We didnt put enough songs on the set list, he recalls.
That doesnt usually happen to us.
Usually were cutting songs.
Sacha Lecca for Rolling Stone
Part of the problem was that they hadnt actually spent much time rehearsing for the tour.
Preparation isnt really their thing.
Making new music is.
Mackenzie was fine with not having everything totally worked out going into the tour.
Thats something I get energy from, for some sick reason.
So in the middle of a song, he got a techs attention.
I called them on the talk-back and said, Do you happen to have a Sharpie?
Mackenzie, 33, continues.
They brought me over a Sharpie in the middle of the song.
I counted backwards from the bottom of the set list, how many minutes each song would go for.
And I was like, fuck!
In the middle of a song, this is really starting to break my brain, he remembers.
It was pretty bang on after that, he says.
Thats what its all about.
Im a millennial I grew up downloading music on the internet.
Im a child of, Everything is free, for better or for worse.
TRYING TO FIT King Gizzards music into a genre can be difficult.
All of them have a signature, chaotic feel that edges on manic.
He was familiar with the Grateful Dead albumsAmerican BeautyandWorkingmans Dead, but he didnt get the obsession.
It just didnt click.
I thought the Dead were kind of like a country band.
Great songs, OK, sure, but I never understood that.
Now he gets it.
In some ways, the spirit is the same, he says.
I think we exist within the hippie ideals, even though were fucking deep-down punk rock millennials as well.
And then they do a big raffle, and then all the money goes to a local charity.)
We wanted to shoot from the hip with this one, Mackenzie says.
They were also difficult to make.
We had a rule: Dont come in with too much.
And for the most part, [with this record], we really wanted to avoid doing that.
Kenny-Smith says he was excited by the approach.
Everyone just started throwing their two cents.
So that sort of brought a whole other element of good energy for the record.
Part of the secret of their intense productivity is the almost mystical reverence they give the studio.
In the studio, however, I want everyone to feel like we dont know what were doing.
Thats also why theyve eschewed working with producers.
Weve never had any outside help making records.
Were still making records the exact same way that we made them at the very start.
Earlier this year, they announced theyd be putting other bands music out, too.
That is not what youre supposed to do.
There were some technical difficulties at first sound would be spotty, streams would cut out.
you’re free to kind of get a gauge on it sounding good.
Its like, is it all working?
Is there a problem?
Its amazing for that.
Though Mackenzie himself doesnt spend much time on Reddit, hes found other ways to connect with fans.
Take theBootleggerproject, which got its start in 2017, during a particularly productive period for the band.
So we decided to make one of the albums free.
(It was the one that we worked the hardest on, he explains of choosingPolygon.
I didnt want to do the easiest one, because that felt cheap.
They uploaded the raw tracks for the few fans they figured might be interested.
Before we knew it, there were hundreds of physical products, physical pressings.
There are record labels which are proper businesses now, which began by pressingPolygon, says Mackenzie.
Its just the most incredible, beautiful thing.
Their biggest connection to the fans, though, has been through extensive touring.
I think even before we were parents, we were aware of our sanity, Mackenzie says.
We do truly love each other, which helps.
And were lucky to have that, because I dont think that every band has that.
Thats not to say growing up hasnt added its share of difficulties.
Being a parent changes you, for sure, he says.
I have two kids, and I hate being away from my kids.
Primarily the thing that gets me is that they miss me thats actually way harder than me missing them.
The show has just ended, and Mackenzie is still buzzing from his three hours onstage.
(Comedian Eric Andre can be seen jumping into the pool later that night.)
When we came in 2014, it felt like it was really buzzing and vibrant, he says.
And New York is obviously just the best place to be [in your] young twenties.
Its like flying in an airplane.
In the airplane, you cant really think about the fact that youre 40,000 feet up in the air.
If you did, you would probably have panic attacks.
Its amazing that there are all of these thousands of people turning up to see us every night.
But its also completely abstract.
