Drummer Pat Kirch and The Maine released their album Pioneer at the end of 2011. It was a tad early for the band to release a follow-up to their last album, Black & White and it was another step in a different path for the Arizona-based band. The new album’s direction and the fact that it was co-produced by The Maine and Colby Wedgeworth made it somewhat of a cool oddity but an oddity that some at the band’s old label weren’t necessarily prepared to back.
“It was weird," said drummer Pat Kirch on the the struggle the band faced to release Pioneer. So we recorded an original nine songs, that ended up being about six of the songs on the actual album. We recorded those nine songs and we brought them to our A&R guy at the label. And it was a little soon for us to be recording another record at that point- we’ve had a final mix on those songs for over a year now. We brought those songs in and he was completely shocked that we had a record done- and he didn’t like them, to be completely honest. They [the label] wanted us to go and write songs with people, they wanted us to go and record with this guy and this guy, and we just kind of said ‘no.'”
Co-writing is nothing new and it can be a great, but it has to be done with the right artist. A lot of the artists that we’ve seen make the switch back to the independent scene over the past year, were bands that originally wrote all of their own material and got where they were off of that music. When they signed to a major label, all of sudden somebody thinks that a hit needs to be forced, so they assign the band to write with several different co-writers and producers trying to increase the odds of that hit. Hit the Lights had to do it during their last recording process; only one of those songs made it to their new record. Mayday Parade did it with Anywhere But Here; that album ended up being a flop.
The Maine never made it to the co-writing process. They just did what they wanted to do. “We went back and recorded 18 more songs so we had 27 total and we picked 13 for the album,” Kirch said. “We told the label that if they didn’t want to release it we were going to do anything we could do to put it out. That’s what happened and it was a fight for about a year, but we finally won.”
It’s clear that The Maine isn’t regretting the decision to going indie. They got to experience first-hand the waste of money and resources in creating their lone major-label release, Black & White. Kirch said the recording process of that album changed the band’s thought process for recording Pioneer.
“When we recorded the album before this one…” Kirch started, while thinking back. “When we were done with the record, the label wanted us to go back into the studio. They sent us back from Arizona to California ten times to record like, one note, or one little sound effect thing, or something that didn’t even make the record. There was so much time and money wasted on that, we just decided that we were completely done with it and we were going to do what we want to do, and if they don’t like it… we’ll get off and put it out.”
Clearly the band doesn’t regret their decision to do things their own way, but you’d assume that an follow-up album to Black & White wtih label support would have been received well by critics and by fans. It might have been at least two or three steps up in their career. Now, they’re focused on operating at their own pace, gradually moving forward and welcoming people that grow to support them, instead of forcing the issue.
The band’s new way of doing things can be affirmed on their current opinion of pop culture and Top 40 radio. In a recent interview with Alternative Press, lead singer John O’Callaghan had some interesting comments on music for the masses. Alternative Addiction asked Pat Kirch if he agreed with John’s feelings on the subject. He answered emphatically.
“I think things are in such a weird spot right now if you turn on Top 40 radio” said Kirch almost knowing the question was coming. “It’s kind of disgusting. There are some cool exceptions, but for the most part it’s just… How many times can people put the same exact song out there? I just think the worst part about it is its getting worse and worse. You can tell that it’s eight people in a room that are paid to only write songs that are only going to fit in this one format of radio. They just sit in this room all day and write songs and this is the thing that they’re coming out with. It feels like more and more that all of these songs that you hear- they sound like a product. They don’t sound like a song. We aren’t interested in being a part of that. We’re not interested in the fame aspect of being in a band. We’re interested in making music that we enjoy to make. Our fans give us a ton of support and we’re just focusing on making sure they enjoy what we’re doing.”
They’ll enjoy it as long as the band keeps being true to the new process. After hearing Kirch’s passionate opinions on making the record, there’s little doubt that they’ll continue on the path that they’re on.
“I feel like we knew what record we wanted to make and we didn’t want a second opinion on it. The thing that made this record what it is- it’s not overthought. We had an idea for a song and we went in and recorded it and we didn’t think about it again.”
Even though The Maine turned into an independent band, Pioneer has been received better than the band’s previous album, Black & White. Things also haven’t slowed down for The Maine when it comes to live shows. Recently just finished up a headlining tour in North America. Currently, the band is touring in Europe through the month of February. To download a free B-side from Pioneer, and to stay updated on live shows and announcements, visit http://www.wearethemaine.net.
