DONNY AND LALAH HATHAWAY. Nat King Cole and Natalie Cole. Do apples really never fall far from the tree? Are certain qualities truly passed down to children, even characteristics like musical talent? Some would say no (probably because they’re desperately trying to not become just like their parents).
Whether it’s more nature or nurture, you can’t really tell, because both having musical genes and growing up being the child of a famous musician must definitely influence one’s personal evolution. No matter if it’s in the blood or bred from a musical environment, the fact remains that these two aforementioned are father and daughter musical icons.
While Nicholas and Mackenzie Brancker are not as famous and well known, (Nicholas has some fame), the two have a musical bond that is filled with laughter, respect and hope.
“I knew Mackenzie had an ear for music from the time she was two,” Nicholas told EASY magazine in his home studio last week. “She used to sing melodies and sing harmonies naturally, and that was something unusual. She also had great coordination from young.”
Yes, Mackenzie is a girl and a drummer. She started playing the drums in her dad’s studio at age eight, and her parents quickly enrolled her in lessons.
Her dad thought it was going to be a phase. But Mackenzie proved him wrong.
“It is because dad plays the guitar that I went to the drums. I wanted to play something that he could not. I was thinking ahead because I knew one day I wanted to play with my dad. I looked at if we had a jam session we both won’t rush to the bass . . . it would be easier to coordinate.”
And she admits she gets pleasure out of the drums because she likes “hitting things.”
“ . . . . And to me the drummer basically controls the band, because we have to keep the time and all of that . . . . I like to be in control,” she said, laughing.
Mackenzie occasionally plays for her school functions, since the school band has disbanded.
And that was how the interview progressed – Nicholas and Mackenzie talking and laughing. Dad poking her about her grades and Mackenzie poking him back.
The Harrison College student just received her CAPE results, something dad is proud about.
“I always tell her focus on her studies. I know she would sit in here and play the drums all day but I know how fickle the music world can be. She is going into upper sixth next month so it will be more rigorous for her. I need her to focus.”
Mackenzie is eager to show off her skills though, a chance she got two years ago when she played with her dad at Mosaic, the annual concert put on by Harrison College alums.
“Not everyone knows I have a daughter and that she plays drums. So some people were shocked. But she plays a lot of times with me at rehearsals,” Nicholas said, while Mackenzie took up her sticks to have her pictures taken.
“Those sticks look old. Get another pair,” dad said.
“That means I have to go upstairs . . .”, she said mournfully.
Upstairs was five feet away. Typical teenager (Mackenzie is 17).
“I know Mackenzie would like to play in my band (the band is about two years old). But I want her to see my band as aspirational and inspirational.
“I want her to have her own band and play with people her own age first.”
She returned with the retrieved sticks and started to play for the pics. But the photographer wasn’t liking her facial expressions.
“Smile as if you are enjoying it,” he said.
He still wasn’t getting the response he wanted, so Nicholas picked up his bass and started to play and the smiles broke out.
And it went on for about two minutes of them jamming and vibing and Mackenzie laughing as she and her dad shared a musical expression that left me and the photographer as outsiders looking in.
Nicholas is extremely proud of Mackenzie, who also sings and writes. He says he doesn’t push her with her music as he finds he can be a bit obsessive, so he “lets her find her own way. I don’t sugarcoat my words, though. When she hears from someone, ‘Oh, that sounds good,’ I am the dissenting voice. You gotta reach me. Don’t study them.”
Mackenzie is doing sciences and would like to be an engineer of “some sort”, looking for a way where she can incorporate it with the music. She is also looking at improving her playing abilities of other instruments (she is already quite good at the cajon).
But it isn’t only Mackenzie. Her older brother Jordan is musically gifted. He is currently enrolled in university in England doing business management with an interest in law and he is leaning towards producing music.
Nicholas has cut back on his travelling and playing overseas and is happy to be home more with his family.
“I find that sometimes you have to take a break. I was touring for about ten years with Roberta Flack [acclaimed Grammy winner]. It is not an easy life being a musician. I tell both my children that.
“I want to make sure that they both have a solid foundation academically, even with her being as good a musician as she can be.”
Nicholas said he regrets now not taking his parents advice about his studies.
“I was the rebel and stubborn one. My parents were trying to get me to finish university and I was like ‘Nah’.
“There are times when business gets a little rough and I said, ‘Ok, I see now what they meant’. It is a little too late for me now . . . . That ship has sailed.”
The doting dad said it is also about options.
“The music business is not as lucrative as it was. It is not as easy as it was to earn a good living. People at the top are doing better than before. But there is a big, big gap in the middle. There is no middle class in music . . . . You are either doing very well or you are sucking salt.”
Nicholas says he leads a private life when he is not on the road in the public eye.
“I have had a great musical life thus far. No complaints. I have done everything. I have travelled the world. I have played with great musicians here and overseas. I have made some music that has a certain amount of success. I think I have contributed to my country’s musical development in a positive way. And I feel I have set an example that makes others want to aspire to.”
And maybe one day another Brancker will do all those. Mackenzie? (NS)
