About Mr. Blackwatch
Mr. Blackwatch's namesake is a space alien (from the planet, Boca), who is both its founder and ne’er-do-well manager. No kidding. Comprised of Doug Mackey, Joe Wood and Kevin Fraser, the band has existed in some form since 1996. Their sole official recorded output is the ambitious Rock Opera “Mary, Me”, a 16-song epic about the life of a woman named Mary, her travails and ultimate triumph.
"Mary, Me" a Rock Opera
Mr. Blackwatch’s “Mary, Me”, an unapologetic Concept Album/Rock Opera ala The Who’s “Quadrophenia” and “Animals” by Pink Floyd, could well have been released in 1974, though its story is set firmly in the present. Released on Green Monkey Records, it’s the story of Mary: one woman, cradle to grave. Seen primarily, but not entirely, through the men she encounters along the way, Mary survives an abusive childhood in a small town, escapes to the big city–where she discovers life is essentially unchanged–and eventually moves back home, transcendent and finally able to love: herself, most importantly.
Spanning 16 songs in 2 acts, “Mary, Me” features the three core members of Mr. Blackwatch: Doug Mackey (singer, guitarist/primary songwriter), Joe Wood (drums and vocals) and Kevin Fraser (bass), accompanied by over a dozen guest musicians including saxophonist Cliff Colon, lead guitarists Evan Purcell and David McKibbin, and vocalists Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse (both from Skating Polly).
Conceived, recorded, mixed and produced by the band’s frontman Doug Mackey in his Moon Yard Recording Studio in Tacoma, WA, and mastered by Steve Turnidge at Ultraviolet Studios in Seattle, the album was years—arguably decades—in the making.
Buy the record at Bandcamp!
With astounding cover art by Andrew Dimitt, the physical package includes two CDs, a forward by U of Iowa Writer’s Workshop alum Craig Awmiller, and a 24-page illustrated booklet of lyrics.
Listen to our single, “See the Cow (Part 2)
Mr. Blackwatch’s new single, “See the Cow (Part 2)”, opens their concept album “Mary, Me” with a Country Western stomper and a humorous cowpoke’s lament. Though the song establishes the central allegory of the story–a cow–it remains stylistically singular, as the remainder of the album more closely resembles a classic Rock Opera in concept and execution. Saddle up, then rock on!
https://mrblackwatch.bandcamp.com/track/see-the-cow-part-2-2
Press!
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What is "The Mr. Blackwatch Show"?
“Last night was typically glorious Mr. Blackwatch—zany, brilliant, wildly diverse and somehow completely unified. Instead of 'playing covers' they create a postmodern, poly-stylistic collage of songs that add up to much more than the sum of its parts. There is a whole meta-level going on that we can think about above and beyond the songs being played. Some sort of mix of love, irony, truth, satire.”
— Gregory Youtz, Emeritus Professor of Music,
Pacific Lutheran University