Rap star Mac Miller wraps up homecoming weekend at Stage AE
The stage for this rapper was an alley.
He jumped from lane 10 to lane 9 over the track holding the bowling balls, grabbed one, let it go and knocked all 10 pins on his first roll.
But, of course, that particular moment wasn't captured on tape.
“They are never filming when I get a strike,” Point Breeze native Mac Miller says of the videographer creating a documentary of his life. “Of course, they are only filming when I get a few pins.”
Miller was at Arsenal Lanes in Lawrenceville on Sept. 17, part of his “Homecoming Weekend.”
He gave the film crew other moments to capture, including a few more strikes at the GO:OD Bowling Championship, where teams of six signed up to be part of the sold-out event. The competitors came from across the country, as well as locally. The winners — the Teal team — played Miller's squad, which won 207-177 in a game because of time restrictions.
Teal team members Cody Magliocca of South Side, Steve Szklany of Carrick and Eric Hampton of Dormont say they heard about the event via Twitter.
“It's not every day you get the opportunity to bowl with Mac,” Magliocca says. “I don't know of many rappers who would do this kind of an event.”
“This is the best experience I have had with a local celebrity,” Szklany says. “Mac is humble.”
“We like bowling, and we are fans of Mac and hip-hop, so it was the perfect afternoon,” Hampton says.
Miller's got this bowling thing down, just like he's mastered the art of music. He's in town to kick off a tour supporting his new album, “GO:OD AM.” The album, which has 17 songs, including “100 Grandkids,” “Doors,” “Break the Law” and “Jump,” was released Sept. 18 and the release show is Sept. 20 at Stage AE on the North Shore. Miller and his label, Remember Music, recently signed with Warner Bros. Records.
It's been an action-packed few days for Miller (still known to some as Malcolm James McCormick) who tossed the first pitch at the Sept. 16 Pirates and Chicago Cubs' baseball game, held the bowling tournament and met with fans at a pop-up shop at The Daily Bread store in Garfield on Sept. 18.
He is hosting a sold-out softball invitational-and-barbecue from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 19 at Arsenal Park in Lawrenceville, followed by a Remember Party from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. at a location to be announced. He will be on the field waving his Terrible Towel for the Steelers home opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept. 20, prior to his 7 p.m. concert.
People who know Miller aren't surprised he came here for the album release. One of his bowling teammates, Justin Boyd of Shaler, who does photography for Miller, says the now nationally known rapper stays connected to the city, whether it is through events like this or by recording here.
“He loves Pittsburgh, and any opportunity he has to come back here, he comes back here,” Boyd says. “He never forgets Pittsburgh.”
Miller says he hopes to make the bowling contest an annual event. He was all over the bowling alley, cheering on competitors and interacting with spectators.
“I love to bowl, and this was just a fun thing to do,” Miller says. “Bowling is great. Normally, this is a busy time of year for me, so it is nice to have a little break and do some things in my hometown.”
He says it was an easy decision to have the release party here. With the advancement of technology, musicians don't have to always be in New York or Los Angeles because they can be anywhere and get the word out. You might have seen his face on a billboard around town promoting his return to the city. It's the same photo that's on the album cover.
This new album is about “going back to square one” and “Pittsburgh is where it all began for him,” he says.
“It's about Pittsburgh pride,” Miller says. “There is nowhere else I would rather do this. And it's not about selling my music. It's about this experience of meeting people and having fun.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at jharrop@tribweb.com or 412-320-7889.
