Danny Mack

I was lucky enough to share the stage with Danny on quite a few occasions over the years.

We first worked together in the early/mid ’80s when he resurrected the Cement City Cowboys, his legendary country band from the ’70s. The original drummer had passed away a few years before, and I ended up in the band. The group was filled with great players, including original members Lee Stephens (bass), Gary Comeau (fiddle) and a few that have since passed away, including Danny, Ian Berry (sax/piano), and Jim Wilson (steel guitar/accordion), who went on to work with Robbie Robertson. It was a great introduction to Danny’s Tex/Mex sound, playing “Debbie Delight”, “MacMillan Bloedel” and so many others.

A year or so later Danny brought back his sixties psychedelic band, the Hydro Electric Streetcar. That group included guitar monster Gaye Delorme, bassist Paul Rudolph (who had moved to England and played with the Pink Fairies/Hawkwind/Brian Eno/etc), and guitarist Al Wiebe.

This was completely different, with long improvisations and a willingness to go anywhere the music took us, and the playing was always first rate. I ended up working with Gaye on his solo shows for a few years after as well. As enjoyable as it was musically, things started to get crazy, with Danny working a little too hard at the psychedelic mindset – I remember him preparing for a show by dropping acid daily for an entire month before, and then at the show. He was definitely on a different plane than the rest of us, although certainly enjoying himself. Eventually Danny seemed to disappear into his own world, and both bands came to an end. We lost touch for a few years, but I was shocked and delighted when we met up again in the ’90s. I owned a restaurant at the time, and Danny showed up with Bonnie one day, hoping to play. This was the new, clean and sober version. He ended up playing on a fairly regular basis. I was on the road a lot, so only saw him occasionally but it was a delight to see him so come back, healthy and with his life together.

Here’s a poster from one of the resurrected Danny Mack/Hydro Electric Streetcar shows. All the gigs were with the same players: Danny, Gaye Delorme, Al Wiebe, Paul Rudolph and me. I can’t find any audio from that band, but here’s something from a bit earlier with the reunited Cement City Cowboys circa mid-’80s. I can’t recall where this was recorded, but Danny’s really having fun. Sounds like Ian Berry on sax, and most likely Gary Comeau (fiddle), Jim Wilson (steel guitar/accordion), Lee Stephens (bass) and not sure who was on guitar. Both bands were a ton of fun to play in, and it’s quite obvious Danny is enjoying himself here.

See also Cement City Cowboys, Gary Comeau, Hydro Electric Streetcar