Alan MacDonald (born 14 August 1961) is an Australian musician and lawyer, best known as the

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

of the 1980s band

the Triffids The Triffids were an Australian alternative rock and pop band, formed in Perth in Western Australia in May 1978 with David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist.McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo"The Triff ...

, where he performed under his

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

'Alsy'. He was born on 14 August 1961 to Bill MacDonald, a professor of child health at

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

, and Judy Henzell ( AM), a well-known paediatrician. He was the youngest of the four children, with two older brothers and a sister. As a child he could not say 'Alan' properly so called himself 'Alsy'. He went to Hollywood Senior High School in

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and was close friends with David McComb. In 1976, partly in response to the emergence of

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

, MacDonald and McComb formed Dalsy, later known as Blök Music and then

The Triffids The Triffids were an Australian alternative rock and pop band, formed in Perth in Western Australia in May 1978 with David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist.McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo"The Triff ...

(from the

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his name ...

novel, '' The Day of the Triffids''). McComb and MacDonald wrote and performed songs with Phil Kakulas (later in Blackeyed Susans), Andrew McGowan, Julian Douglas-Smith, and later Byron Sinclair, Will Akers and Margaret Gillard. By Christmas 1978, they had released several home-recorded

cassette tapes Cassette, also known as cassette tape, refers to a small plastic unit containing a length of magnetic tape on two reels. The design was created to replicate the way a reel-to-reel machine works with tape moving from one reel to another while bein ...

and been through many line-up changes. In 1981, The Triffids released their first, 7-inch vinyl single, "Stand Up", as a result of winning a song competition run by the Western Australian Institute of Technology. Subsequent releases included the '' Reverie'' EP, "Spanish Blue", and the ''

Bad Timing and Other Stories ''Bad Timing and Other Stories'' is the second official recording by The Triffids, released as a 7" extended play in April 1983. Its four tracks were produced by Robert Ash for White Records Label an imprint of Mushroom Records Mushroom Reco ...

'' EP. They moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, in 1982. The band's first 12-inch vinyl

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, '' Treeless Plain'', was released in 1983. The band's line-up stabilised to David McComb (vocals, guitar), his brother Robert McComb (guitar, violin), Jill Birt (keyboards), Alsy MacDonald (drums), Martyn P. Casey (bass). In August 1984, the band flew to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where they recorded the critically acclaimed album, ''

Born Sandy Devotional ''Born Sandy Devotional'' is the second studio album by the Triffids, released in March 1986. The album was recorded at Mark Angelo Studios in London in August 1985 with Gil Norton co-producing with the band, and mixed at Amazon Studios in Liv ...

'', they toured Europe and returned to

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

in 1986 to record '' In The Pines'' on the McComb's family property in Ravensthorpe, south east of Perth. The Triffids line-up was finalised with the addition of 'Evil' Graham Lee on pedal steel and guitar. Lee having recorded the mini-album, '' Lawson Square Infirmary'' with the band members in 1984. In 1987, the band signed a three-record deal with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

, which saw the release of '' Calenture'' and '' The Black Swan''. In 1989 tired from the constant travelling and touring, the band dissolved. MacDonald played with

The Blackeyed Susans ''For the American band with a similar name, see Blackeyed Susan.'' The Blackeyed Susans are an Australian rock band, which formed in Perth in 1989. Long serving members are Phil Kakulas on bass guitar, guitar and vocals; and Rob Snarski on v ...

between 1989 and 1990 and upgraded his high school qualifications. He enrolled in law at

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

in 1992. MacDonald married Jill Birt, the keyboardist for the band. They have three children. Jill is a practising architect who graduated from the

. After graduating with his law degree in 1995, MacDonald applied for a short-term contract at the Equal Opportunity Commission in Perth and is currently the commission's senior legal advisor.

References

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

- Tony Barass (17 April 1999)

External links

The Triffid's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Alsy Australian drummers Australian male drummers Australian people of Scottish descent Musicians from Perth, Western Australia 1961 births Living people The Triffids members The Blackeyed Susans members