In 1970, Mackay was familiar to the Stooges from his work with the Detroit avant-rock pioneers Carnal Kitchen. After sitting in with the Stooges on several occasions, he formally joined the group at the behest of lead singer Iggy Pop two days before they left Detroit for Los Angeles to record Fun House in May 1970. Mackay remained with the Stooges for five months before being fired by Pop in October 1970. As the band had been deteriorating from drug abuse and a dearth of professional opportunities, Mackay later recalled that he was "somewhat grateful" for being dismissed.\n', '

In 2003, Mackay rejoined the Stooges when they played their first show in twenty-nine years at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. He remained with the group until his death in 2015. During this period, he appeared on the live Stooges releases Live in Detroit (DVD) and Telluric Chaos (a live album; 2005), and two studio albums, The Weirdness (2007) and Ready to Die (2013). He also contributed to James Williamson\'s solo studio debut, Re-Licked (2014).\n', '

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Mackay played and recorded with a highly diverse cross-section of underground musicians, including Violent Femmes, Snakefinger, Commander Cody, Smegma, Zu, Andre Williams, the Moonlighters, Clubfoot Orchestra, and Van Rozay from San Jose, California. He was based in Ann Arbor (where he continued to work at Discount Records and perform with Carnal Kitchen and the Mojo Boogie Band, a blues rock ensemble) until 1976, when he initially relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area. During this period, he supported his musical endeavors by working as a stationary engineer at various San Francisco sewage treatment plants.\n', '

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