!! Everything had become crumbs!!! No way with those guys!!!
But Paul reassures us “We are not a Punk Band!!!! It’s a label we’ve been stuck on!! We are a Celtic Rock Band! And not at all brawlers!!! There is a spirit of camaraderie within the group, very anchored and which motivates us every evening, to give the best of ourselves on stage!!! We don’t have any fucking hierarchy, because everyone is just as important as each other”
The public came to celebrate! Spontaneous dances among the audience created a fantastic interaction with the uptempo beat of the most popular and known songs.
One more night to remember in a sold out Woodstock Guitar live venue !!!
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I was born in Portugal and lived the Sixties exploring the great UK Rock magazines: "The New Musical Express" and "Melody Maker". Ray Charles and Pat Boone were my father’s fav. I became “The Great Pretender”. Cliff Richard was our Elvis Presley. As a beach boy, with my first guitar, I met a beautiful French girl on the beach! It was the Summer of 69!! We got married and rock music was our dowry. In France, I became a Wine Genetic Research Scientist. One of my works contributed to the decoding of the genome of the vine! As a rock journalist, I’ve worked twenty years for the Portuguese and Brazilian Rock Press. I ‘ve interviewed so many great artists. Then, one day I met FRANK ZAPPA! I got into trouble for introducing my wife to "Uncle Meat"!
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