Mac DeMarco Explains the April Fool's Day Significance of 'Salad Days'

BY Cam LindsayPublished Feb 21, 2014

One month ago today (February 21), Mac DeMarco revealed details of his upcoming sophomore album, Salad Days. The follow-up to his 2012, Polaris Music Prize-longlisted 2, will see a release via Captured Tracks on the very appropriate date of April 1. Yes, renowned joker Mac DeMarco chose April Fool's Day.

Speaking with Exclaim!, DeMarco says the date was more out of necessity than a scheme to pull some grand prank. "I think it was the next date, so that was my slot," he explains. "But everyone's saying, 'Ooh, maybe he's pranking us.' But in all honesty I just wanted to get my goddamn record out as soon as I could. It was either then or in the fall, which would have killed me."

Mac says that doesn't mean he won't try and have some fun with the release. It is April Fool's Day after all. "Maybe we'll do some kind of prank, but I won't let you in on that. You'll have to wait and see," he teases. "It's a good date, my birthday month and I'm a bit of a prankster sometimes. Maybe I'll fake my death or something… That would probably make people angry."

With or without a publicity prank, expectations for Salad Days are pretty high. And while some might expect Mac to go for it and capitalize on his rising popularity, he says the idea was to not alienate his fans by keeping things simple.

"I didn't want to freak anybody out with a huge sound change," Mac explains. "I wanted to transition without changing the vibe too much. The mood for Salad Days is, 'Fuck man! I was just on tour for a year and a half and I'm tired!'"

Mac did tease that his next album after Salad Days might see a slight change in direction. "I've been playing a lot of keyboards and writing with them, but I didn't want to put out an album like that just yet. Maybe the next one," he says.

While Salad Days still doesn't arrive until April, when it does, DeMarco will head out on the road for a pile of previously announced tour dates, which you can see below.

Read our cover story on DeMarco here.

Tour dates:


03/14 Santiago, Chile - Ex Oz

03/15 Buenos Aires, Brazil - Vorterix

03/23 Santa Ana, CA -  Burgerama III

03/31 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom*#

04/01 Oberlin, OH - Oberlin College

04/02 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle *#

04/03 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick *#

04/04 Wakefield, QC -  Blacksheep *#

04/05 Sherbrooke, QC - Boquébière *#

04/06 Montreal, QC - Societe des Arts Technologiques *#

04/07 Cambridge, MA - Middle East (Downstairs) *#

04/09 New York, NY - Webster Hall #

04/10 Durham, NC - Duke Coffeehouse *

04/11 Atlanta, GA - The Goat Farm *

04/12 Baton Rouge, LA - Mud and Water *

04/13 Austin, TX - Mohawk (Outside Stage) *

04/14 Fort Worth, TX - Lola's Saloon *

04/15 Oxford, MS - Proud Larry's *^

04/16 Nashville, TN - Exit-In *

04/17 Asheville, NC - The Grey Eagle *

04/18 Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts *

04/25 New Orleans, LA - Tulane University

04/26 Yonkers, NY - Sarah Lawrence College

05/15 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg

05/16 Paris, France - Trabendo

05/17 Nantes, France - Stereolux

05/18 Brussels, Belgium - Nuits Botanique

05/19 Brighton, England - The Old Market

05/20 Glasgow, Scotland - Mono

05/21 Manchester, England - Sound Control

05/22 London, England - Koko

05/23 Cologne, Germany - Electronic Beats - E Werks

05/24 Berlin, Germany - Bi Nuu

06/20-21 Toronto, ON - North by Northeast

* with Juan Wauters

# with Amen Dunes

^ with Dent May

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