CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 157: MAIZIE ON THEIR DEBUT EP
Interview by Brooke Gibbs.
FMM: This is such an exciting time for you because a couple of weeks ago, you released a new single. How are you feeling to have it out there?
Maizie: I think we're feeling pretty good about it at the moment. It was a little bit more pop than we normally do. I would say still pop-punk, but a little bit more tame. We were really excited to explore that, and it's one of my personal favourites that we've done.
FMM: And what makes it one of your personal favourites?
Maizie: I don't know. I guess it's just really fun. It's easy to dance to on stage and I think it's really catchy, so I like it for those reasons.
FMM: It looks like on social media, it's received some great feedback. What have some of the responses been like? Have people reached out and said they're loving the track?
Maizie: Yeah, we've got a couple of reviews in Triple J about how catchy it is and how it reminds people of the 2000s scene from the movies. It sounds like a movie soundtrack and how it's really catchy and upbeat. That's what we've been getting a lot lately.
FMM: It’s interesting you mentioned the upbeat sound because that's what I love about it, too, and you guys have been releasing music for a couple of years now, so how has your sound evolved over the years? Do you feel like you've found the right sound now, or do you think that's something you'll continue to grow with?
Maizie: I think just us being together for longer, we've been able to grow together as the three of us and bring in new influences. I don't think we're finished evolving and finding our sounds yet. I think we're still definitely exploring and seeing what works and obviously what doesn't work. We'll probably make some mistakes in the future and be like, oh, maybe that doesn't work, but it's all part of figuring out what our sound is and what works well for the three of us.
FMM: With the sound, you mentioned that you draw some inspiration from bands including Yours Truly and Neck Deep. What is it about these particular bands that inspire you and your band?
Maizie: Yeah, I think it's just the fun, catchy nature of it. It's just upbeat. Obviously they still have some slower and sadder songs, but for the most part, it's uplifting and it's just fun to play. None of us get bored playing it on stage. We're all, like, giving it 110%, and it's easier and fun to do that when you're playing that fast BPMs and you're just really going for it. I think all of that raw energy is what really inspires us.
FMM: It’s good hat you guys are having fun playing that live as well.
Maizie: Yeah, for sure.
FMM: So going back to your release With You, can you walk me through some of the inspirations behind this release?
FMM: Because we're a three piece and I predominantly write most of the guitars and the bass and stuff, I was just messing around one night and I took a different approach to writing our songs. I went from just writing it off on the top of my head to just finding a melody, first thinking of it as a singer, and then writing around that instead. I came up with a really simple, but upbeat and catchy groove. I passed it to Maya and said, I've done all the stuff that I could do. I don't know how to write lyrics like you do, and she just turned into the song we have now.
I guess, yeah, we take something really basic that we have. One of the three of us will come up with something basic and then we kind of take it into a rehearsal and build off that, and sometimes it will become a completely different song. It’s one of the songs on our next EP that comes out on the 29th, and we thought we would release this one first because we think it's one that a lot of different groups would like. I guess we're trying to explore. We still stay in the pop-punk genre, but this is a song that I think other people that even wouldn't listen to pop-punk would like as well.
FMM: Definitely. I feel like after listening to the track, it's got a bit of something in there for everyone, no matter what their music taste is.
Maizie: Yeah, exactly.
FMM: And speaking of your EP, you've mentioned it describes going through themes of growing up and change. I'd love to hear what each of you learned about yourself through recording and writing this EP.
Maizie: Personally, for the lyrics, for me, there's a lot of fun stuff, a lot of random, but a few of the songs are very vulnerable as well. It was really nice for me to explore that and it's kind of like a bit of therapy for me. That's what I really enjoyed exploring and getting out that side.
For me, just as a songwriter, I've never really written any songs as long as you have, and I haven't done much songwriting in the past, but in that EP, I was really able to explore what I can do and surprise myself with the things that I came up with. I was really proud of the things that I did and discovered in myself, in my playing ability.
Yeah, I think for me it was similar to Jed and being able to really explore different genres of drumming while still sort of remaining within pop-punk and learning how to build a song and serve a song. Not just play whatever I want to play, but play something that works for everyone and just trying to draw different influences and just really expand on my own musicianship and my own drumming capabilities. It was cool to figure out myself as a player.
FMM: Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. It sounds like, from what you've shared, that it's got some universal themes, which means that everyone, no matter where they're at in life, is going to be able to connect to your music and it's going to bring people together as well, for sure.
Maizie: That's what we hope for.
FMM: And to celebrate the release, you've got that EP launch up next month. Tell us what you have in store and what we can expect from it.
Maizie: We do have a couple surprises, maybe some guest appearances. We're hoping to make it our biggest show yet, so we want to keep it really new. We're also doing tracks for the first time, so the songs will be a lot fuller and have a lot more energy.
Yeah, we're just planning to make it as big as we can and the best gig we've ever played. We're trying to get the whole venue packed out so people can really see what we will put to the table and how much we've gotten better from the last shows and what we can do in the future. It's on April 5 if you want to come.
Yeah, I think it's just going to be as crazy as possible. We want to show off what we can do, so it's just going to be loud and full of energy.
FMM: Sounds amazing. It's definitely going to be a show that people aren't going to want to miss.
Maizie: Definitely.
FMM: For anyone that's coming across your band and your music for the first time, how would you guys describe your sound and what you guys represent as a band?
Maizie: Yeah, I would say our sound, we sort of try and blend, like, old school 2000s pop punk with modern elements, and we just try to be a fun band, obviously touch on serious sort of content lyric wise, but we still want to keep it fun. That's the main thing. We're just trying to draw on artists that influenced us, like growing up and artists that still influence us, but try and keep it modern just so that it attracts all different types of listeners and we just try to bring something different to the table.
FMM: So you've got the EP launch coming up next month and you've got, obviously, the release of the EP. But what do you guys have in store for the rest of the year? Do you have any other big goals that you're working on together as a band?
Maizie: Yeah, we definitely have a lot of goals. I think we want to go interstate again. We went Interstate for the first time for a New Year's show, Loser Fest, and that was super fun. We want to do that, do bigger venues, support some of our favourite artists and just keep growing as a band. Hopefully we can keep building a fan base and really connect with those people. Record some new music. We've been nonstop the whole way recording the EP. We're still writing new stuff, and so we've been itching to continue with some new stuff as well. We have heaps coming up and I feel like those future songs that we're going to do would really help us shape what our sound is going to be like. The more we write, the more we find out what works for us, like Hayden said, and how we actually want to sound like, because we're still a relatively new band, we've only been together for just over a year. We all love the same type of music, but we want to keep pursuing what our actual sound is. The more we make, the more we write, the more we get closer to that.
FMM: You mentioned that one of your goals is connecting with new people and I love seeing the unique ways artists connect with their fans. What are some ways that you like connecting with people who listen to your music?
Maizie: Obviously, one of the best ways is meeting people at shows. When we first started performing live, which was pretty much straight away, I was not great at speaking, but I feel like I'm getting a lot better at that. So, I think interacting with the crowd and just having good chats and see what they're doing, why they're there and everything like that is really good to connect. Also, just through social media and hearing about how people have found us and making new connections, especially with other bands and artists.
FMM: Hopefully there'll be heaps of opportunities for that at your show next month as well.
Maizie: Definitely. Hopefully.
FMM: So that's all my questions. Did you guys have any comments you want to add about this release or about yourself as a band that you haven't mentioned?
Maizie: So, yeah, we are super excited for this release. Our debut EP comes out on the 29th of this month, March. If you would like to listen, you should head to our social media and we've got all of our links and everything there and if you want to see it live, it's going to be a really sick show.
