Backseat Sandbar

March 21, 2011
By Noelle Bailey

He has the type of voice that can fill every crevice of a room and every fiber in your body.  Its’ clear perfection can play your heart strings as easily as his fingers strum his guitar.  I sat down with the impressive Lee MacDougall before his Zanzabar show to pick his brain on his music, his first U.S. tour, and what lies ahead.

NB:  I know this is your first time touring through the States, but have you been to America before?

LM:  Yeah I’ve been a few times.

NB:  What for?

LM:  Just holidays.  The three of us [Lee, Rob Hargreaves (accompanist) and Kevin Allen (tour manager)] actually came on a road trip a couple years back. We went to L.A., through Death Valley, to the Grand Canyon and to Las Vegas.

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Backseat Sandbar

April 8, 2011

Back on March 10^th, BSSB and Zanzabar combined forces to bring you three fantastic acts.  For those of you stuck in front of the t.v. watching the Louisville game, you missed a fantastic show.

The headlining act for the night hails all the way from Grimsby, England.  Lee MacDougall, accompaniest Rob Hargreaves, and tour manager, Kevin Allen, are working their way across the States on Lee’s first American tour; including stopping by SxSw after leaving Kentucky.  Lee’s music is an indie pop fusion with a 1960?s vibe.  He has been compared to the likes of Rod Stewart, John Lennon and a combo of Rufus Wainwright meets Freddie Mercury.  Personally, he reminds me of a young Pelle Carlberg, with seemingly straightforward lyrics that are laced with sincerity, yet with witty undertones and hidden depth.  I’d bet money his tunes will take on more of that direction in the future.

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Something Else!

April 8, 2011
By S. Victor Aaron

A young guy who hails from a small town north of London armed with photo-friendly mop top looks, an acoustic guitar and a soulful voice, Lee MacDougall might be the next in a wave of male British singer-songwriter sensations following the golden-throated Paolo Nutini, and he hadn’t even made a full album yet. He has, however, made a 3-track CD released last year on iTunes, and now has a 10-track EP out, If Walls Could Talk.

MacDougall cites Oasis as a contemporary influence, as well as Rod Stewart, the Kinks and of course, The Beatles. But this particular tune—and the reason I single it out—is because it also captures the melodic essence of the long-forgotten power pop act Jellyfish. MacDougall has a burgeoning reputation for writing deeply personal songs, and he leverages his past as the leader of a heavy rock outfit to pen confessionals that packs a harmonic punch.

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San Diego 6

March 2011