INTERVIEW: Maxwell Muses (SheKnows)
Joel D. Amos of SheKnows got the chance to sit down and do an interview with Maxwell. Maxwell speaks about Pretty Wings and it’s chart success, songwriting and more. Make sure you check it out.
INSIDE MAXWELL’S MUSIC
SheKnows: Thank you so much for talking to SheKnows Entertainment’s Music Channel. It’s such an honor and pleasure to speak with you today.
Maxwell: Hey man, thanks for having me.
SheKnows: I was curious when an artist takes a long period between projects, as you’re about to release it — normally there’s something going that’s through you — nerves, excitement, apprehension. Is it any different after you’ve taken eight years?
Maxwell: It’s like times 10.
SheKnows: Really?
Maxwell: Yeah because it’s like the time weighs itself against, you know, all of it at once, there’s always a level of all that you just stated, that go into all that pre-stuff before you release a record. But when you have all that time away, and you realize whole careers have begun and ended in your absence, and you’re like “whoa” what makes you think that you can actually get over this time is the thought that keeps hitting you. So it’s with great surprise and humility that I took in all that occurred with the album. I was like “Wow”. But then it was a great blessing and I see all the miracle of it, so it’s been incredible.
SheKnows: And then to have it debut at number 1, and the critics just adore it, and you just recently took home some Grammy’s I understand. In some ways, that’s got to be gratifying, for lack of a better word.
Maxwell: Talk about bucket list completion in a single bound! It’s funny, all this good stuff was happening and then, of course, Haiti gets hit with this huge earthquake, and then just recently Chile, and healthcare. It’s funny because I’m such a political junkie in terms of just news and world events. With all of those sorts of things happening, it was a bitter sweet sort of experience in the end, a little bit. But in some ways it’s coloring what I’ve set up for the future in terms of music. You make the best of what it is, you know, but believe you me, I’m not complaining. It’s probably been the best couple years of my entire life; my career, everything has been so rewarding and surpassed the past in ways that I never would have imagined.
SheKnows: I am looking over a lot of the info about you, and one thing struck me immediately is that Pretty Wings tied for 14 weeks atop the charts. But, specifically, it is who you tied — Mary J Blige! Personally, for you, that’s got to feel pretty good to be in her company.
Maxwell: Yeah, I mean considering what an epic career she’s had, and all the triumphs and milestones in her career. To be saddled up next to her in any way — I would have never thought I would have had such an impact. You never think the real or real songs are the ones that are going to go because you think in terms of hits and you think of what’s on the radio and who’s got a big song now, and how many guest appearances can you fit in here to maximize your options and your potential with it being successful. And here this song is just this thing that I, kind of, went through with a girl I broke up with and people cared about it! It amazes me. I can’t say that even after all this, I even know what the reasons are, what the formula is. I don’t know what the magic button is. I’m just glad that, somehow, the song pushed it in many people, and here we are, I get to keep making music. It’s a great feeling, you know?
BLACKSUMMER’S GETS THREE RECORDS
SheKnows: And such a prolific project for you that has come out in three parts. To have it get that energy with each new aspect, as an artist, that’s kind of a unique thing, I would think, because normally you release an album, and then you go do your thing, and then come back with another, but this has been one long journey for you.
Maxwell: Yeah and coupled with the fact that it’s a three album project that was in the works all those years and you wonder, “Well, I wrote this song at this time”; will they measure up in this day and age when sounds can shift and change in the blink of an eye. One person who dominates the radio could literally be gone from your consciousness or even your knowledge; it’s amazing how fast it can go. Those concerns weigh pretty heavily on me sometimes with new releases, but it’s great to see that the music can mean anything at anytime it’s ever heard. A lot of great things here that have happened and I’m just trying to stay on course; I don’t want to lose my focus or get distracted because I feel like there’s a mission behind what these releases will represent, hopefully, in the future. So I hope it happens.
SheKnows: I wanted to ask about the act of songwriting and how I, personally, think in the realm of the arts world, I don’t think there’s anything where an artist puts themselves out there more, than by writing a song and the lyrics. When audiences first started hearing you, was that a difficult task was it almost cathartic? I know it can be anywhere in between for some people.
Maxwell: It’s a wild child, you know, in that it can be the sweetest thing and sleeps every night and laughs and coos and does all that, and then sometimes it’s just a crying mess of frustration and no way out and no understanding. When you’re trying to work on a song, you know, it’s the boss. I think I’ve learned that each song that’s ever been written is better written when you take its lead. That comes better and easier at times than others. The best thing is to just really come from the heart and have a little faith that it will go where it tells you and that it works out, but we’re all human and you never know. That’s why, in some ways; it’s great when things work out because you really can see why you should be really appreciative of it. All artists have certain cycles of their careers where they can do no wrong. And they save a little bit of that, that’s just the way cycles go. I’m just happy that my time away has given me a lot everyday life experience that I probably never would have had if I was just out there chasing celebrity and notoriety and fame or whatever. I’m excited because I feel like I have enough in my bag that I can, sort of, spread out in the next two or three years that hopefully will do something good out there in music and people. We’ll see.
MAXWELL’S MUSIC: LEVELS OF LIVE
SheKnows: And it is, it’s resonating on so many levels. One thing that I have just been struck with is your performances on some of these television awards shows and things. I’m just curious because it’s just so powerful to hear you sing on television, but yet, for you as a performer, used to performing live, you obviously had a live audience there. Do you do anything different with that awareness that there’s a camera there and millions also enjoying you, like me (laughs)?
Maxwell: Well, I’m always nervous, you know. I’m always like don’t fall, or don’t forget this word — don’t forget it, you wrote it — that kind of thing. Don’t look in the audience too much, because that could be like your greatest hero sitting right there looking at you. You look out and you see Smokey Robinson and people you look up to, and you can’t help but think to yourself, “Damn, who do I think I am to even give this a go”. But you go out there and you gotta be able to step out there and do your best and let the chips fall where they may – hopefully not you on the stage! I tell you, in this world of YouTube and where things are eternal-eternal, it definitely raises the stakes because you always wonder how eternal the stakes are. I don’t know why I approach with this pessimism sometimes, but I guess it’s what keeps me on my game with it. I’m glad people are cool with it.
Source: SheKnows.com
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 11:58 am and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Dr. V. Williams March 11th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Thank you again, you always come through with keeping us up on every maxwell!!!!