Hey, Hey, We're The Jesus Lizard!
Drummer Mac McNeilly Reflects On His Tenure In That Reactivated Band, and His Formative Years In Atlanta's '80s Underground Scene

It's Lollapalooza 1995 and The Jesus Lizard are sharing the main stage with Sonic Youth, Cypress Hill, Beck, Pavement and everybody's sweetheart, Courtney Love and her band Hole. "We found this huge fake cock that was like three feet long and way surpassed a dildo," recalls Lizard drummer Mac McNeilly. "I remember a couple of times when Hole were playing and we'd pop that thing out and try and make 'em laugh and stuff, but I don't think Courtney was ever paying attention. I don't even remember seeing Courtney very much on that tour and when we did she was just a bit out of her mind!"

Colorful anecdotes like that are probably not what you'd expect from your average Westminster School graduate. But such is the case when you are dealing with Mac McNeilly, the legendary Atlanta drummer currently on the road with a one-tour-only reformed Jesus Lizard.

McNeilly's career started out as so many do when he began playing "pool parties" and such in high school with a combo called Acropolis. "We played music by people like Trapeze, Robin Trower, Hendrix, Cream," notes Mac. "Our biggest show was probably a battle of the bands at Six Flags where out of, like, twenty bands we finished third behind Thermos Greenwood and Mother's Finest. What I remember most is the power going out so that I had to play a really long drum solo. I was scared to death."

While that band was green and had no original material, McNeilly's next band, Formal Behavior, flirted with a record deal with their power-pop sound reminiscent of The Shoes and Elvis Costello.

It was Mac's next group, 86, that was to leave its indelible mark on Atlanta's alternative music scene. Through several 45, EP, and LP releases, 86 carved a post-punk sound that was both similar to other period bands (For Against, for one) as well as indelibly unique. McNeilly's excellent crashing cymbal drum work complimented Ken Schenk's ringing guitar artistry and Max Koshewa's thundering bass. 86 were easily one of Atlanta's best live bands, with lengthy live shows including one opening for The Jesus and Mary Chain at 688 in March of 1986. "I think they played for twenty something minutes so we just tried to give people value for their money," laughs McNeilly. 86 also shared the stage with any number of local bands and even shared a practice room with Mr. Crowe's Garden. "I remember one time where someone gave Chris Robinson some acid and this might have been the first time he tripped," Mac speculates. "He sat down against a wall saying, 'What are you doing to me?' and 'I don't feel so good.'" But 86 eventually ran its course, bowing out with a (you guessed it) marathon live performance at the Metroplex in 1987. 

McNeilly spent the next couple of years playing in various aggregations using various instruments. He played a dual guitar with Brian Bath in the improv-noise combo At Rest. With a cast of thousands, or so it seemed, he drummed in the indescribable Sexy Up! McNeilly actually committed his work on bass to vinyl with the band Phantom 309, which also featured Atlanta record label honcho Gary Held as well as John Forbes, later of Dirt, Mount Shasta and Tijuana Hercules.