Mac DeMarco is a man of many masks. A musician, director, and producer, we’ve recently learned he’s also a video game programmer. The Canadian slack-rock sensation has created a PC game called “Shave Me.” In it, Aussie gonzo rocker and frequent Mac collaborator Kirin J Callinan requests, in his sultry voice, that players shave his five o’clock shadow, all 1,457 hairs of it. While this might sound daunting, it’s not. It’s fun. The game also contains a few surprises, including Kirin covering Dido’s “Thank You.”

Mac explains the game in an outtake from a recent interview with Christopher Booker for PBS NewsHour (see outtake below). Players must clean up Kirin’s face using Barbasol and a BIC razor. However, if you attempt to shave him without first applying the Barbasol, you will cut him. Kirin doesn’t like getting cut. He’ll make a noise, and his eyes will bulge. If you continue to nick him, strange things might occur.

Mac designed the game so you can change the location where you shave Kirin by pressing the number keys. And, if you make it to the Dido Room, you can use the up and down keys to change the speed of Kirin’s voice. Mac has also hidden Kirin’s bandmates, Tex Crick and Mahne Frame, in the game. You can play “Shave Me” here.

Besides designing a video game, Mac has added a few other projects to his resume this year. He directed an officially unofficial video for Iggy Pop’s “Sonali.” Shot in Los Angeles, it features musician Tommy Midnight as a reptilian man who is trying to make it to date with his reptilian girlfriend played by Mac’s longtime significant other Kiera McNally.

Mac also teamed up with Kirin to form a music production partnership called Seconds Flat. They produced a few songs for Julian Casablancas’ The Voidz. “The Eternal Tao,” which was released before The Voidz played Governors Ball, is a poppy chip-tune-inspired dance track. The second single, “Did My Best,” dropped last week. It sounds like vintage Casablancas. You can check out “Did My Best” and “The Eternal Tao 2.0” in the Promiseland-directed doubleheader video below. Kirin and Mac even make cameos. “Did My Best” is out now on Terrible Records via all streaming services and will be available on a limited 7″ in February 2020.

Back in May, Mac released his fourth LP, Here Comes the Cowboy. He has also added two more music videos to his CAM TONY YouTube channel. That’s where he posts his jam sessions and other musical mementos. The most recent one features some chill tunes and far-out graphics. Tucked inside is a promo for “Shave Me.” That starts at 33:50. You can watch that here.

Also this year, Mac partook in Jenny Lewis’ “On The Line Online – The Three Hour Listening Party & Fundraiser.” Produced by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim’s Abso Lutely Productions, the event was a telethon to raise money for the Los Angeles Downtown Women’s Center. Mac also appears in Jenny’s video for “Rabbit Hole”.

And, for those Mac-heads out there, tickets are still available for his New Year’s Eve show at Barclays Center. The creative polymath is opening for The Strokes. See all of Mac’s upcoming tour dates below.

Mac DeMarco 2019-2020 Tour Dates
12/31 – Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY
1/08 – Great Hall, Auckland Town Hall Auckland, New Zealand
1/10 – Hordern Pavilion Sydney, NSW
1/11 – Festival Hall West Melbourne, VIC
1/15 – Fortitude Music Hall Brisbane, QLD
1/18 – Red Hill Auditorium Perth, WA
1/22 – The Republik Honolulu, HI
4/15 – Cube Garden Sapporo, Japan
4/17 – TSUTAYA O-EAST Tokyo, Japan
4/20 – Club Quattro Nagoya, Japan
4/21 – Umeda Club Quattro Osaka, Japan
4/23 – Club Quattro Hiroshima, Japan
4/24 – Beat Station Fukuoka, Japan
8/19 – Paredes de Coura Festival Paredes de Coura, Portugal