Wednesday, October 24, 2012

INTERVIEW WITH: MacKenzie Porter


Earlier this month, I got to sit down with MacKenzie Porter, a Canadian triple threat who is following her dreams and getting her name out there. She sings, she acts, and she plays multiple instruments (violin has been a huge part of her life) - and with the support of family, friends and fans, she is a fresh face taking the entertainment industry by storm. Fun fact: her older brother is Kalan Porter, season two winner of Canadian Idol.

Just this past year, MacKenzie has worked on four film projects - The Horses of McBride, Leap 4 Your Life, Tom, Dick and Harriet, and A Killer Among Us - and has most recently released her first single "I Wish I'd Known." Check out the brand new music video:

Such a nice song and beautifully made music video!

Here is a glimpse into our interview -

Q: 2012 has been a pretty busy year so far, with both singing and acting, and you’re promoting your new single across Canada right now – how is that going?

MacKenzie Porter: It’s going really well. We started in Vancouver and made our way to Toronto and the Ontario area and then eventually over to the Maritimes as well. So far, the reaction from everybody after they heard the song has been really great.

Q: Where do you get your inspiration for song writing?

MP: I try to write all my stuff from my own experiences or something that one of my friends are going through. I think it’s hard to write if you haven’t actually experienced it, so yeah everything I write is from my own experiences.

Q: Your song is called “I Wish I’d Known” so what would you tell your teenage self; what do you wish you knew?

MP: Probably not to worry about things and enjoy things more because I naturally am a person that gets stressed out about things or overwhelmed about things, so just to chill out and enjoy the moment I think.


Q: Coming from such a talented musical family, what pushed you to pursue a solo career?

MP: It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I did see my older brother doing it and doing it really well. And so that always pushed me and made me realize that it was possible and within my reach. I guess Kalan was really encouraging to me to just go forward and do music as a profession and a career.

Q: Would you guys work together in the future?

MP: We’ve actually written quite a bit together. We wrote this one song that we wanted to do as a duet, but it was a love song, so we were like that’s a little weird. So we probably won’t be doing that. But yeah if he’s up for it in the future, that’s definitely something we could do.

Q: Coming from Medicine Hat, how has the city influenced you as a musician?

MP: In a lot of ways. They have a really strong arts community in Medicine Hat and some really fantastic teachers and other musicians I grew up playing music with. So just the fact that they’ve created such a great cultural centre, a good centre for kids to be able to learn instruments, it’s been everything for my career.

Q: Why did you choose to do country music?

MP: I guess because I grew up on a Buffalo ranch and it’s been in my family for five generations, so it was always something I’ve grown up listening to, and that my dad and mom would listen to. So for the first six or seven years of my life, it’s all I ever really knew. I like country music, I love it.


Q: Would you branch out to other genres?

MP: Yeah, totally. When I was first trying to find my voice in music it was right when Lady Gaga was really big so I wanted to be like Lady Gaga and had all these techno pop songs I was writing.  I would write little synth boards at Long & McQuade or at any music store and write pop songs. But I love all sorts of music so I’m planning and writing a lot write now, so I would totally write for pop artists or rock and singer-songwriter stuff too.

Q: Who do you look up to in the music industry?

MP: A lot of people. In country right now, I’m loving Miranda Lambert’s latest album. It’s so good and there’s quite a few songs on there that are her singles but the rest of the album is just fantastic I think. So I really like her. There are lots of other groups I like that aren’t country, like A Fine Frenzy. Most of the people I listen to or look up to are women, female artists. I’ll hear vocal stylings that they do and I’ll try to impersonate them so I can expand my range of how I sing and the different voices I can use when I sing.

Q: You’ve play in shows with some pretty huge names, like Kenny Chesney and Miranda Lambert – how does it feel to be on those same stages as them?

MP: It’s pretty nerve-wracking. They are pros and I’m so new at this and just starting my career. But I mean, it’s awesome, I’ll take any show like that I can get. But when I’m up there I really feel like I’m so lucky and thinking that the whole time I’m up there. So it’s kind of surreal.


Q: If you had to choose: singing or acting?

MP: I don’t think I can choose. I know that everyone says at some point you have to choose but I haven’t hit that moment yet. I started at a younger age with music, so that’s always been a major love of mine, but I was passionate about acting and fell into the film industry. Can I say both?

Q: What is the highlight of 2012 so far for you?

MP: Probably just because it happened today so it’s newer in my mind, we were driving down the highway coming home today and I heard my song on the radio for the first time. That was kind of weird. We have a video of me dancing in the car to it. It’s a weird feeling, not just hearing the song, but hearing the announcer talk about it before and after and hearing people call in and request it.  That is so weird to me. At this moment, that would be the highlight since it was today.

Q: What’s up next for you?

MP: I am working on the full album. I will leave on Tuesday to go back to Nashville and I’m going to be recording down there this time. And I’m going to some of the Country Music Week parties and events so hopefully I’ll run into some cool musicians. But right now, my plans are to work on my album and get my second single out and see how this one does. As far as acting, I’m just waiting for my next project, it’s just that kind of industry I guess.


Keep an eye out for my article featuring MacKenzie Porter in the next issue of Faze Magazine

Find more from this Canadian talent at http://www.mackenzieporter.ca/

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

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