Mac DeMarco On Craigslist, Growing Up, And Becoming A Style Icon

You may know him as Mac DeMarco, but he was actually born Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith IV, before becoming McBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco after his parents divorced.

But no matter how grandiose his names may be, his music eclipses them all. The master of melody is about to release his third album, This Old Dog, on May 5, but it sounds more like a new praying mantis to me. Here he is waxing poetic about Craigslist, his old man, the complexity of life, and being a poster boy for ‘Dad Fashion’.

Hey Mac. How are you?

Fine thanks. You?

I’m actually waiting for someone to come get something off me from Gumtree, which is what we call Craigslist in Australia. Do you ever use Craigslist?

Yeah, all the time, I love Craigslist. I use it less than I used to, but I used to buy all my music gear off Craigslist. And other stuff, too—I found my old place in New York on Craigslist, I got my coffee machine off Craigslist. It’s great. I love Craigslist.

What’s the weirdest encounter you’ve ever had with someone on there?

Actually, we went and bought a bunch of sound panels for the studio I built in the back of my house. We had to drive up into the middle of the desert and there was this storage locker location, and the guy we bought them off was cool, but I think he may have been in the adult movie entertainment business, so I’m not sure where these panels have been. And the whole time, there was this Santa Claus looking guy just standing outside. He never said a word to us, but he looked really pissed off. But that’s the beauty of it. It’s the one place you’re going to find the weirdest people.

Ok now to the new record—can we talk about the album opener, ‘My Old Man?’ I notice all the time that I am just like my parents. Was there a particular moment you realised you were becoming like him?

I mean there are moments all the time. I think with this song, I’m kind of talking about traits in my father that—I kind of hold him as a bad example, he’s not exactly the kind of person I’d look up to. It’s interesting to me though, because that’s what I’m talking about in the song, but everyone I’ve spoken to about the song says, “Oh, it’s about growing up,” which is great because it’s a pop song and people can take it however they want. But for me, it’s like the smoking, the drinking… I dunno, it’s almost like an allegory for me for just trying to be a better dude.

What are some other lessons you’re learning with age?

Um, life is crazy, it doesn’t get easier as you get older, it gets more confusing, more complicated. I dunno, being alive is very uncomfortable sometimes. There are moments in life where you kind of just pull out of the ease of just tooting along and you’re like, “Wait a minute, what the fuck? This is so weird.” You know?

Yeah. So it sounds like most of it is negative?

No! It’s a beautiful thing, especially where I’m at is really beautiful, but it’s just—I think with this record, I had a lot more time off from being on the road than I’ve had in the last four or five years, so I just had more of a chance to look at things, and it’s just crazy.

You always play all the instruments on your records. Would you ever be interested in letting someone else be involved, or do you like having complete creative control?

I’ve done a couple of things with some friends, but I think when it comes to my own music I’m sure that other people could play the parts a lot better than I could, but I’m not good at directing people. Being like, “Ohhh, can we do that again, I don’t like that fill on the second bar there,” you know? I couldn’t do that, so it’s easier to just do it myself. It’s also kind of gratifying when you hear it and say, “I did that.”

There’s a piano song on the new record called ‘One More Love Song’, but it’s actually kind of heartbreaking. Is it hard to write about love optimistically?

Hmm. I think it’s more of a count your blessings type thing, where even if you’re feeling blue, you have to feel blue to feel happy, and it’s kind of like you’re in it, you feel something, and that’s great. I dunno, I guess I don’t really write songs that often where I’m like, “I looove you.” I think it’s just the reverse side of the coin. But if the reverse side’s there, then the other side’s gotta be there too.

Speaking of other sides, you recently changed coasts. Has LA changed your brain?

The only thing it’s changed is I have no idea what day of the week it is, or what time it is, or what month it is, cause it’s just the same day every day. But it’s nothing to complain about—it’s pretty nice living in the sunshine all the time.

Did you know that vintage sellers on eBay and Etsy use your name in their descriptions of ‘dad fashion’ stuff they sell?

I did not.

How do you feel about being such a style icon?

Confused? [Laughs]. But that’s fine, you know? I do know that people make the bootleg stuff on the Internet because we have to send out some cease and desists once in a while. Most of the time it’s whatever, but if people are really pushing a product with my face on it, it’s kind of like, “Excuse me! You didn’t ask!” But yeah, that’s fucked up! [Laughs]. The weirdest thing about it is that people go to a place like Etsy to find like, dumpy, thrift store clothes. Because the reason I wore all that stuff is because it was like in the dollar bin. I mean I like that clothing, but it’s a little counter-intuitive.

Who’s your style icon, then?

Shit. Kirin J Callinan.

Yeah, he goes for it.

I don’t dress like him at all, but I tell ya, he’s a stylish guy.

Okay lastly, can you just explain why you have so many names, and where they all came from?

Okay, so I was born Vernor Winfield McBriare Smith IV. Smith is from my dad’s side of the family, that’s the family name. And I was a namesake, so my dad, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather all have the same name. And then when my mum and dad split when I was about five, she was like, “Fuck dad!” and she changed it, so now it’s McBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco. So you know, it’s just maybe a spite thing.

Wow. So no one calls you Vernor anymore? Even when you’re in trouble?

No! Even when it was my name, and my dad’s and my grandpa’s, everyone went by Mac. Mini Mac, Big Mac, all the Macs.

Big mac!

Yeah, there you go.