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John McKay (musician)

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John McKay
McKay performing live with Siouxsie and the Banshees, June 1979
Background information
Born (1958-06-06) 6 June 1958 (age 66)
OriginUnited Kingdom
GenresPost-punk
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Guitar
saxophone

John McKay (born 1957) is an English songwriter and guitarist. He was the first studio guitarist of Siouxsie and the Banshees. He was a member of the group from July 1977 until September 1979. He played a "jagged unorthodox chording",[1] and created a "metal-shard roar" with his guitar.[2] Q magazine included McKay's work on "Hong Kong Garden" in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever".[3] He recorded two studio albums with the band, their debut album The Scream in 1978 and Join Hands in 1979.

McKay has been cited as an influence by guitarists such as Geordie Walker of Killing Joke, Robert Smith of the Cure, Pat Smear of Germs, Steve Albini of Big Black, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Johnny Marr of the Smiths, Jim Reid of the Jesus and Mary Chain, Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine and Boz Boorer of Morrissey's band. He has been qualified the innovator by record producer Steve Lillywhite.

Life and career

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McKay grew up in Hemel Hempstead.[4] On 2 July 1977, he joined the band Siouxsie and the Banshees, replacing guitarist Peter Fenton.[5] McKay played his first concert with the band on 9 July at London's Vortex club.[5] His first studio recording with the band was a session for John Peel on BBC radio in November 1977. McKay composed the tune of their first hit single, 1978's "Hong Kong Garden", as well as much of the material found on the band's first two albums, 1978's The Scream and 1979's Join Hands. He is a self-taught musician. Music historian Nick Kent wrote that McKay had "a bent for more adventurous guitar styles involving minor/diminished seventh chord work".[4] Journalist Scott Calhoun wrote that "McKay made use of harmonics as means of artistic expression as well as way of creating textures related to new approaches in the use of the electric guitar". On certain tracks on The Scream such as "Jigsaw Feeling", he had a bell-like sound quality. He used two-note chords on several songs of Join Hands.[6] McKay also played saxophone on the songs "Suburban Relapse", "Switch", "Regal Zone", "Playground Twist" and "Pulled to Bits". He left the band at the beginning of the Join Hands tour, a few hours before a concert in Aberdeen at the Capitol on 7 September 1979. He and drummer Kenny Morris chose to flee the town after having a dispute with Siouxsie Sioux and manager Nils Stevenson during a signing session at the Other Record Shop on Union Street.[7] The band's co-founder Steven Severin stated at that time of the split that "As far as coming up with the tunes, it was John certainly. But when it came to matching the lyrics with the music then it was down to us. All arrangements were always a group effort." Kent wrote that Mckay "although a latecomer, immediately established himself as a vital ingredient in the shaping of the band’s music. His guitar playing formed a dominant textural dimension to the Spartan overall sound, while his riffs and chord progressions provided the vital form around which the other three Banshees functioned."[8]

He later led a trio named Zor Gabor, which released a three-track 12" EP Tightrope in 1987 on the In Tape label.[9] It was reviewed "record of the week" by Sounds.

Guitars and effects

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McKay used different audio effects, including fuzz (to create distortion) and flanger.[10] Fellow guitarist John Valentine Carruthers said that McKay "had no conventional skill in guitar playing, like chords or lines. He must have had hands like a gorilla because he was playing chords like this (stretches hand right out). I've no idea what they were, and you couldn't tell by listening because they were going through fuzz and flangers."[10] His guitars were a Hagström Semi Acoustic and a Gibson Les Paul. Mckay's effects included an MXR Flanger and the reverb from his Fender Twin Reverb amplifier.[10] In a live-clip from Schwitzerland in 1979 you see him playing a Roland JC-120 amplifier, like John McGeoch also later partly played in the band. McKay played metallic guitar.[11]

Legacy

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He has influenced several post-punk, noise, indie and alternative rock guitarists including Geordie Walker, Robert Smith, the Edge, John McGeoch, Steve Albini, Thurston Moore, Pat Smear, Jim Reid, Kevin Shields, Johnny Marr and Boz Boorer.

Geordie Walker of Killing Joke said: "The guy's been ripped off so much, he started that flanged chord thing". Walker hailed McKay for his style on The Scream: "he came out with these chord structures that I found very refreshing".[12] When asked "how did playing with the Banshees impact your guitar style" after the 1979's Join Hands tour, Robert Smith of the Cure stated: "It allowed me to experiment. I inherited an approach from John [McKay] which was just to have everything full up, really", using "phased/flanged distortion".[13] Smith aspired to be like the Banshees: "the great thing about the Banshees was that they had this great wall of noise, which I'd never heard before."[14] In an article published in Matter magazine in 1984, Steve Albini of Big Black wrote an "all-time non-comprehensive good guitar list", and included McKay in the section titled "Noise" saying : "The Scream is notable for a couple of things: only now people are trying to copy it, and even now nobody understands how that guitar player got all that pointless noise to stick together as songs".[15] Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth cited "Hong Kong Garden" as one of his 25 all-time favourite songs.[16] Jim Reid of the Jesus and Mary Chain praised The Scream - era,[17] and Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine cited the Banshees-MkI as one of his early influences, and he "saw the Banshees in Ireland in 1979".[18] McKay is also revered by other musicians such as Johnny Marr of the Smiths and Boz Boorer (Morrissey's guitarist and composer). When asked "who do you regret not going to see live", Marr replied "Siouxsie and the Banshees mk 1".[19] Marr cites McKay as one of the guitar players he admires.[20] He considered Mckay as somebody "progressive".[21] Boorer named him as a "big influence on my playing...That first Siouxsie record was quite incredible sounding, and it started me in thinking that music didn’t have to be any certain way—that there could be many different influences in music and it didn’t have to be a single, strict avenue. That first Banshees album has a lot of jarring guitar that rubs against what you’d think was going to or maybe should happen over a part".[22]

In a live review published in 1979, music historian and archivist Jon Savage likened Joy Division's guitarist Bernard Sumner to McKay, saying that Sumner "was using a lot of distortion and noise in quite a melodic way. The only other person I could think of who was doing that then was John McKay from Siouxsie and the Banshees".[23] Joy Division's bassist Peter Hook said about the Banshees' debut album: "the way the guitarist...played was a really unusual way of playing".[24] The Edge cited Siouxsie and the Banshees Mk1 of 1977–1978 among the bands who inspired him for U2's early albums.[25] Producer Steve Lillywhite who recorded The Scream and U2's debut album explained to journalist John Robb: "in terms of the guitar playing...John McKay came before all these people". "He was the innovator". He added: "You listen to the beginning of Jigsaw Feeling and it's like the beginning of 'I Will Follow'...almost identical".[26] John McGeoch said that hearing "Hong Kong Garden" was one of "the most momentous moments in my life".[27] Bobby Gillespie described McKay's sound as "quicksilver notes of beautiful sonic violence", adding that he "reinvented rock guitar playing".[28] Roddy Frame, ex-leader of Aztec Camera, paid homage to McKay in the lyrics of his song "Worlds In Worlds".[29] When journalist Simon Reynolds interviewed Lydia Lunch saying there was this starkness of sound on certain Teenage Jesus and the Jerks songs that reminded him Siouxsie and the Banshees' circa The Scream, she replied "I loved the guitar work on their records".[30] Pat Smear of Germs stated that "all the guitar playing" of McKay "really inspired me".[31]

John Frusciante considered that what the original Banshees line-up did, was a big step: "you see certain chord shapes that John McKay was doing which hadn't been done" before. When analyzing the band's career, Frusciante noted that McKay "definitely created the framework".[32]

References

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  1. ^ Darlington, Andrew (2001). I was Elvis Presley's Bastard Love-child & Other Stories of Rock'n'roll Excess [Siouxsie Sioux - section]. Headpress. p. 161. ISBN 1900486172.
  2. ^ Robbins, Ira A. (1983). The Trouser Press guide to new wave records. Scribner. ISBN 068417944X.
  3. ^ "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever!". Q. No. 224. Rocklist.net. March 2005. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  4. ^ a b Kent, Nick (26 August 1978). "Bansheed! What's in an Image?". NME.
  5. ^ a b Siouxsie and the Banshees - Rainbow Theater 7/4/79. Concert Publishing. p. 3.
  6. ^ Calhoun, Scott (2019). U2 and the Religious Impulse: Take Me Higher. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781350032552.
  7. ^ Paytress, Mark (2003). Siouxsie & the Banshees: The Authorised Biography. Sanctuary. ISBN 1-86074-375-7.
  8. ^ Kent, Nick and Needs, Kris. " Night of the Long Knives". NME. 22 September 1979.
  9. ^ "Zor Gabor - official channel on YouTube". Zor Gabor official. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Walmsley, Richard (April 1986). "Tinder Is The Night". International Musician and Recording World: 74–79.
  11. ^ Marc Riley; Rob Hughes (24 October 2017). "A to Z of Punk: S is for Siouxsie, Strummer and Stiff. Part 2". BBC radio. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  12. ^ Kay, Max (June 1984). "Max Kay Interviews Geordie". Music U.K. I think the guitar should convey some sort of emotion. Incidentally, the only thing I've heard since Sabre Dance, the only thing I've ever come across that was similar, was the guy in the original Banshees on The Scream. Apparently that guy had just learnt to play, and he came out with these chord structures that I found very refreshing. The guy's been ripped off so much, he started that flanged chord thing
  13. ^ "The Gothfather [Robert Smith interview]". Guitar World. June 1996. How did playing with the Banshees impact your guitar style? It allowed me to experiment. I inherited an approach from John [McKay, the Banshee's first guitarist] which was just to have everything full up, really...It was phased/flanged distortion noise.
  14. ^ Oldham, James (February 2000). "Bad Medicine". Uncut. No. 33. p. 37.
  15. ^ Albini, Steve. (September - October 1984). "Tired of Ugy Fat ?". Matter [a Music Magazine] (10).
  16. ^ Kaye, Ben (17 January 2014). "Here are Thurston Moore's favorite songs of all time". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  17. ^ "Jim Reid on BBC Radio 6 Music". bbc.co.uk. 4 March 2012. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2015. "Jigsaw Feeling" from The Scream album...it was brilliant, amazing. That's a reason why I made music.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ^ North, Aaron (19 January 2005). "Kevin Shields: The Buddyhead Interview". Buddyhead (Interview). New York City. Archived from the original on 8 April 2005. Retrieved 30 May 2014. So what happened after The Complex? Kevin: Well, we started playing with a bass player who was your typical early 80's, slightly funky...Gang Of Four type guy. So then we moved from being a typical punk band to being much more like Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees.
  19. ^ Horner, Al (19 September 2014). "Johnny Marr On Working With". NME. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  20. ^ "Johnny Marr Je Suis Un Conducteur Exécrable [French interview]". Lecho.be. Retrieved 11 April 2022. Lorsque que j'étais adolescent, les Pretenders étaient très populaires et Honeyman-Scott était mon modèle, tout comme John McKay de Siouxsie and the Banshees. ( When I was a teenager, the Pretenders were very popular and Honeyman-Scott was my model, like John McKay of Siouxsie and the Banshees)
    Bosso, Joe (28 July 2022). "Johnny Marr: "If there's a room full of guitar players, I'm the last to leave, man. I'm just as hooked as everybody else, and I have been since I was 5 or 6". Guitarworld.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022. There was also a generation of young men in the U.K. and America who were onto something new – Robert Smith, John McKay, Will Sergeant. A lot of us took note.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  21. ^ Sullivan-Burke, Rory (April 2022). The Light Pours Out of Me: The Authorised Biography of John McGeoch. Omnibus Press. p. 109. ISBN 978-1913172664.
  22. ^ Von Bader, David (30 March 2017). "Boz Boorer: Triple Agent". premierguitar.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  23. ^ Savage, Jon (2019). This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division: the Oral History. Faber & Faber. ISBN 978-0571345373. Instead of wrapping themselves around the same melodies and configurations, each of them was reversing certain paradigms, so that Hooky for example, becomes the lead guitarist. Bernard is then freed up to put all kinds of different shades on what a guitar could do, and he was using a lot of distortion and noise in quite a melodic way. The only other person I could think of who was doing that then was John McKay from Siouxsie and the Banshees". [about the live performance of Joy Division for TV show Something Else- September 1979.
  24. ^ "Playlist – Peter Hook's "Field recordings"". Q magazine. 23 April 2013. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ^ Costello, Elvis (9 December 2009). "Spectacle: Elvis Costello with Bono and The Edge of U2". Sundance Channel. Retrieved 2 August 2022. [When asked by Elvis Costello about U2's early musical influences when writing their first songs, the Edge replied:] I think we were influenced a lot by music that was rooted in Europe, the German sort of sensibility, the music of Neu! and kraftwerk, which was about a different sort of way of using chord changes and a sort of nihilistic approach to the backbeat...and the UK bands...like [Siouxsie and] the Banshees.
    Hutchinson, John (September 1986). "U2's Leading Edge [The Edge interview]". Musician [Monthly magazine]. Rock's Backpages (subscription required). Retrieved 19 January 2021. in 1977. We played a lot, rehearsed a lot, and became totally immersed in the music that was happening around us. Suddenly we became aware of people like Patti Smith, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, and Television. And in England there were the Banshees, the Skids, Magazine.
    Murphy, Peter (26 June 2007). "Close to The Edge [The Edge interview]". Hotpress.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2020. Q: I imagine you watched with some bemusement in recent years as bands like Interpol and Bloc Party and Arcade Fire mined that wintery early '80s European sound. A: Yeah, it was amazing to realise two or three years ago that that particular moment in time when we were coming through had suddenly become the new zeitgeist for the rock 'n' roll alternative underground. It made me go back again and listen to Siouxsie & The Banshees, Joy Division.
  26. ^ "Steve Lillywhite : The John Robb interview". John Robb channel on YouTube. 14 August 2022. Event occurs at 23:55. Retrieved 28 August 2022. In terms of the guitar playing, yes you hear it and you can think like people like the Edge and other guitar players but of course John McKay came before all these people. Of course he was the innovator. You listen to the beginning of Jigsaw Feeling and it's like the beginning of I Will Follow from the first U2 album, almost identical.
  27. ^ Batey, Rick (April 1991). "Compilation John McGeoch". Guitarist.
  28. ^ Gillespie, Bobby (2021), Tenement Kid, White Rabbit, ISBN 978-1474622066
  29. ^ Roddy Frame sings the lyrics: “I close my eyes and I drift on a terrible, beautiful sound like John McKay’s on The Scream and I dream and I rise"; on his solo album Western Skies (2006) - Redemption Records - RRUK6 CD.
  30. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2010). Totally Wired: Post-punk interviews and overview. Soft Skull Press. ISBN 978-1593762865.
  31. ^ Needs, Kris (February 2021). "Heart of Darkness". Classic Rock: 58. It's the first album [The Scream] for me. It's so weird and great. [...] All the guitar playing on that first Banshees album really inspired me.
  32. ^ Sullivan-Burke, Rory (April 2022). The Light Pours Out of Me: The Authorised Biography of John McGeoch. Omnibus Press. p. 93.
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