At the beginning of this year, the guys in MAE embarked on a new chapter in their lives together. Frontman Dave Elkins recently took a little time to fill us in on exactly what that entailed and where it taking them from here.

What is MAE up to in 2009 and why?

Last year, we parted ways with our bass player and keyboard player, our management, and our label, Capitol Records. Leading up to this, we managed to get ourselves into well over $100,000 of debt. In order to pay off our debtors, we got back in the van and went on a headline tour around the country. At that point, we needed a new vision, a new strategy, and new purpose.

We had to figure out why we would not only continue as a band, but how we could reinvent ourselves. We have always been advocates for community outreach and social reform. It was finally time for us to be a band that makes a difference as opposed to a band that was “no different.”

We are now in the midst of a campaign called “12 Songs. 12 Months. 1 Goal. Make A Difference.” Every month this year, we are releasing a brand new song exclusively on our website, whatismae.com. Every song is available for a minimum donation of one dollar and 100% of digital download proceeds are going to fund and sponsor humanitarian projects and charitable causes that we are sponsoring this year. While you can listen to the new songs in a variety of places online, only on our official site can you make a donation and download these songs. Our first partner this
year was Habitat For Humanity. We just recently fully funded a home in Newport News, Va., for Rhonda Floyd and her three children.

MAE is going without all the normal business-end accouterments a band its size usually has. No label, no publicist, etc. What inspired this change?

About a week into our spring tour, MAE presents: (m)orning, we finally hired a publicist to help us spread the word to all of the sources we can’t tap into on our own. We have also created our new record label, Cell Records, to properly release music this year. Many changes in the industry have affected bands, labels, and people working for labels. MAE has been fortunate enough to see and understand many sides of the industry.

We financed, recorded, and produced our first record, Destination: Beautiful, on our own and secured a license-only deal with Tooth & Nail Records in 2003. After a licensed B-sides release and a standard deal with Tooth & Nail for our second full-length album, The Everglow, we signed to Capitol Records and released Singularity in 2007. Right after the mastering of our record, Capitol and Virgin Records merged, EMI was sold and 90% of the staff that worked at the label we signed with were let go.

It’s so difficult to define success in the music industry right now when success to some can merely mean keeping your job. We have learned from bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails to understand that the smartest thing for a band to do right now is not rely on anything but the music you are creating and the fan base you already have.

Success for MAE in 2009 comes from the community of MAE fans that are helping us spread the word organically and taking part in the mission and the celebration of success. Success for MAE now isn’t records sold or “spins” at radio. It’s launching a new label, funding our own recordings, building a home with our fan base for a family in need. It’s learning a new system from a dying mold.

So you’re a few months into the charity project. How has the response been from fans? Media? Other bands?

At this point, we are five months into the charity project. We have released five songs, raised over $44,000, built a home for a family in need and are now looking to impact educational needs in classrooms across the country by partnering up with donorschoose.org. The response for our project has been absolutely incredible! Our fans are enjoying the new music and happy to do their part in spreading the word about our campaign. Each song is available for a minimum donation of $1.00 however, and most single donations we have received are well over the minimum including a few over $1,000.

The media response has been overwhelmingly positive as we’ve already been called the comeback band of the year on certain sites. Bands we’ve toured with in the past have been responsible to help spread the word about what we are doing and have greatly helped us meet our goals.

What are MAE’s goals for 2009, both as a band and for the other endeavors at hand?

Our first goal is to release 12 songs in 12 months. Without a manager and only a few of us running the label side of things, it can be difficult to keep a band on task to complete it’s goals. Even though we are a very focused and driven band, the same rules apply. If we can simply release one song a month for 2009, we’ll consider that a success. Now that we have raised enough money to build a house for a family in need, successfully toured the country, and released our (m)orning EP, it’s time to get back in the studio, prep for some overseas touring, and get a show ready for the (a)fternoon tour.

Obviously the future is always hard to foretell, but is this undertaking limited to 2009, or will the experiment continue in years to come?

I hope that this is just the beginning of a new model for our band and perhaps other bands when it comes to releasing music and sharing a new experience for our fans. Now that we have started down this path, with each release we learn more, with each show, each tour, we learn more. If we learn enough and are satisfied with our growth, perhaps we can release all MAE music on our own label with complete independence, and be able to make new MAE fans.

If Cell Records is going to be the home for all future MAE recordings, the focus will be on growing the label and learning how to do so. I think we will understand exactly how to to approach the future once we understand how successful we were in 2009.

I’ve read that the 12 songs MAE is recording and releasing will eventually be compiled into three EPs? Is there a plan to put them all out in one release down the road?

Our first EP, (m)orning came out back in April as we started a headline tour around the country with Person L and Barcelona. Currently, the EP is only available at shows and on our site, whatisMAE.com. We are in the process of getting the (m)orning EP, along with the other two EPs to be released this year, (a)fternoon and (e)vening, in stores nationwide, as well as in Canada, Japan and Australia. The EPs are released every four months and include b-sides, interludes, and bonus tracks not shared during the monthly online releases.

The (m)orning EP has eight tracks and over 38 minutes of music. The tour only release contains limited edition packaging and a scented disc that activates when played or rubbed. We never want to try to sell you the same thing twice. That is why we’re
offering these EPs. It’s a way for the band to make money (as we are paying for the recordings even though we are giving the songs away without receiving profit) and give our fans an experience.

We have a videographer who is documenting every experience with us and we hope to share a documentary commemorating everything we have accomplished with our fans after the 2009 campaign is done. There have been talks of releasing all of the recorded music as a “full-length” with this DVD. The details of this project are still be talked about.

What does this project mean for the prospects of a new MAE album apart from the current crop of songs you’re releasing in 2009? Will we see a full-length in 2010?

As much as I am currently enjoying releasing one song a month, there will be a new way we will need to do things after this year. I am not sure if that means a full-length record release, or something more creative. We will cross that bridge when we get to it.

7 Responses to “Interview: MAE’s Dave Elkins”

1. On 06/11/09 11:49 AM, kyle u said:

   

   yawn

2. On 06/11/09 11:53 AM, travis lee said:

   

   whatismae.com whatismae.com whatismae.com….at least ten times more, man!

   ironically, that scented disc idea is only something mae could do. but god damn, that’s cheezy.

3. On 06/11/09 8:27 PM, Bump Galletta said:

   

   their last album sucked, i was bummed by that. Thanks major lables.

4. On 06/12/09 9:04 AM, Jay DiNitto said:

   

   I’m into all of their stuff, still.

5. On 06/12/09 2:14 PM, Philip said:

   

   Agreed.

6. On 06/14/09 1:20 AM, jesstaylor said:

   

   im actually really impressed by them. the last cd was nothing to write home about but everything that i have heard this year has been amazing. i think what they are doing is great. great interview. it was very informative.

7. On 07/31/09 3:01 PM, Nate Smith said:

   

   I love mae. Their songs have provided multi-sensory aesthetic experiences since day one, and have planted roots of inspiration for my band’s music as well. I am amazed that MAE is taking music to a whole different level by helping others. My band is just getting started, but we eventually would love to impact lives as MAE has in so many ways. Thanks MAE!
   http://www.myspace.com/waitforthemoment

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