MAAJR

By Eric Acosta | 0 comments
Maajr is a new alt pop-rock-dance band from Austin, Texas. The music is fun and catchy; it makes the listener want to sing and jump around. The band has only one member, Michael Anaya, former singer/guitar player of El Paso band Subrosa Union. Maajr plays at the Lowbrow Palace on Saturday, June 28. What’s Up caught up with Anaya to get the lowdown on his new project.

Q. Tell me about Maajr.
I started at the end of 2013. I was out in L.A for like, three months. I just started writing all this music, all these songs. It was something different; something I’ve never ever done. Six months later I’m back in L.A. playing at the Roxy.

Q. Do you do everything yourself?
Yeah everything: self-managed, I produce myself. All the music you hear is me. I book my own shows. I play shows by myself. Sometimes I’ll have drummers play with me when they’re in the area, but I don’t stop, I’ll take up any show. I kind of just wanted to have some independence and be able to get on the stage and rock it.

Q. Do you approach song writing in Maajr differently than you did in Subrosa Union?
I think it’s a total reinvention. Even the way I would sing on that reggae-rock music opposed to the way I sing now. I was pretty vulnerable at some point, and it was kinda scary. Like ‘Oh wow, how am I going to sing on this new music?’ There was that point for a little bit, but I just stepped up and said ‘I can’t worry about the finished product too much or what people are going to think or how it sounds. I just need to do what my heart’s telling me to do and sing and let it out. It’ll be whatever it’s meant to be.’

Q. You have a live album on Soundcloud. Could you explain how that came about?
That was recorded in Austin at Flamingo Cantina. Josh Lutes is playing drums for me at that show. He’s usually my live drummer when he can be around. It was recorded off the live board, straight from the sound engineer. He said he could record it, and it was a no-brainer, like ‘let’s go for it and see how it sounds.’ That night was kind of like my debut showcase in Austin. It was a good set and I was proud of it. I put it out so people could understand what Maajr is.

Q. When was the last time you played in El Paso?
I don’t think I’ve played in El Paso since last May with Subrosa Union. I’m excited to be back. I’m looking forward to the show and debuting my new music. I hope people show up and get to experience it because I’m really excited and proud to share it with my hometown.

Q. Any future plans for Maajr?
I’m hoping to get Maajr on the bill for Neon Desert 2015. Splendid Sun Productions is the one that’s putting on my show on Saturday, so I’m hoping I can get on that roster. I’ve known them for a long time. Subrosa Union was one of the first bands to get booked for the first Neon Desert. It was a great experience and I’m looking forward to do it again with Maajr.

Details
Maajr
With Flavor Raid - What's Up Pub

I recently caught up with Michael Anaya, the creator and main vocalist of the band, MAAJR (pronounced "major"), at Waterloo Records, where we discussed the band's upcoming EP release.

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Q&A:
D.E.B.:
How did you know that you wanted to play music for a living? Please share the progression of your interest in having a music career and how that developed over time.

MAAJR:
My grandpa sang and played the guitar, and my Dad sang and played the drums. Music was kind of just always around. Music was something I used to ham it up and play in front of the table to get people’s attention and make people laugh, and then it wasn’t until I was about 12 [years old] before I started to listen to my older sister’s music like Nirvana, Bush, and Everclear. And, I started getting into the 90's stuff in addition to my Dad’s music like Journey and Elvis. I used to listen to my Step-Dad’s records, and we used to go camping and listen to music. He listened to a lot of classic rock like Zeppelin, Hendricks, and Deep Purple. My grandpa listened to a lot of Mexican music, which is similar to Reggae strumming patterns, and I got into that early on and started playing a lot of Reggae music.

D.E.B.:
Did you pick up the guitar naturally?

MAAJR:
Yes, I picked it up when I was young. In sixth grade, I went to a local guy outside of El Paso, and he taught me how to play the guitar for about six months before passing away, and then my grandpa taught me until he passed away. So, I began to teach myself at that point. I remember my sister and her friends would be at the house, and I would always be there playing the guitar and [singing] songs for them.

D.E.B.:
What other instruments to you play besides the guitar?

MAAJR:
I play the drums, guitar, bass, and keys. Last year, I played the keys quite a bit when I was on the road with Alien Ant Farm.

D.E.B.:
Yea, so tell us a little more about that. You've shared the stage with an impressive list of artists including Alien Ant Farm, 311, Authority Zero, Fishbone, The Dirty Heads, and Glassjaw. What inspired you to form MAAJR and create this new endeavor for yourself and your career?

MAAJR:
After being in a bunch of bands and playing music for a long time, at the end of 2013…nothing was really going on, and I was supposed to work on this project out in Los Angeles; so I went out to LA and stayed with my uncle for a bit. What I went out there for, didn’t end up happening. So I [decided] to do my own thing; I rode the bus and walked around the city a bunch…just kind of explored. My uncle’s place was right in the middle of LA, and there was always so much to see. So I would explore during the day and write songs at night. I didn’t know what I was writing them for; I didn’t have a [project] name for what I was working on. I was just writing because I was there, and the music I was writing was way different than what I had written before. From all of these songs, I had a demo, and in 2014, I got picked up for the Ant Farm tour, and then by the end of 2014, I [focused] on the music I had written in LA and on the road, and I decided I wanted to do something with it. One of my first gigs was at The Roxy in LA, which was a Goldenvoice show, and that was pretty cool. Then I came back to Austin and started playing shows.

D.E.B.:
How did you come up with the name, MAAJR?

MAAJR:
I had a bunch of songs saved in a manila file folder sitting on the my desk, and at the top of the folder, I wrote my initials, M.A.A.J.R., because I didn’t have a band name yet and didn’t know what to call it, and then after looking at it over and over, it dawned on me that the file folder was called, “major.” And after giggin’ in Austin, I got a drummer, Joshuah Lutes, from Oklahoma City, and we ended up calling the band, MAAJR.

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D.E.B.:
How would you describe your sound…if you had to drop it into a genre bucket? -- Futuristic Electro/rock?

MAAJR:
I would describe it as Electro/Rock. But my whole vibe on MAAJR is retro-futurism, combining classic elements with retro future wave sounds.

D.E.B.:
What do you mean by “classic” music?

MAAJR:
Older music..prior to our generation type of music; I’m taking a songwriter’s perspective. If you listen to old songs made by The Cars or Tom Petty, and how they wrote their songs, it is so very different than formulas we use now. I’m trying to use that classic songwriting technique and [infuse] it with the new tones, new sounds, the new synths, and technologies…like the rock beats that cut time. I like to think that my music is where EDM DJ and rock beats come together.

D.E.B.:
What helps you to write your thought-provoking lyrics and set them to the up-tempo beats that you create -- Do you have to go to a specific studio, travel to a special place, be in the right mindset, have a certain guitar riff or beat in mind, etc.? Please walk us through your writing process.

MAAJR:
The recording program, Ableton, is my little toy; it’s my video game. I open up a session with some native instrument synths and start playing around with sounds, and if I come up with something that I like…or maybe a beat comes out of it that I like or a guitar riff…or I’ll make a noise with my mouth and raise it up two octaves and start a loop with that. I never know what I’m going to come up with. Some [songwriters] write with an end in sight. I’m definitely not like that. I just let it be whatever it wants to be. But, anything I write always has a pop-y sound or quality to it, which I can’t escape. Anything I do, no matter what genre or whether it’s acoustic or Reggae or Rock, there’s always going to be a pop element to it. I just go with whatever I’m feeling in the moment. The music just writes itself, and I’m just there hanging out with it.

D.E.B.:
What do you love about the Austin music scene? Why made you want to live in Austin?

MAAJR:
I’ve been living in Austin since 2004, and I’ve lived here ever since graduating high school in El Paso. All I know is music, and this is the city I want to live in for creating music and playing gigs.

D.E.B.:
What can you tell us about the upcoming release of MAAJR’s five song EP? And, when will you be releasing the first track?

MAAJR:
The idea came after meeting AJ Vellejo, and I had the opportunity to work with him and record the first five songs on my demo; we will start to work on recording the next five in November. I’ll be releasing a single every two months, and each will be distributed online. At the end of the year, I’m going to release the next five songs on the full EP with a bonus song. I wrote [these 10 songs] at the end of 2013/early 2014, and so now, I have 40 new songs that are ready to go; I’m addicted to writing. If I don’t write, I get edgy or grumpy. I’m always writing songs about things that I see, hear, read, or people that I meet. So, I have brand new stuff that doesn’t even sound like these songs that I wrote back in 2013 and are so fresh.

D.E.B.:
What was it like recording with AJ Vallejo of Vallejo Music Group? (The Austin Chronicle recently voted him the Best Producer in the area.)

MAAJR:
This is the first project where I wrote everything and recording everything, and it was just AJ and me in the studio, and I went in knowing exactly what I wanted with everything in mind. AJ came in and made the songs better; he and I work at the same pace and with similar energy about the music. Did you see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back in the day? (1991 film) You know how they had “Super Shredder”? Well, my songs came in like Shredder, and AJ was the “Ooze,” and he made them into “Super Shredder.” I appreciate what he does. I’m open to it because I want my music to be beyond me. I’m looking forward to releasing this debut [EP]. The EP is done; we already finished mastering it. The audio quality is amazing.

D.E.B.:
You are known in the Austin area for your music and also for your cross-promotion of other artists, and this can be seen in your show posters. How do you go finding these unique artists to help you with your show posters?

MAAJR:
I find artists through networking around Austin and getting to know people. Most of my posters are from local artists, namely @Rxseven, who I met through my manager, Leslie Kelley.

MAAJR's show poster for their next show at Stubb's on 10/13 for Marina and The Diamonds Neon Nature Tour after party:

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D.E.B.:
What’s next for MAAJR? Upcoming tour once the full EP drops?

MAAJR:
I’ll be performing regionally, but I really would like to tour Japan. I’ve been there before touring with other bands, and I kind of just want to go perform in Europe, Canada, and other countries. People always [appreciate] imports. It gives you good content when you come back. Other than that, I’m going to keep writing and playing shows. I’m definitely getting the itch to tour again.

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After our Q&A, I asked Michael to walk around Waterloo Records with me for a little bit of crate digging, and since Michael prefers to purchase CDs, I had him pick out three albums that influenced his musical taste/sound. It was a difficult choice, but he selected Led Zeppelin (any album), Bush's 1996 Razorblade Suitcase, and Steel Pulse's 1982 True Democracy...which are all in my top 20, for sure. Not only is Michael an extremely talented musician, but he's also one of the coolest and most easy-going musicians I've met since arriving in Austin. - Downtown Erin Brown