A chat with Josh Netsky on tour kick-off eve
Maybird starts their 15 date tour tomorrow in Atlanta. The band has been hard at work since the release of their EP Turning Into Water on Danger Mouse’s label 30th Century Records last year. Known for creating timeless music with psychedelic pop overtones, last week, Maybird released their Patrick Carney (The Black Keys) produced track “Keep In Line”.
Prior to hitting the road, we caught up with frontman, Josh Netsky.
How has Rochester influenced your music?
My brother and I were born in Rochester. Kurt and Sam each lived about an hour away and moved to Rochester because of the vibrancy and music scene. We all found each other there.
Are there any particular Rochester artists or venues that had a significant impact in your career?
The Atomic Swindlers were one of the first local bands I’d heard when I first started writing songs. Definitely planted the psychedelic wall-of-sound thing in my ear. The Demos also had a big influence, and I joined their band for a while playing guitar. That got me into exploring vintage sounds and instruments. The Bug Jar has always been the place to see cool new music, and play exciting shows with out-of-town groups in Rochester. That place made a big impact.
How did you end up linking with Patrick Carney of the Black Keys?
Danger Mouse started our label, and he’s worked with The Black Keys a bunch. He sent our EP to Patrick and, after hearing it, Patrick messaged back saying he’d like to try producing us.
What was the overall experience like?
It was very exciting for us. As soon as we started working I was really into it, and wanted to tap into as many songs as we could fit into our schedules. Patrick was incredibly welcoming and fun to hang with, and had this amazing engineer Marc Whitmore cranking through long days of tracking with us. A lot got accomplished fast.
Do you foresee any future collaborations?
We’ve been talking about it, I’d love to work more with Patrick.
Given the layers of a Maybird song — how does the writing happen? Does a song simply start on an acoustic, loop or piano for instance?
I write most songs on an acoustic guitar, or with various midi instruments on Logic. I’ve never updated the version of Logic on my computer. I must have gotten it 6 or 7 years ago… anyway, it’s super outdated, but I know it really well and it’s a great tool for writing and arranging.
What are you looking forward to most with the tour about to kick off?
We just played the one I was most psyched about — Tuck Fest in North Carolina. It was at a white water rafting center in Charlotte. Super fun show, and we got to go rafting. Our guitar player, Sam, fell off the raft and scratched up his shin pretty good. There was an audience for that too.
What’s next in addition to the tour?
We’ll be doing a bit of recording and some more touring in May, and then the EP will be released in June. Keeping busy.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
4.26.17 — The Masquerade: Purgatory Stage — Atlanta, GA
4.27.17 — The Basement — Nashville, TN
4.28.17 — Pretentious Beer Co. — Knoxville, TN
4.29.17 — The Burl — Lexington, KY
4.30.17 — Big Room Bar — Columbus, OH
5.1.17 — Club Cafe — Pittsburgh, PA
5.23.17 — Empire — Portland, ME
5.24.17 — Middle East Upstairs — Cambridge, MA
5.25.17 — Columbus Theatre — Providence, RI
5.26.17 — The Hollow — Albany, NY
5.27.17 — Buffalo Iron Works — Buffalo, NY
6.1.17 — Cafe Nine — New Haven, CT
6.2.17 — MilkBoy — Philadelphia, PA
6.3.17 — Union Pool — Brooklyn, NY
6.9.17 — The Haunt — Ithaca, NY
*For more information visit: Maybirdmusic.com
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