I first saw the Makai at Gilman around 2007, and they blew me away. From that point on they were a mystery to me. I believed they were a local band to the Bay Area, but later found out they were based out of Chico which is a college town between Sacramento and the Oregon border.
Based on my belief they were local I began thinking it was totally weird that I didn't see them at more shows or on fliers. Later when we were asked to set up a show for Nux Vomica Kelly asked me about bands that we could get on the bill, and the first band out of my mouth was the Makai.
What I didn't realize at the time was that Nux Vomica had released a split album with the Makai.
Somebody apparently uploaded this onto a file sharing website if you want to hear it here or here or you can purchase the 10" vinyl here.
When Embers made our way through Chico on tour Zeke from the Makai booked our show, and members of the Makai supported us with their side band Black Hole of Calcutta. It was then that I heard the news; the Makai were breaking up.
After I heard that I made sure that we played with them at there last show in Oakland. That show also turned out to be our last show with Lillian.
Recently I found a video that captures their music vividly; a youtube video that has very few plays but deserves many more. That is the nature of the Makai. They deserved much more recognition while they were around. Check it out. It will blow you away!
Now the bittersweet irony of a band calling it quits right before they reach a critical mass is that they release an amazing album right before they break up which thus ensures said album to be lost in the shuffle and forgotten. So that doesn't happen I encourage everyone to check out the Makai's final album, The End of All You Know.
No comments:
Post a Comment