Lawrie MacMillan

Bio:

33 year old Scottish bass player Lawrie MacMillan is an unclassifiable musician. Equally at home performing live or in the studio, his recognition as a first-call sideman owes as much to his genre-spanning experience as to his reputation as a teamplayer.

Best known for his work with the chart-topping group Stiltskin fronted by vocalist Ray Wilson, (who in the late 1990s also fronted the band Genesis, replacing their longtime iconic frontman, Phil Collins), Lawrie's touring schedule with Ray Wilson & Stiltskin is primarily based in and around mainland Europe, although their travels have included performances in South & Central America.

His touring, recording & broadcasting experiences have included acclaimed Celtic/World music group Ironhorse, with performances from a Disneyworld residency in Florida to a collaboration with Chamber Orchestra Sogdiana in Uzbekistan and several significant appearances at the Celtic Connections international festival.

On a sad yet proud note, Lawrie was the touring bass player with the late Stuart Adamson's post-Big Country country/rock project The Raphaels, a band co-led by Grammy Award winner Marcus Hummon, accompanying Stuart in what would be his final performances.

Closer to home, Lawrie regularly performs with friend and guitar virtuoso Willie Logan, featuring Willie's own unique style of blues. This page always has a song example available.

Also worth noting are Lawrie's experiences performing worldwide with various jazz lineups from quartets, latin and Big Band. However much these experiences enhance his diversity as a musician, he prefers to keep his tux and tropical shirts out of sight and out of mind :-)

Although his overseas work schedule can be spread out for up to 6 months of the year, when home Lawrie provides private bass guitar tuition (details available on request) and builds on his considerable reportoire whilst depping/subbing for many of Scotland's finest established groups, from pub rock to corporate function bands.

Lawrie also enjoys recording with the widest range of songwriters and producers time will allow him.

He has been featured as Glasgow Royal Concert Hall's house bass player on the BBC2 Ealtainn series, and his recent sessions include an in-the-works spiritual song-based album by The Entangled. Current releases include a live Stiltskin album; Urban/RnB vocalist Raff's new EP, Gotta Get It Right, which is currently being featured on an Adult entertainment soundtrack in Brazil (sexy basslines!!); blues guitar virtuoso Willie Logan's Fragile Creatures, progressive guitarist Geoff Geer's Lost Connection and Classic FM TV regular Chris Smith, who's unique classical-inspired album Fantasy, features Lawrie's fretted and fretless bass contributions.

Lawrie has (not so) recently been seen in the bass chair backing the hugely successful STF Production of the Queen/Ben Elton musical, We Will Rock You at the Rothes Halls, Glenrothes.

And since nobody seems to read this far into my biography...I'll stop writing in third-person-perspective and add some current info:

I'm often seen in the houseband on BBC Alba, for the series Ceol Country throughout broadcasted reruns, Sky Channel 168. My lovely talented brother Ashley Macmillan is on drums :-)

Worth mentioning are the Ray Wilson & Stiltskin concerts in Germany, Poland & Switzerland over the next few months in support of his new release Propaganda Man. We will also be performing a number of concerts titled Genesis Klassic featuring the Berlin Philharmonic Ensemble and fronted by Ray. These will showcase new arrangements of well known Genesis songs but with a unique classical edge.

Member Since:

April 11, 2006

Members:

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Influences:

Family and friends, my students, fellow musicians & band members (past and present), travelling, breathtaking views, good movies, budo taijutsu & lots of things Japanese, live music, silence....

The following Bass Players:

Pino Palladino, Nick Seymour, James Jamerson, Hutch Hutchinson, Sting, Tony Levin, Anthony Jackson, Richard Bona, Nathan East, Marcus Miller, Jason Newsted and all the other usual suspects!!

Music choice would depend on my mood and what I'm currently working on, but here's a brief list of artists/composers I always come back to (in no particular order of preference!):

Massive Attack, Bonnie Raitt, Henry Mancini, George Harrison, Audioslave, Tchaikovsky, Sting, Kasabian, The Beatles, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Muse, Steely Dan, European movie soundtracks, Cole Porter, Ray Charles, Crowded House, Motown, Dixie Chicks, Avishai Cohen, Queen, John Mayer, D'Angelo, Beach Boys, Chris Cornell, Billy Joel, Porcupine Tree, Aretha Franklin, Jeff Beck, The Police, Dean Martin, Michel Camilo, pedal steel music, Metallica, Hot Club of Cowtown, Marvin Gaye.............

Lawrie is endorsed by Elixir Strings

and plays Sadowsky Bass Guitars

Click link below for Lawrie's Featured Artist page:

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