Halifax native Matt Mays is hard at work in the studio crafting the long-awaited follow up to his 2008 record Terminal Romance. But luckily for Metro Moncton residents, he is taking a break from the toils of the studio to perform on the Lotto Max Molson Canadian Mainstage on Westmorland St on Thursday night.
These days, Mays is performing solely under his name as opposed to the past when he had performed with a backing band that went under the guise of El Torpedo. Asked why he dropped the band name, Mays offers a completely reasonable answer:
“I had a really great run with the guys that made up El Torpedo and as a band, we had a really great run together,” Mays explains. “A few of the guys in the band were starting to settle down and wanted to get off the road. Being a musician on the road is a lifestyle that is really difficult to maintain so it was a split that was done on very good terms with no hard feelings. Looking back, I think it was the best thing for everyone concerned.”
Mays says he has spent the bulk of the past year writing and putting songs together for what will eventually make up his new record, admitting that it took him a little while to find the right 12 songs to record.
Mays has also taken on production and engineering duties of the record, adding to an already big workload.
“I have had the guys from my backing band in playing but have been doing a lot of the guitar tracks myself. I am really trying to push myself this time around, so much that I even recorded my own horn section,” he laughs.
“Honestly, I haven’t worked on a record as hard as I have been working on this one. I’m slowly seeing everything come to fruition though and it’s pretty cool. I’ve had the benefit of having worked with some pretty great producers in the past so I have been able to put my practice with them into this new record.”
Recorded in locations including New York City, Halifax and Lunenburg, Mays says that he is currently eyeing a Spring 2011 release date for the record, as long as he can stop writing and recording, that is.
“I actually just wrote two new songs that I ended up tracking last week. I am now supposed to be at the mixing stage of this new record and decided to add more to it instead.”
Mays is looking forward to continuing to play between now and the release of his next record, admitting that he has been laying low over the past year but expects to ramp up the number of shows he is doing over the next little while.
“I enjoy interacting with my fans so much. I’ve worked hard over the past seven years to build a loyal fan base and I want to be loyal to them in return by playing.”
Article published in September 23, 2010 edition of the Times & Transcript