Otis Mace

Rip It Up, Issue 217, 1 September 1995, Page 9

Otis Mace

Otis Mace is a master of irony. This month the Auckland based singer/songwriter celebrates the release of his debut album Quick, 15 years after he first embarked on a career in music. Mace first picked up a guitar when the punk explosion hit New Zealand in the late 70s. He played in a succession of short-lived groups throughout the next decade, most notably the Psychic Pet Healers, but made his name in underground circles with the persona Otis Mace ‘Guitar Ace’. Although he has performed thousands of solo gigs nationwide, his recorded output has been restricted to a handful of singles and EPs until now. His rationale on this matter is a simple one.

“I guess I’ve always liked performing live rather than having to work hard in a recording studio. It’s just more fun to tour round the country. Getting an album out has never been a priority, so it’s taken me awhile... to put it mildly.” Technically, Quick is a compilation album, as it features a selection of older tracks re-recorded for the occasion (as Mace believed they weren’t given the exposure and attention they deserved when first released), plus more recent material, and even an unreleased song from 1982, produced by then-Blam Don McGlashan. Filled with tales about milkmen, pumpkins, the Thunderbirds, vampires, and taxi drivers, Quick reflects Mace’s penchant for basing songs on the simplest of ideas. “Ideas come at all different times, and from lots of different experiences. Sometimes it’s just reading a comic book, or it can be a sudden blast of inspiration when sitting at home. I try not to let myself be restricted by what I think should be one particular style of songwriting, so I just follow my whims and fancies, rather than commercial writing acceptable to most people. Five years ago, I decided I'd better start writing songs about my own experiences. I felt I had tried to invent things from a surrealistic point of view, but nothing affects you, or other people, like your own experience.”

Mace has recently been rehearsing with Ed McWilliams and Geoff Maddock of Auckland band Breast Secreting Cake, and is in the process of nailing down dates for a nationwide tour to promote Quick. He’s discovering pub owners are a great deal more receptive this time round.

“It makes my performance art a lot more valid in people’s eyes now that I’ve got a CD out.” No one could argue that Otis Mace hasn’t paid his dues in the business, but he remains totally unfazed about his lack of ‘commercial’ success.

“There’s a lot of people doing music, and there's a lot of competition. Perhaps my personality isn’t quite as pushy or as ambi-tious-as it should be to become a really successful rock musician. I try not to let it get to me, you’ve got to maintain a positive attitude.”

JOHN RUSSELL