Mac DeMarco

Mac DeMarco always had a strained and complicated relationship with his father. His father left when Mac was quite young and met him rarely in the following years. After Mac became famous, his father came back into his life. However, Mac soon found out that his father was suffering from cancer.

His father has recovered now, but their relationship has not improved. Mac has written a few songs about his complex relationship with his father. He also once stated that he had been trying not to become like his father.

Mac started dating Kiera McNally while in school. After a long-term relationship, they got married in 2013.

Mac DeMarco was born Vernor Winfield MacBriare Smith IV, on April 30, 1990, in Duncan, British Columbia. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where Mac spent the rest of his adolescence. When he was 5 years old, his father left home. He met Mac rarely.

He had a family with strong roots in music. His grandmother was a popular opera singer, while his grandfather was a saxophone player. His mother and his aunt had also been interested in music briefly in their younger days. Hence, Mac was highly influenced by music while growing up.

However, Mac resisted the urge to become a musician for a long time. He liked music but never aspired to become a musician until he was a teenager. When he started playing music in school, it was mostly just to impress girls. He later became a little more serious about music and joined a few bands in high school.

He first became part of an amateur school band named ‘Meat Cleavers,’ which was, according to Mac, a “jock-rock band.” He then joined another band, ‘Sound of Love,’ which focused on R&B music. Again, the members were amateur and played music just to become popular with the girls in school. Mac then continued to join a few more independent bands but none of them suited him.

Mac then decided to make music independently and began releasing his own music as part of his project, ‘Makeout Videotape.’ Most of the music he made did not become popular. In 2008, Mac graduated high school and moved to Vancouver to concentrate more on his music.

Vancouver had a bustling music scene. Mac started producing music from his apartment. Mac had an independent approach to music since the beginning and wanted to do something totally extraordinary. The genre he came up with was called “garage-noise/punk rock.” Soon, he released his debut project, ‘Heat Wave,’ which was a collection of songs that he had produced since his move to Vancouver.

During this early phase of struggle, Mac released a number of EPs, such as ‘Eating Like a Kid,’ ‘Bossa Yeye,’ and ‘Weird Meats EP.’ However, he could not attain as much success as he desired.

The album ‘Heat Wave’ was released in 2009. Initially, Mac released five hundred CDs of the album, which were sold out almost immediately. Mac then chose the path less traveled and shot some psychedelic videos to accompany the music.

His debut work, ‘Heat Wave,’ involved local musicians and record labels. Alex Calder and Jen Clement, who were signed to the label ‘Unfamiliar Records,’ approached Mac to work together. He also briefly toured with a band named ‘Japandroids.’ After devoting two years to his new-found associations, Mac moved to Montreal to further his career as a musician.

However during the initial phases of his struggle there, Mac was unable to find decent opportunities and did a number of odd jobs to make ends meet. He worked with a road-paving crew and also participated in some medical experiments.