Interview: Maxïmo Park

ARTICLE BY MYCHELLE PETERSON
PHOTOS BY MAXÏMOPARK.COM AND LIV SWANSON

On a steamy and stormy Chicago summer night, the lads of Maxïmo Park rolled into town to support their recently released second album, Our Earthly Pleasures. After a sweaty and energetic set, keyboard player Lukas Wooler invited the Scenestar onto the band’s Zune sponsored tour bus to talk about the album, how they differ from the bands they are constantly compared to, and what they’re currently reading.

SS: Thanks so much for inviting us onto your super cool bus!
Lukas: No problem!

SS: My first question has to do with the difference between the shows in Europe and the ones here. I mean, you guys just played Glastonbury and T in the Park to hundreds of thousands of people. For you, what is the difference between playing here tonight at Double Door to a few hundred people versus playing one of those festivals? Is there a difference?
Lukas: Yeah. I mean, obviously there is a difference just because we don’t really know what to expect, whereas I think we’ve played a lot more in the U.K. and Europe. You can kind of predict, you kind of know what’s going to happen a little more. Whereas here, tonight it sold out [in Chicago], and I never, never expected that! And we haven’t been here in the U.S. for like two years. So I think we’ve got a lot of work to do here still.

SS: Meaning what?
Lukas: Well, there are a lot of people who have misconceptions about Maxïmo Park and what we do and what kind of music we make. To be honest, I think as a band we thrive on adversity, you know? We love to convert people. Like tonight, you know, it was really good. Probably a lot of people who maybe know one or two songs, or maybe don’t even have the record. They just came to check us out or whatever. And I think we’ve made people think a little bit about who we are. We always get compared to the usual bands.

SS: Such as?
Lukas: The Jam seems to pop up all the time. And I cannot understand where that comes from. And then Franz Ferdinand, who we really sound nothing like. But you know, I can kind of understand that one. It’s an easy comparison to make. But it happened when we came out with the first album in the U.K. too. So I don’t know. It’s quite exciting though, you know. It feels like we’re really making new fans all the time. You can see it. But with a festival in England, it is still the same thing. So in a way, it is the same. You know, people are coming along to check out a new band. That’s the thing. We’re not a massive band. We just make records and play to as many people as possible. Obviously that limits us in some way, but it feels much better. We can sleep at night. We feel like we’re doing something properly.

SS: It’s a more organic way of growing your fan base…
Lukas: Yeah. I think people believe in us. I think it showed with the release of the second record. You know, “Our Velocity” got played a lot on the radio, which surprised all of us, because it’s not really a “radio” kind of song, so it was a bit weird. But I think people have kind of seen us bubbling under for a while, and they’ve come around to us on the second album. A lot of British bands seem to smash through with their first record. We’ve played with Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party and Editors and Hard-Fi and yadda yadda yadda … you know, all of them, all of their first albums sold way more than we ever did.

SS: Does that bother you?
Lukas: It’s irritating because they’re not all very good bands, but you know [laughs] … Apart from that, it just feels like we’re more in control. So that’s really precious to us. That we’re on a trajectory; we’re progressing. We’re definitely on the up … how long that lasts, I don’t know. But it’s in a good way. We’re trying to make emotional songs that really mean something to people. We don’t want to hype it or pretend we’re something that we’re not just to get people to listen to us. I really do want people to listen to us for the right reasons. And in this day and age, it’s really hard to do that. There are so many games you have to play and money that gets involved.
We’re just trying to be direct and to communicate with people as directly as possible. And that’s why we take the live side as such an important thing. Because that’s when there is no shit in the way. It’s just you and the people, and you can really communicate to people what the songs mean and the emotion, the passion behind them. We’re not doing it for effect. We really love the music we’ve written. We’ve written a lot of different styles of music because we really want to interest ourselves as well. And you know, Paul [Smith], as a lyricist, is really trying to go out on a limb and do something a bit different and unique and try to pinpoint real emotional things that people can latch onto for years. Just like the bands we used to listen to when we were kids, and the bands we still listen to. That’s the kind of band we want to be. A touchstone, you know?

SS: Well, it’s interesting you said that, because I was listening to a couple of guys in the audience during the show, and one of the lyrics really jumped out at the guy. He said, “That is the simplest sentence ever, but it means so much.” And I think that’s true, because the lyrics are so heartfelt. You hear it on the album, but you really hear it live. You see it in Paul’s face. So it’s definitely coming across. You’re achieving what you’ve set out to do.
Lukas: Yeah, yeah! Right on.

SS: When you say that some of these other bands have had so much more publicity or that they have a lot more money behind them, are you happy with where you’re at, or do you want to be a giant band?

Lukas: Well, it’s just the way you do it, I think.

SS: Or is it more you just want it to be a slow-growing organic thing?
Lukas: Yeah, it’s definitely a more organic thing. It’s harder in America. We prefer American music in general as a general rule.

SS: Really?
Lukas: Yeah. It just seems to be more interesting from a musician’s standpoint. You know, bands like Sonic Youth and Pavement and the Shins … they’re really not afraid to show their musicianship. Whereas in the U.K., it’s a bit different. They’re trying to write these pop songs, which is what we’re trying to do too, but … Well, I watch some of these bands, and they can’t really play. I don’t know. It’s all a bit of bombast and a bit showy, which is what the U.K. is known for—a lot more fashioney kind of stuff. But I think in the U.K., stuff happens so much faster. And people just appear out of nowhere.

SS: Thanks to the NME. I mean, the British music press is so very different from the American music press. We don’t have a lot of press over here in terms of music.
Lukas: Yeah, well that’s it. In the U.S., you kind of have to slog away. We’re just discovering Deerhoof right now, you know? And then you realize they have four, five, six albums or whatever. So [in the U.S.], these bands just kind of bubble under. I guess it’s about finding the middle ground. You don’t want to become this underground band that becomes elitist and doesn’t really reach anybody. But then some of the massive bands just get a bit too much. I mean, in the U.K., Kaiser Chiefs are a classic example. Most people I know are just sick to the back teeth of them. And it’s a shame, because they’re not a bad band. As a live band, I think they’re really good. But it’s just things get rammed down your throat. So it’s just about finding that middle ground. You know, we’ve still got music to make; we’ve got more albums we want to make. And we don’t want to be killed or hyped too early. We want to survive!

SS: Yeah, definitely. It does seem like that is what has happened to Kaiser Chiefs, even from an American perspective. I think people are over it. And I say that as someone who likes them and who has seen them a couple of times live, and they’re great live. But at the same time, I did notice people were less enthralled this time around. Of course, it’s not fair to compare you to them. I mean, the depth to the music is completely different!
Lukas: Yeah, it’s kind of what they want to do. They want to sell as many records in the shortest possible period of time and retire to the Canary Islands or whatever. I mean, they’re not afraid to admit that.

SS: So both bands seem to have different goals, and that’s fine. Goals are good things to have, whatever they may be. You mentioned that you want to be one of those touchstone bands like the bands you guys have grown up with. Who are those for you?
Lukas: Well, definitely Sonic Youth and Pavement for all of us.

SS: Do you all splinter off into other stuff with a lot of different interests?
Lukas: Yeah. I’m a big Stereolab fan, you know, as a keyboard player. Finding out about them as a teenager was a bit of an epiphany. We all quite like this band called Life Without Buildings. They only had one album in 2000, I think. They’re a Scottish band. Paul really likes folk music, and he has introduced me to a lot of lyric-based stuff. I was never a massive lyric man, so you know, I love Smog now … Iron and Wine … David Grubbs, I really like.

SS: Sensitive stuff?
Lukas: Yeah [laughs]. But there’s lot of character behind it. I think everything we’re into, there’s kind of a human element. There’s always someone trying to find their way in the world or do something different. Someone speaking their own language. That’s the music we most admire. That’s what we’re trying to do with Maxïmo Park. Maybe that’s why some people don’t get it or think we’re trying too hard. We just want to do something unique, that hasn’t been done before. We have no wish to repeat what has been done before; it seems pointless.

SS: Well, you know, you don’t really sound like anyone else. When someone asks me what you sound like, I stumble for the right comparisons.
Lukas: I think since we’re all different people with very different musical tastes, when we come together, by the time you’ve written a song that everyone likes, then by default, it doesn’t sound like anything else. Because usually one person will pipe up and say it sounds like, I don’t know, Black Sabbath or Adam and the Ants or U2. So if it gets past all five of us, then it just ends up sounding like Maxïmo Park.

SS: Which is fantastic because you’re developing a unique sound. Hopefully in 20 years, people will compare other bands to you and say, “Wow, that sounds like Maxïmo Park!”
Lukas: Aw, yeah, that’d be good!

SS: You guys are pretty cerebral when it comes to lyrics. Do you all read a lot?
Lukas: Yeah, definitely.

SS: Which begs the question: Do you like Russian literature [the title of one of the new songs on Our Earthly Pleasures]?
Lukas: I haven’t read a lot of Russian literature. I’m reading some Norwegian literature right now—some Knut Hamsun today. Tom is reading some Russian literature right now, I think. I’ve read The Master and Margarita.

SS: By Bulgakov! One of my favorites. It’s sitting on my nightstand right now! I kid you not.
Lukas: It’s a crazy book! It’s funny because it’s one of those quite underground books … you just kind of come across it. But then you mention it to someone, and loads of people know it.

SS: Are you a one book at a time person, or do you read multiple things simultaneously?
Lukas: I’ve got three at the moment. I’m reading Simon Reynolds’ book Rip It Up and Start Again, which is quite interesting. It’s really depressing in some ways. You know the level of music journalism compared to the past is just abysmal.

SS: Have you read The Dark Stuff by Nick Kent?
Lukas: No.

SS: He spent all this time with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, with Iggy Pop, with Kurt Cobain … All of these musical icons. He has been through it all. It’s an interesting read.
Lukas: Oh wow. Yeah, that sounds good. I would love to read autobiographies of musicians all the time, but then sometimes, it’s a bit too much.

SS: Because you’re kind of living it too. Your own version.
Lukas: Yeah. The last one I read was Nick Cave, which was really good.

SS: Going back to the lyrics, a lot of them are relationship based. How do you manage to keep up your personal relationships being on the road so much?
Lukas: It’s a bit weird, but we’re very lucky to have friends and family who are happy for us. They understand that we can’t always be there. Skype’s a wonderful thing. The Internet is just great. But then when you get home, I think, it’s quite easy to just not go out. I’m guilty of it. We go back to Newcastle, and you just sit at home and cook a meal. And it’s amazing! But it really pays off to force yourself to go out and meet people, and you feel much better for it. You forget how good it is to talk to people!

SS: So you guys are heading West now with a show coming up in Los Angeles on the 27th. Then what?
Lukas: We’ve got 10 days off [after the U.S. tour]. I’m going to Turkey with my girlfriend, which will be great! Then we’re off to Japan—Summer Sonic Festival. Japan is brilliant. It’s very alien. It’s the only place on the planet that’s more different than anywhere else. It’s the most like another planet that you can get without leaving the planet!

SS: And you did the Live in Tokyo EP there, so it sounds like you’ve got a nice fanbase there as well.
Lukas: Yeah, Warp [the band’s record label] work tremendously hard for us in Japan.

SS: It seems Japanese fans are really different, because they get so obsessive really quickly.
Lukas: Yeah. I learn about new bands from Britain in Japan before I learn about them in Britain! It’s weird. In Japan, everything moves very quickly. It’s very different. And then we go to Australia, which is going to be great. We haven’t been there in a while. And the response there was fantastic last time. I know we’re getting played a lot there on the radio.

SS: Yeah, they have good radio! Triple J!
Lukas: So we’re looking forward to that. We’re playing Perth and Adelaide, which we didn’t play last time. We played Sydney last time on a Sunday night at Metro, which is like 1,000 people. And it sold out, and people would not stop screaming. It was amazing.

SS: That brings me back to my first question about playing to different audiences. You guys really do a great job of adapting to your audience and the venue.
Lukas: Otherwise, it would get boring. I mean people clap in different rhythms, they shout different things, they dance in different ways.

SS: How much of that can you see from the stage?

Lukas: I try to engage with people as much as I can without making a mistake! I like to see people’s eyes. Give a cheeky smile, reach out and touch someone, you know!

With that, the rain started coming down in buckets, and it drowned out our conversation. The intense lightning even caused the power on the bus to flicker on and off a few times! As I waited for the rain to die down a bit, Lukas went on to talk about the band’s excitement to play the El Rey in Los Angeles with L.A. locals The Oohlas and Monsters Are Waiting opening.

Tickets for the July 27 show at the El Rey are still available, but Maxïmo Park‘s shows have been selling out, so be sure to get your tickets now!

Comments

[cheryl]

Wooo! Great job.

[elenarendezvous]

Great interview!!

[Oscar]

Nice! I like it.

[liv]

really nice interview, lukas is a great guy. their show was so kickass.

[juliet]

Great interview.
This site is very informative and easy to follow.