Enjoy
Can you tell me what first inspired you to make music, what made you pick up a guitar and start writing songs?
I probably would have never started playing any instrument if it wasn’t for my older Brother. I remember my parents got us a guitar to share for Christmas one year accompanied by some humongous book that would teach us all we needed to know in order to become rock and roll Gods. I’ve never been a great reader largely due to my attention span which tends to be a little on the short side. Needless to say, that guitar started to gather dust in the lonely corner of our bedroom while I focused on more important things such as playing my Nintendo 64 and watching Wrestling. I was eleven years old by the way. My Brother did a lot of the leg work for me by reading through the aforementioned ‘Rock God Instruction Manual’ which taught him how to read tabs and play basic chords. Once I heard him playing Blink-182 and Jimmy Eat World guitar riffs on our tinny little bedroom amp, I suddenly wanted to be able to play guitar as well. Mike taught me the basics of reading tabs and a few chords. From then on, I was hooked. I eventually read the ‘Rock God Instruction Manual’ front to back and really started to flourish as a musician and songwriter when I joined my first band at the age of fourteen. Ironically, my Brother had became somewhat disinterested in playing after teaching me the basics and it wasn’t until years later when I moved into my first apartment that I invited him round for practice sessions so that I could repay the favour by teaching him and rekindling his love for making music. It was around that time that Mike and I started what would become our first successful project; ‘Hit the B Button’. So, I guess the answer to your question would be that my Brother inspired me to start writing songs and my Parents provided me with the tools to do so.
What bands posters did you have upon your bedroom wall and what was the first record you ever bought and why?
The only posters I remember having on my bedroom wall was one of Shaquille O’Neil when he played for the Orlando Magic, a Scarface movie poster and an art print of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Circumstances changed when I moved into my first apartment at the age of eighteen. I had instruments everywhere, a home studio in the back room and the walls plastered in all kinds of music memorabilia (my refrigerator even had a Beatles logo decaled on it).
The first record I ever bought was Americana by The Offspring which I honestly feel still holds up to this day as a great album. I was obsessed with the song ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’ and would constantly search for it on the television music channels or on the rock and roll radio stations. I was desperate to own whatever album that song was on and ended up finding ‘Americana’ in a local record shop that I bought with some pocket money I had accrued. Much to my surprise, the rest of the record was equally as good as the single I loved so much. I always remember loving how the first few tracks of the record blended into each other which is probably what lead to my love of conceptual flowing albums later on in life.
I loved your record ‘Sorry’ which everyone should check out, can you talk a little about the making of this record, lyrically what it covers and did you achieve what you set out to when you started marking the record?
Thank you so much, it’s a trip to know how much people have loved the record and related to its subject matter. To be honest, I do find it difficult talking about the making of ‘Sorry’ because it was written and recorded during what I can only refer to as the lowest point in my life. I was depressed…it was bad. I had started the process of writing and recording tracks for what was going to be a Don Maple EP but what followed was an extremely trying year for me and my family. There were four unexpected deaths that took me off guard over the space of about six months. I couldn’t focus at work, I was withdrawing myself at home and my Wife and I were trying to save money for our wedding which added some financial stress on top of everything. Writing and recording music was my escape from everything which is why that EP ended up turning into a full-length LP instead (I had a lot to get off of my chest I guess). I don’t want to make any blanket assumptions but what I have always found difficult when discussing ‘Sorry’ is that mental health became such a hot topic, especially on the music scene, at the time I released it and I never wanted people to think I was exploiting that message to promote my record. At the end of the day, I never intended for the songs I was writing to end up being so dark and emotionally draining. I am very much an advocate of the idea that you should be your own biggest fan and listen to your own music because you genuinely have created something you love but I still struggle to listen back to the songs on ‘Sorry’ because they take me back to that time. I am very proud of what I created and I think the songs are some of my best work but I definitely want to make something a bit more positive in the future. I have taken steps to improve my way of thinking outside of music and have managed to pull myself out of the downward spiral I was in. I am extremely happy to report that I am doing very good right now and long may it continue!
You’ve recently had a child, congratulations! I’m a Father as well and given that as song writers we're meant to absorb, interpret and spew forth our particular world view, I wonder if it has had an impact on your song writing or lyrical content? Maybe you’re too tired to write songs now!
Finding out my Wife was pregnant was literally the best thing that could have ever happened to me. Knowing that I had a Son on the way that was going to look up to me and instinctually turn me into his primary role model gave me the strength and motivation I needed to turn a lot of things around in my own personal life and made me get the help I needed to deal with a whole heap of personal demons. For anybody that has been following me, I’m sure it was blatantly obvious that I had completely stepped away from the music world over the past 6 months. I usually host a local music podcast called ‘Sick Set Bro’ (which can be found on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts) with my Brother [Mike Ledgerwood] and my best friend [Andrew Fernandes] as well as running the music collective Year Spaceship [www.yearspaceship.com] with the rest of the YS team, but I had to put all of that on hold along with any live shows or studio time for Don Maple so that I could focus on my mental health for the sake of my future Son. It’s been one hell of a journey and a lot of work but I have definitely come out the other side better for it and I am so glad that I took that time away from music to focus on myself for once. Now that my Son is here, I feel completely re-energised and genuinely have such an incredible new outlook on life. Becoming a parent is definitely one of those things that cannot be properly described to someone until it happens to them but it completely shifts your priorities for the better. Some people would think having a baby would completely kill any sense of a music career but for me it has inspired me to the point that I am brimming with new material. Combine that with a positive mentality and I think that means I am just about ready to get back on the horse again.
Can you tell us about what’s next for Don Maple, any plans for shows or new releases?
I think it will be quite a while before we see any Don Maple live shows but what I will say is that I am currently working on new material that I am excited to share with everyone over the coming months. I bought a house a couple of years back that is a renovated cottage that overlooks the Irish Sea. Along with the unbelievable view, a big reason for buying this house was that it came equipped with a spacious external building that the previous owner had used as a ceramics workshop for his side business (he made garden gnomes and left about 200 behind in there….it’s super creepy). It had always been my intention to turn that workshop into a fully functional studio but it was going to take a lot of time and money. I have been slowly chipping away at it over the past two years. A little bit of rock wool here, a drum kit there. With the arrival of my Son imminent, I officially moved all of my music equipment out of my old home studio (which is now his Nursery) and into the new one. I now have everything I need at my disposal to do full band recordings in a big spacious and atmospheric setting which has gave these new songs a completely new tone and style that I am super excited about. I am still adjusting to parenthood (Alex is two weeks old today!) but when my Wife and I have a handle on things I think it’s safe to say you will also see the return of Sick Set Bro, Year Spaceship and of course the much-anticipated new Don Maple songs. Stay Tuned ya’ll!
And finally, in the vein of Rob Gordon, what are your Top 5 favourite records?
The Beatles – Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp A Butterfly
Stevie Wonder – Music of my Mind
David Bowie – Blackstar
Blink-182 - Untitled
Find and follow Don Maple:
https://www.facebook.com/DonMapleMusic/
https://www.instagram.com/don_maple
Find and follow Old Crows Promotions:
https://www.facebook.com/oldcrowspromotions/
https://www.instagram.com/oldcrowspromotions/
.png)
No comments:
Post a Comment