Q&A: Athens musician's limited-edition vinyl release was more than a decade in the making

From the soaring guitar-heavy opener "An Uncertain Flight" to the minimalist coda of "Everything Must Go," all 20 songs on Chris McKay and the Critical Darlings' "Satisfactionista" would be ready for the radio in any decade of the last 50 years. The fact that it was originally released in the 2000s is noteworthy, but the album's new limited-edition vinyl reissue is nothing short of miraculous.

In this Q&A with Banner-Herald arts and culture reporter Andrew Shearer, McKay details the reasons why "Satisfactionista" remained a matter of unfinished business for the past 14 years, gets candid about his ongoing health issues, and teases an upcoming 500-page book that will serve as a companion to the remastered and expanded LP set that came out on Oct. 20.

Music Video: "Sadder Day" by Chris McKay and the Critical Darlings

Andrew Shearer: You're still writing and recording music. Why go back and release an album that's more than a decade old?

Chris McKay: I've got a new record mostly recorded. When I was about to put this ("Satisfactionista" reissue) out, I was like, "should I just do the new record? Who's gonna care about this old one anyway?" I'm still shocked beyond belief that so many people have bought ("Satisfactionista" reissue) already. Very happy about it, obviously, but you know how it is when an artist hasn't been around for a while. I just knew that if I finished this and put it out the way we originally wanted to, I would feel free. When I realized what the final side (of the LP) should be for, I looked into my archives and I had exactly five really solid bonus tracks. After that, I was like, "This feels like an epilogue." Vinyl is the only way to hear it as we meant it to be heard.

Shearer: What happened with that initial 2009 release?

McKay: When we recorded (Satisfactionista") in 2008, we didn't have enough money to finish it, let alone put it out on vinyl. I was dealing with my grandmother's death and had other family stuff going on, so we had to postpone it for a little bit, but the album came out in January 2009. The band couldn't even hang together because other guys had to have jobs. So we got the record done and then, poof. The band split up not long after that, so there was less promotion and we didn't tour behind it. David Barbe co-produced ("Satisfactionista") and we recorded 14 of the songs at Chase Park Transduction Studios. It's been nagging at me all these years, and people have always asked if there would ever be a proper release.

Shearer: I read that you had a cerebellar stroke right at the end of 2006. How were you able to come back from that and still make an album with The Critical Darlings?

McKay: I went to the hospital when I had the stroke, but they told me I was having a full body migraine because cerebellar strokes don't look like a regular stroke. Within three weeks, I was back playing again and just thought I had a headache. The cerebellum is the part of the brain that controls balance, so I would be standing on the stage playing a guitar solo and get dizzy. I could physically feel myself sliding on the stage toward the audience even though I wasn't. Experiences like that went on for years and got very painful. Then I got in a car accident in 2017 and the neurologist found it on a CT scan. I missed so many important things because I thought, "If everybody else in the world can get up and do it, I can do it." Not realizing that was probably making it worse in the long term.

Shearer: Can you give any details about the forthcoming companion book to "Satisfactionista"?

McKay: The publisher had asked me to do some stories about the songs, which I guess is a common thing now. I kept very detailed diaries after the band broke up, so I went back and just started pulling from there. It's really surreal, because the stroke happens during the diary. I took out the photography stuff and most of the personal life stuff, but anything that affected the band or the album was chronicled in real time. I'm a music geek, so I read all the books, and most of what's in those comes from what people remember about what they did. For this book, you'll read what's happening from day to day. ... But it's not being done for the band or even for me. I think it's interesting to read about how much people devote to art. No matter if you're a musician, a fine artist or a comedian, it doesn't matter. You try your absolute hardest, and you're almost always gonna fail, at least in the eyes of the world. I think those stories are important, and they're the kind most people would normally never get to hear.

To purchase the "Satisfactionista" limited-edition vinyl LP, visit chrismckay.bandcamp.com/album/satisfactionista-2-lp-limited-deluxe-edition-remastered-for-vinyl-with-bonus-tracks.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Q&A: Athens musician and photographer Chris McKay