Credited for writing all the songs on One Year Later, Max brings his audience on an emotional journey. After constructing an at-home recording studio it was time for Max to get to work. As the EP unfolds listeners will come to discover a sublime sensation unlike other music. Max Lugavere makes himself vulnerable through his lyrics, pulling in his listeners from the first song Fingers Crossed, a slower, more soothing song that plays with questionable feelings and uncertainty. The intensity gradually builds and Max’s lyrics unfold past relationships and former lovers. Don’t Cry, the second track on the album has a more playful melody. It’s upbeat tempo and tremendous guitar abilities make for a great song. The album’s title track, One Year Later , features vocals from Columbia recording artist Angel Taylor. Some of Max’s strongest lyrics come alive in Deny You. The opening lyric, “Falling down you’re forced to smile/ you never give in/ you’re never a victim,” leave you wanting so much more and Max gives that to you. With his closing track Weather Advisory he creates a sense of hope and stillness in just three minutes.
Max Lugavere opens you up to his life, relationships, love, regret and desire. He has made a name for himself in multiple ways but now Max Lugavere is a singer/song writer, launching his very first album. From the very first lyric of his first song Fingers Crossed you are hooked. Everyone “does have their fingers crossed” for Max in hopes that this long invested journey ends in great success.
SATURDAY NIGHT MAGAZINE: What was the basic process of getting your EP made?
MAX LUGAVERE: Getting the EP made first involved selecting from my growing list of original songs and deciding which of them contributed most meaningfully to the story that I'm trying to tell. After that, it was really about meeting Aaron Tap, the producer of the EP and guitarist for one of my musical heros (Matt Nathanson), at which point the process really began picking up speed. Aaron really 'got me,' both emotionally - where I was coming from - and musically. He managed to walk me through the production process, simultaneously teaching me about all of the technical aspects of recording, while still being totally sensitive to how meaningful these songs are to me and letting me sing and play them how I wanted them to be heard.
SNMAG: What was the most challenging part?
ML: The challenging part was really learning to trust my instincts as well as those of Aaron. I can be a total creative control freak, although if a case is made against my personal inclination, depending on how it's presented, I can be swayed. Aaron is a musical genius who is also quite articulate and so a lot of our sessions were just as philosophical as they were musical. I also had to remind myself why I wrote these songs and wanted to stay true to the underlying emotion that got me to this place to begin with. One of my favorite quotes is:
"Before you play two notes learn how to play one note and don't play one note unless you've got a reason to play it." - Mark Hollis. I didn't make this album to jump on the singer/songwriters bandwagon... I made it to get something off of my chest in the most effective way that I knew how.
SNMAG: What advice would you give to people hoping to make an album?
ML: I'd say take the time to hone your craft. Be open to constructive criticism. The barrier of entry into the game is as low as it's ever been - the beauty of technology is that virtually anyone now can craft songs that sound professionally produced. However, just because you can doesn't always mean you should, and nothing good has ever been rushed. But if you put in the due time, chances are you'll end up with something special.
One Year Later will be released on June 8th, 2010, on iTunes, Amazon MP3, and Lala.
Check out more of Max at myspace.com/maxlugavere
By Erika Brickley
Bookmark with:
