Rising Music Star Gordie “Crazylegs” MacKeeman On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry
An Interview With Edward Sylvan
Hire a booking agent. For our first UK tour, my bandmate and I emailed and called endless venues trying to fill up the tour, which is a very difficult thing to do from the other side of the world. We did a tour, but it was super stressful. Having a booking agent lets us have successful tours and put our time and energy into the music, which is what we love.
As a part of our series about rising music stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Gordie “Crazylegs” MacKeeman.
Gordie MacKeeman has been an entertainer his entire life, but his official career as a song and dance man began in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia when he was only 6 years old. At 14, he played the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival for the first time, outshining seasoned professionals like Ron Hynes and Ken Whitely. It was in Lunenburg that Gordie’s contagious charisma and wild stage antics forever earned him the nickname “Crazy Legs.” Over the years, Gordie’s career has blossomed through participation in projects with artists such as Scott Parsons, Nudie and The Turks, The Grass Mountain Hobos, and more recently with his own group, Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys. On the international scene, Gordie has taken his uncommon virtuosity and engaging stage presence around the world with noteworthy stops at Denmark’s Tonder Festival, the UK’s Cambridge Folk Festival, Merlefest in North Carolina, the Port Fairy Folk Festival in Australia, and more. Crowds love him everywhere he goes, thanks to Gordie’s personal charm, flying fiddle and feet, and unique blend of just about every roots genre going. They love it all, old and new, as he consistently rolls out a variety show that has fans dancing, laughing, and singing along. Along the way, Gordie has collected a mantle-full of awards and recognitions, with a grand total of 13 Music PEI Awards and East Coast Music Awards for his albums, Dreamland (2019); Laugh, Dance & Sing (2015); Pickin’ n Clickin’ (2013); and self-titled debut album (2011).
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I grew up in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. I was the youngest of three boys. My father was a newspaper editor and my mother a loan officer at a bank. I grew up surrounded by my extended family. I had a pretty typical upbringing, really. My family was not musical, and I didn’t really have much exposure to music when I was very young.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I started dancing when I was six years old, by fluke. Someone just got me up on the floor, and I was good at it. And so, I continued dancing, but at the age of nine, I decided that I wanted to play the fiddle. Where I come from, here in Eastern Canada, dancing and playing the fiddle go hand in hand, so it was really just the next logical step.
There weren’t many fiddle teachers in my area, so I only took lessons for a couple of years and then I joined a local fiddlers’ group, which played at nursing homes at least once a week. This group was made up of “seasoned” folk musicians. I was definitely the youngest member of the group with the next youngest being about 60! It was great because I learned so much and created some really great relationships. I always felt like I had many grandfathers. But their influence certainly fostered my musical interests and my love of entertaining.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I think the most interesting story is how I met my wife. I was playing at the Stan Rogers Folk Festival, which takes place in Canso, Nova Scotia, Canada. This area can be rainy and sometimes the festival is pretty wet. In 2009, this was the case. I was playing at this festival with two different bands and running from one show to the next. I had a short break between shows, so I went down to the tenting area to say hello to a friend who had just arrived. She and her friend, Jill, had just finished pitching their tent in the mud when I arrived. My friend and I had been chatting for a little while when Jill exited the tent. She looked totally dejected and was obviously not a camper, let alone a camper in a muddy festival field. At that moment I decided that I would do what I could to make her happy. That weekend I brought Jill backstage to use the “real” bathrooms, got her hot coffees, and introduced her to my musician friends. We danced into the night and had a blast. On the final night of the festival, we watched Don McLean sing “American Pie” under the stars and fell in love. We’re now married with three kids!
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I think my funniest/most terrifying mistake was renting our first tour bus in the UK. Here in Canada driving a large van/bus is no big deal. I’ve done it a million times. So, I initially didn’t think anything of driving a van in the UK. We rented the vehicle that other bands recommended to us. It was basically a minibus and even had two beds in it. We really didn’t need a van that size, being a four-piece folk band with minimal equipment. It would have been the perfect touring vehicle in Canada, but on narrow British roads, it was terrifying! Also, it was our first time driving on the opposite side of the road. The first day we broke off the side mirror on a narrow British country road. The second day we broke a taillight backing it out of a festival grounds. The only saving grace was that we had four drivers, so I knew I only had to get through one day to have three days off. In London, we were all so uncomfortable driving that we carried all of our equipment for our show on the subway and a few buses.
And now, after so many tours in the UK, driving is like second nature and no longer terrifying. It helps that we’ve figured out an appropriate vehicle to make driving a bit less stressful.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
I am excited to be working on my new children’s album, Folk for Little Folk Volume 1. This album has been a really great opportunity to change my focus a bit and put my energy into something with a bit more silliness. This is something that I have wanted to do for years, but I could never really get any of my bands on board. So, I decided to tackle the project myself. Taking on this album independently has given me an opportunity to create something personal and creatively my own. It was nice to have this creative outlet during the pandemic because I was really missing performing. The time since the pandemic started has been the longest period I have ever gone without performing music. So, it was really important for me to have the opportunity to create and play music, even if my audience was made up of a one-year-old and a three-year-old.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
I agree that diversity in the entertainment industry is important. Firstly, diversity in film and television promotes inclusion and acceptance of different cultures. Secondly, I think it is important, for children especially, to see themselves in what they are watching. And thirdly, having more exposure to diversity helps us teach our kids love and respect for the world around them.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.
- Hire a booking agent.
For our first UK tour, my bandmate and I emailed and called endless venues trying to fill up the tour, which is a very difficult thing to do from the other side of the world. We did a tour, but it was super stressful. Having a booking agent lets us have successful tours and put our time and energy into the music, which is what we love.
2. No matter how tired you are, have standards for picking a hotel.
Once on tour, we booked a hotel through an online booking site. After driving for 12 hours, we pulled into our hotel. The lobby actually looked pretty nice, but as we got further and further down the hallway things slowly changed into a scene from a horror movie. We were so tired we just got into our rooms and lay on top of the blankets. We knew we wouldn’t be touching the sheets of these beds. It wasn’t until my roommate got up to use the restroom, that we realized there was no washroom door! This made for a very interesting stay and a promise to ourselves to never lower our hotel standards.
3. If possible, schedule some sightseeing on tour.
It’s very easy to get behind schedule and only see a green room, a stage, and a van for an entire tour. I remember my first UK tour, we were driving by Stonehenge, admiring it out the window, but didn’t have time to stop. That was something I regretted and scheduled into my next tour.
4. Get the full rental insurance.
While touring in a rental van, dents and dings are inevitable. It is definitely easier to just pay the insurance and not worry about it. Taking away as much stress as possible helps you enjoy touring way more.
5. Don’t take everything too seriously.
I have always spent a lot of time over-analyzing what I post on social media. In the end, one of the videos that got the most views was one of me dancing and playing fiddle in a teddy bear costume. I found this costume backstage, at a theatre, while we were waiting to perform. I put it on just to make my bandmates laugh and someone took a video. It ended up being posted and it was a hit! It is important to have fun with what you do.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
I would tell artists to be conscious of their downtime vs. their touring time. It’s easy to get carried away with booking tours when you are successful, but you need to balance the touring with home life, or you will burn out quickly. Set your own personal boundaries of how long you stay out on the road.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
I would hope to inspire a movement of kindness. I try to model kindness to my children, my students, and everyone who listens to my music. I think that if we all display as much kindness as we are capable of, the world would become a different place.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My mother has been a huge supporter of my music since I was a young child. As a child, I played a lot. I volunteered at different nursing homes, I played in all the local parades, and I performed in many concerts. My mother was always driving me somewhere and always stayed with me for my performances. This was a significant time commitment for her, but she never complained about it. She always put me first, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her support.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Do what you love, and good things will happen” — George Jones’ fiddle player
I was busking outside a George Jones concert back in 2005. We didn’t have tickets for the show, which is why we were busking. George’s fiddle player at the time (I don’t remember his name) came out, played a couple of tunes with us, handed us some tickets, and gave us this advice.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
I would love to have breakfast with Willie Nelson, as he is one of my all-time favorite songwriters and performers. I really admire his love of performance; to me, his passion for music shows in his performance. His songwriting is some of the best in country music and has been for so many decades. From the stories I heard about him, he is also a genuinely kind person who cares about his touring musicians, and that strikes a chord with me. I played in a band that followed a Willie Nelson tour across Canada. We busked for the line-up waiting to go inside. During that tour, we befriended a lot of those musicians from Willie’s band, and we were lucky enough to watch many of the shows backstage. We even played the end-of-tour party for the musicians and crew. It was easy to tell that everyone loved their work, and they got along like family. Unfortunately, I never got to meet Willie Nelson himself, but I will always be grateful to have met so many musical heroes on that tour.
How can our readers follow you online?
You can find me at www.crazylegs.ca , www.facebook.com/rhythmboys , and www.instagram.com/rhythmboys/?hl=en
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
