Search Party winner Lacey Macri isn’t in Davis to make it big in music. Like many Aggies doubling as musicians, she has her studies to attend to first. The sophomore’s second priority, though, is playing every instrument in her impressive repertoire – which includes guitar, keyboards and very intermediate level violin.
At age five, Macri’s musicianship was birthed from quite the peculiar inspiration: movie scores. She distinctly remembers watching The Last of the Mohicans as a child, hearing the violin in the background and wanting to learn how to play it.
But strict training in the Suzuki method of violin is not easy.
“There were times that I would get really frustrated, but my parents wouldn’t let me quit.“
It was a supportive refusal, of course. Now that Macri has ten years of violin under her belt, she can draw from her training when writing. Though many of her tracks fall under the broad definition of alternative folk, Macri is an expert on throwing in some of the rootsier, more bluegrass-inspired fiddling and has recorded improvisational violin tracks.
Macri is a self-determined young musician – she records at home on a 24-track that her father so generously purchased for her and lays down all tracks herself, including basic percussion. For live performances, however, Macri primarily plays guitar, and now looks to others to take up the remaining instruments.
At UC Davis, Macri wants to be more involved in the local musician community. She saw Search Party as such the opportunity to perform in front of a crowd and possibly “catch someone’s eye“ who would want to perform with her in the future. What Macri’s looking to start up with fellow student musicians is a sound drawing from both alternative and folk genres.
“I try to mold it to be for a greater demographic to enjoy.“
If she had a show on KDVS, which is on her to-do list, Macri said it would be hard to say just yet what she would want to play; rather, she needs to “accumulate some good ideas.” But in terms of contemporary musicians that spark her interest, Tegan and Sara stand out.
“When I saw them at the [Freeborn concert] I was really inspired,” Macri said.
Macri will give a solo performance this evening at the ASUCD Coffee House, in hopes of inspiring more musicians to join her on the stage in the future.
–Nicole L. Browner
