Big Mac (Musician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| MC Big Mac | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Christopher Florence McDonald | |
| Also known as | MC Big Mac | |
| Born | March 12, 1987 (age 20) | |
| Origin |  Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland |
|
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, Saxophone | |
| Years active | 2005 – present | |
| Label(s) | None | |
| Associated acts |
Closer to Far than Near | |
| Website | www.closertofarthannear.com | |
| Members | ||
| MC Big Mac 'T' |
||
| Notable instrument(s) | ||
| Gibson Les Paul | ||
Guitarist and vocalist for cult indie/emo band Closer to Far than Near. His name is taken from the McDonalds hamburger and it is stated on the band's official website that he chose the moniker as means of satirising the increasingly commercial nature of modern hip-hop music
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Born and raised in a rough area close to the small town of North Lanarkshire MC Big Mac (Real name Christopher McDonald) had a tough time growing up. Orphaned at three years old when his parents died in a freak car accident he moved in with his eccentric aunt, notorious in the Plains community for her radical feminist views and and liberal attitude towards drugs (she was a local dealer). From an early age Aunt Florence, as she called herself as tribute to Florence Nightingale with whom she was obsessed, encouraged young Christopher to experiment with drugs such as LSD and Cannabis in an effort to help develop his creative side. At the age of 10 he had become an accomplished guitarist and saxaphone player, at this point however, he decided that he wanted to pursue a career in medicine and dedicated himself wholeheartedly to his studies. He left high school with all the necessary qualifications required to attend medical school but decided instead that he should become a writer having had an article he had sent in to the NME published.
[edit] University & Band Formation
As of 2005 Christopher studies English Literature at Glasgow University. It was during his first months at the school that he decided that he should form a band. Inspired by acts such as Biffy Clyro, Starsailor, Scissor Sisters, Panic! at the Disco, Pansy Division and Dizzee Rascal he sought out a musical/spiritual companion, holding many auditions, but to no avail. It was only when he ran into old school friend, and former child prodigy, Thomas Gray (More commonly known by his stage name 'T') that things started to fall into place. Said meeting took place, according to a biography of the band available on Glasgow University Union's webpage, on 5th November, 2005 in Kelvingrove Park when MC Big Mac walking the park late one night deep in contemplation stumbled upon a sleeping Thomas singing mid-slumber (He had been evicted from the family home due to excessive drug taking). Amazed by his voice MC Big Mac eagerly woke him up and the two sang songs together all night; MC Big Mac claims that the two came up with the basic idea for exactly 23 songs whilst 'T' claims to have been so high that he has no recollection of it whatsoever.
The duo, obviously, went on to form Closer to Far than Near with MC Big Mac providing guitar, saxaphone, vocals and sound effects while 'T' performs lead vocals, synthesizer and percussion. The band are generally associated indie and emo but have also stated that they have been influenced by prog, country as well as religious and world music. "We don't want to be easily categorized, and I'm confident we won't be" said McDonald in a interview.
[edit] Success
The band has developed a cult following in Scotland and are about to embark on a tour of Europe. While they are yet to achieve a top 40 single they have received generally positives reviews from mainstream music magazines such as NME and Kerrang!, the latter of which hailed them as "Scotland's answer to Enter Shikari". Tickets for the bands homecoming gig at Glasgow University's Queen Margaret Union sold out in less than an hour. The band refuse to make videos to accompany their singles with 'T' branding them "silly".
Christopher continues to write and is currently said to have completed a novel similar to the style of Generation X author Chuck Palahniuk which is awaiting a publishing deal.
[edit] The Bite Incident
At a Gig in Aberdeen on the 23 November an event transpired which has since been referred to as "The Bite Incident" by fans on internet forums. What essentially happened is that an enraged 'T' jumped from the stage mid-set and began to repeatedly bite a teenage girl (who cannot be named for legal reasons) in the legs, arms and face and could only be restrained by two bouncers. 'T' claimed that the girl had shouted racist comments at him but the girl and many witnesses from the show denied this. Whilst this was going on MC Big Mac proceeded to set fire the intruments on stage and run around in a circle chanting manically. Trial is pending.
