radionotes podcast episodes

074 MAXO

by | Jun 21, 2020 | episodes | 0 comments

074 MAXO

MAXO from Canberra sings about sex, fact. That’s what a headline might say, but under that is a passionate musician with diverse well toned body of songs.

We at radionotes got lucky and found Maxo on the blower for this chat…

To listen, click the green ‘play’ triangle… [note: may take few seconds to load] 

IMAGE CREDIT: Supplied

Since our chat, the new Single ‘Dreamer‘ has been released – find that HERE.

SHOW NOTES: MAXO

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Feature Guest: MAXO latest Single ‘Sex’ to the man behind it

Next Episode: Mick Lindsey

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[Radio Production – notes: ]

CREDITS

Theme/Music: Martin Kennedy and All India Radio   

Web-design/tech: Steve Davis

Voice: Tammy Weller  

You can make direct contact with the podcast – on the Contact Page

TRANSCRIPT

First version provided by REV team member Angela O – check to audio before quoting wider

John Murch:
MAXO, welcome to radionotes.

MAXO:
Hey John, thanks for having me on the show.

John Murch:
Let’s head back to, quickly and briefly, 2015. You were doing covers, and then you decided to release an original called Won’t Let You go. What was happening at that time, that you thought music was the go, and particularly original music, coming out of Canberra?

MAXO:
Back then, yeah. Obviously as you said before, I was doing cover songs. I started doing them on YouTube, and then started playing the pubs. And then, I don’t know, obviously just intuition, started writing my own songs. And I got a couple of crappy demos done with a mate here in Canberra, and then sent them out, and they got picked up by a producer.

MAXO:
I had it probably for a year, properly produced, and then I thought, “Yeah, I might as well chuck it out there, and see what happens.” I decided to release it on my birthday. I thought it was a good marketing ploy, making people feel sorry for you on your birthday, so they buy it. It picked up from there. It just kept going.

John Murch:
If we flip to now, they say that sex sells, and of course the song is called Sex. Is that a marketing ploy, or is it something a little bit deeper?

MAXO:
Pretty good marketing ploy, but it goes a little bit deeper, because it brings a lightheartedness to the awkwardness around sex. It’s such an awkward conversation to have, whether it’s with your parents, or with your mates.

MAXO:
I wrote it in a hotel room, so the lyrics literally explain itself, and that’s how it was written. I just thought… I never thought… I was just going to release it, but then I’m like, “I might as well do it.” Because even I felt a bit awkward about releasing it, but I’m like, “It’s such a catchy song”, and it gets rid of that awkwardness. It’s so fun.

John Murch:
Sex on a Friday in Canberra, paid for?

MAXO:
No, not paid for. And I was actually in Sydney at the time, so I’d just got back from the States. I was on tour over there, and then I was up recording in Sydney. I had my girlfriend up there with me.

John Murch:
So let’s ask the question, what’s your sexy song that gets you going?

MAXO:
Oo, that’s a tough one. Yeah. Obviously MAXO Sex, that’s one of them.

John Murch:
Well if you can’t love yourself, who can you?

MAXO:
Oh, a 100%.

John Murch:
Oh, you’re not going to answer the question?

MAXO:
Oh, I was waiting for it, yeah. I just thought you were going to move on. I don’t really know. I can’t remember the last time I had music on, having sex. I do like the nice Goo Goo Dolls Iris. That gets everyone in the mood. A nice romantic one.

John Murch:
What do you think about that connection between love and sex? And I guess, throw in the R word, romance, in there a well.

MAXO:
One of the things coming up to Sex, because All My Love was the last single, and I go, “What happens after you fall in love? You have sex.” So obviously the two come hand in hand. Just this one’s gone a bit on the more pop side, expanding like, rather than staying at that stage one. Now I’m going for the home run.

John Murch:
So is the next song about cigarettes in bed?

MAXO:
No, it certainly is not. I just did a post on Instagram, the behind the scenes. We’ve got the music video coming out. It’s an animation. I made them both naked, and one had a cigarette, and the condom’s on the ground.

MAXO:
The next single has gone a bit more… It’s called Dreamer. You heard it here first. Yeah, it’s a bit more… It’s got a bit more edge to it, so like rockier, but it’s like, yeah, the name explains it itself. Just dreaming. It’s chasing those dreams, really.

John Murch:
If we’re talking about love, sex, and then talking about dreaming, it’s about that comfortability about where you are in your life. Is that where Dreamer’s come from, if we can get an exclusive on that?

MAXO:
Yeah, definitely. I actually wrote it when I was out in LA. I was running along, and I was just thinking about tracks, and it just came out. Yeah, it’s definitely getting to that next level. I’m sort of getting… As I’ve built my career, I’m experimenting more, getting that confidence to experiment more, so that’s where it’s come from too. It’s another side of the pop side, rather than sticking to the singer songwriter love side.

John Murch:
Back to that music video that will be out, did you know that in the video you got crabs?

MAXO:
Yeah, there is crabs. We put that in there as a nice little something that comes with sex sometimes. And then had the MAXO branded condoms in there as well, so they make an appearance.

John Murch:
Can we talk about All My Love for a while, because whilst this is the latest single, and it’s doing its thing, it’s getting your name out there, and it’s a great tune to listen to, and it’s getting its airplay as well, All My Love I think is going to be that song of 2020 for you, so where did that initiate from?

MAXO:
I wrote that one… because I’ve been traveling heaps the last couple of years. So between the States, I was touring over there, and now the UK, at the end of last year, it’s about that compromise between two loves. Because I’m chasing this dream, but then I’m also missing the add on stuff back home, like my friends, my family, my dogs, my girlfriend. It’s a tough one. That’s where that’s stemmed from, and it turned out really well.

John Murch:
We like talking about life on radionotes, so what is that dream, and why does the US and the UK need to be involved?

MAXO:
Just such big launching platforms. So if you make one of those South by Southwest festivals, or Great Escape over in the UK, they’re bigger marketing areas. Listen now to commercial radio, most of the stuff is coming from the US or the UK, so you’re getting not too much stuff coming straight out of Australia. It’s always fed back through one of those countries.

John Murch:
How do you feel, as a music artist, needing to do that?

MAXO:
Ah, it’s tough. It’s tough. It’s hard both ways. Lately, I’ve been pushing more in Australia too, so doing more shows here, and getting it to radio here more. Just trying to crack through, even though it’s such a tough industry to crack over here. Obviously, the live shows is my biggest part in Australia, so I try and play as much as I can when I am here.

John Murch:
Who are some of those Australian acts, who might be your peers or someone that you look forward to playing around the circuit, when you’re able to, here in Australia?

MAXO:
Well, it would be awesome to play with INXS, if they were still doing big shows. They’re the best. One of my favorite Australian bands ever. Recent ones, definitely would love to play Temper Trap. They’re probably the biggest one, my biggest Australian band favorite. I would love to play Gangs of Youths, all those guys. Some Adelaide locals, Sundance Kids, if you remember them, or heard of them. All My Love, I actually recorded with Ash, who was the lead singer of The Sundance Kids.

John Murch:
What was it like working with Ash Gale of The Sundance Kids?

MAXO:
I flew down. So, I’ve been down twice. So I came down and recorded Light It Up the first time, and then came back and did All My Love and All For You with him. And it was the best ever, because I’ve been a massive fan since my high school days, when they were touring with The Fray, and all that. I still listen to those songs all the time.

MAXO:
I got back from the States, and I knew I had to record some more songs. So I was on Facebook, and they changed their profile picture. And I’m like, “I wonder what they’re doing these days?” Then I followed, stalked a bit, and saw Ash was doing his own stuff, producing as well. So I sent him off an email, my current tracks and a few demos. He goes, “Yeah, love your stuff. Definitely come down. Let’s do something.”

MAXO:
I remember our first call, and I was a fully fan girl in that. In my eyes, he’s the biggest star ever. But it’s good, we’re mates now, have a few beers. And I’ll show you this. You guys on the podcast won’t see it, but it is an actual signed thing from The Sundance Kids back when they were touring the circuit.

John Murch:
Wow, and that’s from Triple M 104.7, part of the Austereo network. Was it Triple M then? What station have they got up there at the top?

MAXO:
No, I think it was Southern Cross, because it’s Hit Network now. This is Canberra FM radio. It was funny. I sent a photo of that to him, and he loved it. It’s good. I absolutely love it down in Adelaide. It’s such a great place.

John Murch:
And I know we shouldn’t be talking about the new single Dreamer, because it’s all forbid, but did Ash have a finger in that pie as well? Can you let us know?

MAXO:
No, he didn’t. Not at all. He didn’t. I ended up recording this one in Melbourne with another producer down there. We were meaning to work together for ages. I showed him an acoustic demo, when we were recording another song down there, and he goes, “I love that. I want that.” So I ended up doing it with him, and not Ash.

John Murch:
Okay, but back to Adelaide, a bit of waxing lyrically about this town. If you can, name three things you like about Adelaide.

MAXO:
Well, the hills, the beach and the city.

John Murch:
It’s all there. You can be in the city, and see the hills. You can be at the beach, and see the hills, and from the hills, you can see the city and the beach.

MAXO:
It’s so good, and it’s so close, everywhere. I love that. It’s breath taking, because the Skye Recording Studios is up in the hills in Stirling, and driving around there, all the old buildings, it’s amazing. I absolutely loved it.

John Murch:
Worked with Ash from Adelaide. The brand new single is called Sex. All My Love is the song we were talking about then. I want to know about running. When did you take it up? Why did you take up running?

MAXO:
Just for exercise really. I got a Fitbit. It keeps me fit. Because there’s a couple of times there where… I moved to Millennium Park, and I just started snacking on everything, and then put on 10 kilos. Now I’ve lost 10, and keep losing. It just keeps me fit, and it does wonders. Even when I’m buggered, I’ll go for a run, and you feel so much better after. Just for the mental health too.

John Murch:
There’s Lake Burley Griffin, I don’t know how close or far you are away from that in Canberra. I just imagine that would be a good little running spot if you were more of a runner.

MAXO:
Yeah, it’s a nice lake, that one. It’s 10 minutes away, but I’m in Belconnen where there’s Lake Ginninderra, and I run around that. I pretty much try and get around it most days.

John Murch:
Who’s the new child in the family, called Stevie?

MAXO:
Yeah, Stevie is cute as, hey? Yeah, we got a beagle, so a little beagle. Just made the dash, because before the borders shut, he was up in Narrabri, which is a seven, eight hour drive from Canberra. So up in New South Wales. We were going to get him freighted down, but then they said it wasn’t canceled, then it was. So we’re like, “Screw it, we’re just going to drive.” So we did a 14 hour trip to get him. He’s the best thing ever. He’s a little cutie, but he’s starting to chew everything.

John Murch:
Talk us through that decision.

MAXO:
Before everything went pear-shaped, went for drive down to Jamberoo, which is a water park down the South Coast of Australia. I don’t know. We were just driving down there, and we were just talking about dogs, and we were like, “We could get one.” And then I’m like… Because in their pub, we’re allowed dogs. And then I was like… And then I sent it as a joke. I found a link to this beagle. And she was like, “Serious?”

MAXO:
It took us a couple of weeks to actually decide, and then once I saw the photo of Steve, I go, “That’s him. I’m getting him.” We were still umming and ahing about it, but it’s the best decision ever, I reckon.

John Murch:
Steve?

MAXO:
We wanted to… Actually, my girlfriend’s dad, his name’s Mark, and I thought it was Steve for a while. We just wanted a name, just like a human name. When we take it for runs in the park, we go, “Steve”, and then someone looks up, and then they realise we’re talking to the dog. So everyone’s been laughing at the name so far. They’re loving it.

John Murch:
How have the dog walks been going? I know there’s some restrictions, and everything, over in the Eastern states compared to here.

MAXO:
Yeah, not too bad. He did the five k lake first up. So that was week one, week two. But now he’s starting to get lazy, and wanting to get sticks. He’ll just sit on the ground when he doesn’t want to walk.

John Murch:
So it’s like having a baby?

MAXO:
Yeah, sort of. I don’t know if it’s more work, or less work. I’ll find out, when I find out. That’s definitely a long way away for me, I reckon.

John Murch:
At this early stage, how do you feel about people calling dogs their babies, their fur babies? Although he’s not a fur baby per se, being a beagle.

MAXO:
Yeah, I’m not really a fan of the old fur baby, but I know my girlfriend calls him the little baby all the time, but he is pretty cute, so I’ll accept it.

John Murch:
MAXO, the music that you’re doing is very approachable, but what kind of music do you listen to in your own time?

MAXO:
I listen to a lot of The Sundance Kids. I love how Spotify does discover weekly and release radar. So I listen to a lot of You Me At Six, that’s from their older stuff, but they’ve released new stuff. I listen to a lot of tropical house, so a bit like PBM style too. Just chill music. Stuff everyone can get into. Just catchy, hooky sounds.

John Murch:
Do you miss the clubs, going out?

MAXO:
Just drinking beers with the boys, going to a pub. Well actually playing pub gigs, because I still do a lot of them. That’s usually Thursday until Sunday, I’ll be gigging. It’s just so weird at the moment.

John Murch:
What is that bond you get from doing the beer and the pub gigs?

MAXO:
I don’t know. It’s just being out there in the community. You’re meeting new people all the time. I think that’s probably my favorite thing. Just interacting with other people. I’ll meet heaps of people I’ve never met, every week. I think that’s probably the biggest thing. I just love interacting.

MAXO:
Even for my bigger shows, where I’m doing all originals, that’s the best part, interacting with the crowd. That’s what I always bring to my shows, and try and get them involved as much as possible. That’s what I miss the most, really, just the human interaction.

John Murch:
I’m getting the sense… we’re in this time, and by the time it’s released, maybe we’ll be all through everything we’re going through at the moment, but I just get the sense that musicians like yourself, that rely on that community at all levels, are really feeling some sort of… not loss, but some sort of pressure within. What’s the reality of that? Am I seeing it wrong, because obviously there’s live streams and everything else, but there’s so much you must be missing right now.

MAXO:
Yeah, I think you’re 100% on the ball there. Even the live streams. Straight after this podcast, I’m doing one, but the connection’s not there. It’s cool, but you’re not… You can read the comments, and stuff, but I’ll be having a beer on this side, and I’m just looking like an alcoholic, because I can’t see you guys having a beer with me.

John Murch:
Performing these live streams, you’re having a bevvy, you assume they’re having a bevvy because it’s night time over in American maybe, on a Saturday night, but you don’t know.

MAXO:
Yeah, you just don’t know. So you can see what comments are coming in, but other than that it’s like… So you’ve got to keep it going. You can’t really feed of the crowds, the other people. Because obviously playing in front of a bigger crowd, you react to the audience. So it’s very weird doing it online now, but it’s something we have to do. And yeah, definitely, you do feel pressured to do more and more, because you just don’t want to be forgotten about. I guess that’s the thing, because you’re pushing all this music, and you just want to keep the traction going, but you can’t do it actual live, like doing the tour.

John Murch:
Do you write a lot, and then peel it back to something we then hear as a single?

MAXO:
I don’t really. It usually just comes straight out. A couple of songs, I’ve re-written. Won’t Let Me Go, the first one, I wrote a whole chorus in the studios, because we had a pre-chorus and I thought that was the chorus at the moment, but then my producer goes, “Maybe something extra.”

MAXO:
But a lot of the new stuff, it’s pretty much done pretty quick. If I’m in the mood, I’ll write it out pretty good, and then… Even with Sex, I thought I didn’t write enough for it at first, but now because radio’s changed so much. You used to write songs between three and four minutes, but now they’re getting shorter and shorter. I thought it was too short. But they’re like, “No, that’s perfect.”

MAXO:
So Sex was written pretty much straight away. I don’t think I edited too much of that. All My Love, I think… I usually write a verse or a chorus first, but then usually the second verse will come later. So I’ll have a think about it, and then suit it to where I want to take the story.

John Murch:
I guess we’re talking about sex baby, Let’s Talk About Sex… Where did that song come from? The simple one, when were you first taught about the birds and the bees, MAXO?

MAXO:
I don’t even think I was ever told about the birds and the bees. I just started doing it. I don’t know. Can I say when I lost my virginity? That’s an exclusive for you. I was 13 or 14. I can’t remember. Around then, it was around my 14th birthday.

John Murch:
How many days did that relationship last?

MAXO:
I think we went out for a couple of months actually, so it was a proper relationship, not just a one night stand.

John Murch:
So between 18 and now, on the release of the song of its name, what do you think you’ve learnt about sex, that you didn’t think back then?

MAXO:
I don’t know. It’s different, I guess. Everyone has their own time when they’re going to do it, and that. You don’t just have to do it because it’s a cool thing on the movies, and all that. You decide when you want to do it, and who you want to do it with.

John Murch:
Whilst it does talk about tight dresses in the song, and there’s a few other queues as well, it’s not as heteronarrative as some other songs about the topic. Can I just ask, was that a conscious decision to not make it so heteronarrative?

MAXO:
Yeah, I think so. Definitely when I wrote it, you don’t want to be too out there. I don’t think I can say the words on radio, but the girl’s an object, sort of thing. That’s definitely not what it never should be.

MAXO:
Back to your… if you’re relate it to other songs, like your hip hop and stuff, your old school hip hop, it’s full like that. No, definitely it’s about two people thinking about each other. That’s the biggest thing, and this is what he’s thinking about. This is the guy’s perspective of who he’s going to see.

John Murch:
This is your story as well, as we said, in a hotel room in Sydney on a Friday night, which does beg the question, MAXO, and I will ask the question as I like to do. Why mainly Friday? Nothing on the telly that night? Or do you need the weekend to recover?

MAXO:
That’s a very good question. I think it just sounded better. I tried Saturday. I tried Sunday, but I think Friday just suited. You’ve just finished work for the week, and you want to let some steam off. I reckon Friday’s the best suit for that. What’s better than sex on a Friday night? Not much.

John Murch:
Is this a call out to Rebecca Black?

MAXO:
Yeah, geez, I haven’t heard that song in a while. Yep, it can be. Tag her in it. We’ll see if she likes it.

John Murch:
All right. Let’s do a bit of a quick round with MAXO, who joins us on radionotes today. The brand new single is Sex. The song before that, was All My Love. Please go, not just to Spotify, but to iTunes Music and download and purchase the music as best you can. What are the t-shirts like? Why do I find them so stylish?

MAXO:
I think it’s a modern trend. There’s a lot of… You’ve got a smaller logo on there, on the chest, and then something on the back. So I’ve done that with the MAXO logo, and I’ve still got the straight logo ones too. But they’re super comfy too. I wear the hoodies all the time, and the shirts. You might get one that’s already worn by me. It’s probably worth more or less, we don’t know.

John Murch:
Favorite artist with just one name?

MAXO:
Oo, that’s a hard one. Everyone has two names.

John Murch:
Do they MAXO?

MAXO:
Yeah, true. MAXO, can I say MAXO? I don’t know. I can only think of Pink. Oh, Bono’s not an artist one. I was going to say Bono, but that’s U2… Oh, U2’s one name, yeah. Yeah, I’d probably go Bono. Let’s do that.

John Murch:
Okay. When did U2 first enter your life?

MAXO:
It’d probably be… With Or Without You, that would’ve been the song I first heard from them. But then I obviously started listening to them a bit more. I didn’t really got into them until I was probably 18, 19, I think. I was hearing them over in Europe, and that’s when I started liking them. And then, also, I loved that free album they did on iTunes. I was in the States at the time, and it was the only thing that downloaded on my phone properly. I didn’t have service. So I listened to that on repeat, and there’s a few songs on there that are absolutely bangers. That Song For Someone, I love that one. Every Breaking Wave is still my alarm on my iPhone, because I haven’t upgraded iTunes yet.

John Murch:
Beautiful revelation there MAXO. Thank you. Raised By Wolves, by the way, was my favorite off that particular album.

MAXO:
Yeah, it is a good one.

John Murch:
First live music experience?

MAXO:
It would’ve been a local band, so [inaudible]. Oh, actually supporting them that day is Hands Like Houses, if you’ve heard of them. Most of us my age, were in that punk stage as well, so that was probably my first… I was 17, and got into an 18 venue. I had the first smartwatch ever, but broke it. I had it for a week. Bought it from China off eBay for 300 bucks, and broke it that week.

John Murch:
But showed everyone between A and B, that you had it?

MAXO:
Oh, a 100%. It was 2009, so who would have a smartwatch then?

John Murch:
Favorite radio station?

MAXO:
Probably Hit Network, so 104 here. They’ve done a fair bit for me. That’s where I started too. I played… I won Canberra’s Got Talent, through the Hit 104.7, and I played Skyfire here, I think, that year. Yeah, I played with… It was Thirsty Merc and Samantha Jade, they were on. I did one swing in the comp, and then came back as an artist, and played it too, so that’s always a big crowd. It’s huge.

John Murch:
Most famous person you met and liked meeting?

MAXO:
The most famous person that I loved meeting would’ve been Ash Gale, but probably The Weeknd. He was pretty cool. I met him when I was out in Toronto, in a bar. He was with all his crew. He had a massive entourage. Oh, actually no, scrap that, we’re going Tones and I. We met her last year, end of last year. Nicest person ever.

John Murch:
Cool, I’m vibing that. What were you doing over there? Was that just part of an American leg tour, heading over?

MAXO:
That was before. I was gone to record in Nashville, and my sister was living down in Toronto, so I ended up just going there for Christmas and New Years, and I was recording in Nashville at the start of January. So I’d been there for two weeks, and met some cool people. Yeah, met The Weeknd, it was sick.

John Murch:
Sister still over there, doing well?

MAXO:
No, she’s back over here. She does events as well, so Kicks Entertainment. They do all the Spilt Milk festivals and that. That’s where I met Tones and I.

John Murch:
I know you’ve leaked an exclusive with us today, so when can we expect the brand new single, the follow up to Sex?

MAXO:
It will be around June. We were supposed to interlink it with the Olympics, and hopefully get a couple of syncs, so sporting syncs, but obviously that’s pushed back, but I think we’re still going to release the track anyway.

John Murch:
MAXO, we’ve run out of time, because you have to speak to America, but thank you very much for doing radionotes.

MAXO:
No worries. Thanks for having me, John. It’s been a pleasure.

 

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