Mae's Vocalist Dave Elkins

October 16, 2005

Mae's revolutionary sound and intrinsic style offers music fans everywhere the opportunity to experience music as a journey. Their newest album, "The Everglow" is delightfully reminiscent of their first album, "Destination Beautiful," while it brings even more insight into the lyrical genius which is Mae. Aside from Mae's unique sound and powerful lyrics, their stage performance and energy provide fans with an unforgettable performance. Dave, the vocalist and guitarist, spoke with me about the tour and a little about the band's background.

NL: I know all of you are from the south. Where exactly are each of you from and how do you feel about the south? Was it a good place to grow up?

Dave: Well, we are all from Virginia, except for Zach he's from Orlando. Sweet tea! that's what I think is great about the south, and growing up there taught me a lot about family values. Definitely the southern hospitality is something great about the south and being from that background puts a lot of importance on family. My family is very important to me.

NL: How did you all get together; how did you meet?

Dave: Marc had a studio and we had met when we were younger, when I was about 15, then later we met jacob at college. We started talking about some ideas and we started messing around in the studio just putting stuff together. Then we found Jacob across the hall at the apartments we lived at and later we found zach when we were on the road. Then it was complete and everything just fell together.

NL: Some listeners have classified Mae's music as "emo" and other times it's said to be "pop". How do you feel about these labels and do you think it affects or limits your audience?

Dave: People tend to group certain music together so they can explain to other people the type of music they like. Genre's are good to be able to classify or explain things, especially when it's easily classifiable. I don't really like the term emo though, because what's emo to some isn't emo to others. What creates emotion and affects one person in an emotional way wouldn't affect someone else the same way or maybe not at all.

NL: What are some of your future plans for the band? For example do see yourself debuting a video on on MTV or playing in a certain venue?

Dave: Well we were on MTV overdrive just recently and we performed four songs, which was an amazing experience. We're shooting a video for "someone else's arms" right now and we're doing it ourselves so that is taking a lot of work. We're going to Japan soon. We're also starting a tour with yellowcard and we're headlining. It's always a confidence booster to headline, especially when it's headling for a band like yellowcard.

NL: You all have spoken before about the emotional response and sensationalistic affect your music has on the audience, why is that important to you?

Dave: Music is the universal language, there's music out there that everyone is able to identify with a special meaning or nostalgia; something you play at a certain time in your life or even during special occasions. We want to be able to write music that people can identify with and take it in and make it their own. Music is a way to communicate your feelings and emotions and that's what makes people listen; because they want to feel a connection.

NL: How is the subject matter within your lyrics important to Mae's overall concept?

Dave: We write with a meaning and a purpose. We write knowing that our experiences, and our thoughts can affect someone else and we leave them to interpret our lyrics in their own way. When we write we consider the audience's reaction.

NL: What are some of your favorite memories on tour?

Dave: We played with Weezer and Foo Fighters and that was a great memory because we bought tickets to their show years back and I remember going to their concert and thinking how amazing they were and now we get to tour with them. That and we played a sold out show in Hawaii, those are the best memories so far.

NL: When you were younger did you always see yourself being a part of a band or did you have dreams of being something else?

Dave: My mom bought me a rice krispy drum set when I was younger so I never imagined being a part of a band but I was definitely into music. There was a part of me that wanted to play, but never really understood much outside of just playing.

NL: How do you think the new album "The Everglow" differs from "Destination Beautiful"? Or how is it the same?

Dave: Well it's the same because it's Mae, but it's the first time the songs were written by us. So, "The Everglow" is a lot more mature but you still hear a similar sound.

NL: What are some of your pet peeves?

Dave: Well with being on tour, I think one of my biggest pet peeves is when the others leave dishes out or leave bottles out of the refrigerator because they fall over on the bus and make a huge mess. Also, when the bus driver doesn't change the water on the bus it's difficult for all guys to share the bathroom.

NL: Are you a reality TV guy or are you more into Sitcoms?

Dave: Sitcoms. I've never really gotten into the reality TV craze. I've watched the surreal life once but it was so crazy and I never got around to watching any others.

NL: Well thanks a lot for sharing your time with me and have fun and good luck with everything!

Dave: No problem, thank-you

For more information, visit the band's official web site, http://www.whatismae.com/