Mayor McCa Will Work Hard Right Across Canada

Back in May, we told you that one of Canada's most creative performers, the one-man band known as Mayor McCa, was changing his nickname from "One-Man Band Singing Sensation" to "The Hardest-Working Man In Show Business."

Without even getting into his ever-expanding list of musical and artistic accomplishments, one simply has to look at how the Mayor uses the full range of his body to make his touching, and often wacky, rock songs to see that he's worthy of this title.

He uses his left foot to play bass keyboard and tambourine, and the right one handles bass drum duties. He keeps his hands occupied with his guitar, keyboard, ukulele and various percussion instruments. He uses his mouth to sing, play harmonica and kazoo. On top of all that, he uses a combination of limbs to play slide whistle toys and tap dance. Seeing the immensely talented McCa pull everything together on stage is truly magical and fun.

Currently residing in London, England, he's making his way back to his native land for a cross-country trek in support of his latest effort, Cue Are Es Tea You. To get primed up for his Canadian dates, he recently completed a U.K. tour with former Queens Of The Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri and Blag Dahlia from Dwarves.

"I heard they're pretty wild, but I figure I can handle it," said McCa just prior to starting the tour. "I'm from Hamilton."

Cue Are Es Tea You, which is coming out shortly on Toronto's We Are Busy Bodies label, is Mayor McCa's fifth full-length. It was created over the span of a year in London and Toronto, and was recorded with the help of Sam Swift, Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck) and James Black (Finger Eleven). Like its predecessor, 2003's wonderful El Limb Men Oh Pee, Cue Are Es Tea You is a bit of a concept album.

"It runs along with the same theme and variation thing that was going on last time, except instead of having one theme there are sections: 'Cue,' 'Are,' 'Es,' 'Tea' and 'You.' I could go way into it, but I'll let people try and figure it out themselves, though it seems they rarely do. That's alright too, though."

With Cue Are Es Tea You, and El Limb Men Oh Pee before that, McCa has covered almost half the alphabet (read the titles slowly if you don't get it). Always an ambitious fellow, "The Hardest-Working Man In Show Business" is already thinking of ways to incorporate all 26 letters into his discography.

"I'm thinking of making 'Vee' an EP, then doing 'Double You Ex Why Zed' to finish it off. I am also thinking about re-recording some of my oldies in a collection called 'Eh 2 Kay.' That way, I'd have the entire alphabet. We'll see though. I may change my mind about that."

As of now, Cue Are Es Tea You will only be available in Canada. McCa confirms that he's had discussions about putting it out in the U.K., but isn't sure how he wants to go about doing it yet.As for now, the Mayor is simply focusing on promoting the CD. Having driven across our vast nation countless times over the last decade, he's super-excited to be doing it once again. He's especially looking forward to playing in his hardworking hometown, which, no matter where he lives, he says he'll always be able to relate to.

"When I left Hamilton, things were weird and I was like, 'I hope I never see that place again.' But the more I am over here, the more I miss it. That city is very much a part of me, and I can relate with it. It's an underdog, it tries really hard and it's got a lot of heart. That comes from the people in it, and I was one of those people for a long time."

Here are Mayor McCa's Canadian tour dates:

Sept. 22 Edmonton, AB @ Sidetrack Cafe
Sept. 23 Calgary, AB @ HiFi Club
Sept. 25 Regina, SK @ The Exchange
Sept. 26 Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo's
Sept. 27 Winnipeg, MB @ West End Cultural Centre
sept.28 Waterloo, ON @ The Jane Bond
Sept.30 Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel
Oct.1 Hamilton, ON @ The Casbah
Oct. 2 Ottawa, ON @ Clocktower Pub
Oct. 4 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
Oct. 5 Moncton, NB @ The Paramount
Oct. 6 St. John's, NF @ Distortion
Oct. 7 St. John's, NF @ Rose & Thistle
Oct. 11 Charlottetown, PEI @ Hunters Ale House
Oct. 13 Halifax, NS @ Pavilion
Oct. 13 Halifax, NS @ Gus' Pub
Oct. 14 Saint John, NB @ Elwoods
Oct. 18 Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel
Oct. 19 Kingston, ON @ Grad Club