“Just this once, just for now, you can be anything, anything in the world.” Stemming from the title track of The Maine’s newest full-length album, Forever Halloween, this lyric represents the theme of the entire album. Formed in 2006, the Arizona rock band has toured with the likes of Good Charlotte and Boys Like Girls, as well as several headlining tours. Their 5-song acoustic EP, Imaginary Numbers will be released in December. The Bite had the chance to catch up with vocalist John O’Callaghan, rhythm guitarist Kennedy Brock and lead guitarist Jared Monaco at the House of Blues for a sold-out show with Anberlin in early November.
What kind of atmosphere do you aim to create in your shows?
I’d like to think that we create a carefree atmosphere, somewhere where you can step into the room and hopefully forget all the…troubles and turmoil of everyday life, just forget about it for at least a second. I think we also try to personify the idea that we’re really not any different than anybody else—we just play music. I’d like to think that people see the passion that we have for what we’re doing, but at the same time we’re not looking down on anybody while doing that. As far as the set goes, it’s a little more relentless on this tour. There’s like eight or nine songs right in a row…We just wanted to play songs and mess with dynamics—fast-fast to slow-slow, sad songs to happy songs, for people that have seen us before.
So you’re trying something new?
Yeah, yeah.
To what would you credit your change in sound over the years?
I can tell you that it hasn’t been forced. It’s just kind of naturally happened. There’s been a lot of songs we’ve worked on together, so I think as we perform more we branch out with ideas we haven’t tried in the past, and end up finding things that we like. It’s what we’re listening to too. We’re always hungry for new music—whether or not that music was made in 1970—I think that that subconsciously bleeds into our music.
What have you been listening to recently?
As of late? Well we haven’t really been writing…we’ve been listening to White Denim, they just put out a new album…There’s a lot of bands. We’re kind of all over the board as far what we listen to. We’ll range from psych rock to really, really pop.
When you sit down to write, do you normally start with lyrics or a melody?
You know what I do…I guess I’m always writing. I text myself. I’ll stand there and if I have an idea then I’ll just text myself the idea. So I use those words or lines or sentences or whatever, I use those sometimes as starting points when I sit down at the acoustic [guitar] or the piano. But it’s always different…What’s cool about writing and recording music is that it’s never final until you release it. There’s songs that we’ve recorded that are still in their first form that we can kind of still mess with…You always end up hearing more once you’re finished, like “I could’ve done less here or more there.” At that point all the vinyls have been pressed or the CDs have been made. At the end of the day you just have to accept the facts. It is what it is. And that’s kind of what’s cool about it. That’s kind of what Forever Halloween is about: accept what you’re doing.
Is there a favorite song of yours to play on tour?
That changes tour-to-tour, sometimes day-to-day. I’m really liking “Run” on this tour. That one has been really fun…you get different stuff from each song, from different people in the crowd.
Where does your band name come from?
It comes from a song called “The Coast of Maine” by a band called Ivory, who we really looked up to when we first started seven years ago or something…Band names are so silly. And irrelevant.
Do you write more about one subject or do you diversify what you write about?
I’d like to think that we spread it all across the board…That’s a good question. You don’t really think about it. John writes all the lyrics, so as an outsider’s perspective I think the range of subjects that he writes about now are very more so diversified than when we started. I think it’s just experience. The more experience you have, the more stuff you can write. Not wanting to write every song as a love song, because that’s not what life is. Not every day you’re in love.
What message do you want your fans to get out of your music?
Follow your passions. Find something that you love, man. Just be you. We’re in a cool position as far as our band is concerned because we’re in a headspace where we feel confidant doing whatever we’re doing. We feel like we can branch out, and put an acoustic EP out after what I would consider a more rock record. I’d like to hopefully have that be seen through and have kids understand that you don’t necessarily have to be what everybody expects you to be. Just really be passionate and confident.
