Born in the
Melbourne music scene of early 1970's Australia, MACKENZIE THEORY played
a brand of instrumental jazz-rock not unlike that of MAHAVISHNU
ORCHESTRA tempered by ITS A BEAUTIFUL DAY. The MACKENZIE THEORY sound
was centred on the inventive and fiery guitar playing of Rob MacKenzie
teamed with the electric viola of the classically-trained Cleis Pearce.
As well as MacKenzie and Pearce, the initial MACKENZIE THEORY line-up
was rounded out with the recruitment of bassist Mike Leadabrand and
drummer Andy Majewski. The band took the name MACKENZIE THEORY as
recognition of its alignment to Rob MacKenzie's theories on music and
his philosophies on the link between the music and life. In September of
1973 there were changes to the MACKENZIE THEORY line-up when Mike
Leadabrand and Andy Majewski left the band and were replaced by Paul
'Sheepdog' Wheeler and Greg Sheehan, respectively. At the same time
Peter Jones came into MACKENZIE THEORY on electric piano, adding a new
dimension to their sound.After burning brightly for a short period,
things were all over for MACKENZIE THEORY by the middle of 1974 after
Rob MacKenzie was awarded a study grant from the Australian Council for
the Arts, and he and Pearce decided to head to the UK Kingdom to pursue
study options. While in the UK and later in the USA, Rob MacKenzie had
the opportunity to work the likes of Peter Gabriel, Pete Townshend,
members of Brand X and Mike Bloomfield.Rob MacKenzie was last known to
be residing in the USA and playing lead guitar for rock 'n' roll
revivalists SHA NA NA. Cleis Pearce continues to play music in Australia
as well as having achieved success in the visual arts arena. The first
recorded work of MACKENZIE THEORY appeared on the 1973 Sunbury Music
Festival triple live album "The Great Australian Rock Festival Sunbury
1973". After failed attempts to create a studio album, the highly
acclaimed MACKENZIE THEORY debut set "Out Of The Blue" was recorded
live-in-the-studio before a small audience and released by Mushroom
Records in July 1973. In 1974 a farewell concert for MACKENZIE THEORY
was recorded at Dallas Brooks Hall in Melbourne, which was later
released by Mushroom Records as the second MACKENZIE THEORY album "Bon
Voyage". MACKENZIE THEORY also featured as an artist in the 1974 Sunbury
Music Festival recording "Highlights of Sunbury '74, Part 2", plus the
band has appeared from time to time on compilation releases. One notable
compilation featuring MACKENZIE THEORY is the Australian progressive
rock compilation "Golden Miles: Australian Progressive Rock 1969-74",
released in 1994 by Raven Records. Line-up / Musicians Peter Jones/keyboards Rob MacKenzie/guitars Cleis Pearce/electric viola Mike Leadabrand/bass Andy Majewski/drums Discography Out of the Blue 1973
1.Extra Terrestrial Boogie 2.O 3.Opening Number 4.New Song 5.Out Of The Blue
