Catching Up With: Max Garcia Conover

I got a chance to talk with Maine-based songwriter Max García Conover prior to his show with Connor Garvey Thursday night (9/17) at Gallery 263. If you’re interested in a cozy atmosphere, great songwriting, and good people, the show starts at 7:30.

 

How did this tour come together?

Connor’s been someone I’ve looked up to ever since I moved to Portland and started making a living in music. He’s got this unstoppable, joyful energy that comes through. We started talking last spring to put the tour together this fall.

I’m excited to return to Gallery 263. I played there as part of a festival they were putting on and they packed so much heart and good feeling into the room. I’ve been trying to get back there ever since.

What got you started writing songs?

I’ve always been drawn to communication and self-expression. I thought I wanted to be a speech writer, then a novelist; then I’d heard a few very important songwriters, and realized that was it for me. Songwriting has an element of movement and joy and relief that wasn’t in those other forms of expression for me.

Can you say more about ‘relief’?

Well, performance has an element of physical labor and I love the exhaustion and satisfaction that comes from that. And then songwriting is relieving in a different way–I’m someone who feels pretty strongly about things, but I don’t tend to express myself or communicate that in regular conversation very often. Songs became a place to put those feelings or ideas.

You have a weekly video project of new songs. Some people caution against doing that, thinking it’s better to refine songs before sharing them. How do you know when a song is ready to share?

It’s something I think about a lot. I just want to write new songs all the time and I’m doing this project because that’s how I want to work. I don’t take songwriting lightly and I don’t write simple songs – I think I probably spend as much time or more on the bones of a song as any songwriter. I just don’t spend as much time honing in on the final presentation of it, at least not in the weekly songs project. I think there’s value in hearing a song in its most basic form. But mostly it’s just that I finish a song and immediately want to start on the next one, and all this is just a rationalization for me working the way I want to work.

Red Line Roots is all about collaboration and community. What are the most important collaborations you’ve been able to be a part of as a musician?

The most significant musical collaboration I’ve had has been an ongoing one with Ben Cosgrove. As someone who usually plays alone, it’s incredible to play with someone so good, who can so immediately make the songs better. He was a huge part of my album last year and we’re working on a co-written EP now.

And earlier this year, I went on a national tour with The Ghost of Paul Revere. Having colleagues and being focused on the same goal together, that meant the world to me, and I have so much love for those guys. I’m going to start playing a series of shows with Griffin and Max, from the Ghosts, up in Portland to workshop new songs (at Blue, the fourth Tuesday of every month, 6pm).

Fill in the blank about songwriting and making music: I used to think ____; now I think _____.

I used to think sleeping in my car was scary. Now I think it’s part of my job.

You can find more information about Max here and Connor here. And here are a couple more videos, just for good listening: