Jay for Maxeen4u.de

In march of 2005, Monika, the admin of Maxeen4u.de, got this exclusive interview with Jay Skowronek. Thank you so much for letting me put this interview here, Monika!

MAXEEN4U.DE- Referring to your record sessions…what can we expect from the new album ???

JAY SKOWRONEK- Well, we haven’t started recording yet—we’ve been recording the demos which will (hopefully) become the songs on the next album, and have been busy at that! But, I think you can expect a better sounding record, and a better sounding band. Not to diss our first record, but we recorded it when we were only 6 months old as a band, so we were very new to each other and the whole process on how we record as a group.
Now, the group’s a little over two and a half years old and we’ve toured a LOT. We’ve realized more of what Maxeen’s sound is like, if that makes any sense, and the new songs are very exciting and different because of it. We’re taking the time to really experiment and try some new things while writing this record, too . . . especially tom—he’s been writing a lot of stuff on piano. If you’re a Maxeen fan, i think you’ll like it.

M- Is their a release date/name yet ?

J- We don’t have a release date or name yet. We’re starting to meet with producers now, so i’m sure we’ll be hitting the studio in the near future, knock on wood.

M- How did the audience react to the new songs, while touring in February ?

J- I think the Maxeen fans who came out really enjoyed the new stuff. We played a handful of new songs . . . songs like “Seconds Later,“ which is an uptempoed rocker, “Replace Us,“ which is a cool slower song, and a weird one called “Connect the Dots,“ which Tom pretty much came up with himself. I hope people weren’t like, “What’s this crap?“ I don’t think they said that.

M- Touring…Which country/city did you like most so far and where do you never wanna play again ?!

J- Good question. I have to be diplomatic and answer that by saying that it doesn’t matter what city or country you’re in . . . it all depends on how good the audience is. We’ve showed up to shows in the middle of nowhere expecting the worst, and the audience is just wild and really into having a good time and rocking out with us, and that makes all the difference in the world. You make a connection, and there’s nothing like it.
I also really like going to really old, beautiful cities. . . places like Stockholm or Amsterdam or London, and having the time to walk around for a bit. The city list could go on and on, so i’ll stop there.

M- So, you guys spend a lot of time together while recording and touring. What do you do to amuse each other ( besides of doing a moustache contest ;0) ) and who have the most strange habbits ?

J- Ha! The moustache contest . . . just so everyone knows, Tom did NOT participate in the moustache contest. Shannon and i had a competition to see who could grow the fullest moustache in one week’s time . . . of course he won, and my moustache looked like the hair around a squirrel’s ass.
But, we all have really strange habits . . . we really enjoy filming really weird videos (no, not porn), and hopefully we can get a few more up on our website soon. We filmed some stuff of Shannon being a goofball on our tour of Japan last October, and it’ll make you cry it’s so funny.

M- Which item is always with you on tour ?

J- My electric toothbrush.

M- What is the most embarrasing thing that had been happen on stage so far ?

J- Well, since i’m sitting down in the back, stuff usually doesn’t happen to me. I’m sure Tom and Shannon have some stories since they’re on the front lines . . . let me ask them and get back to you about that one.

M- Did you ever get a really crazy fan-gift ?!

J- There’s a girl in Japan named Satomi who brought us gifts every day we were over there—a Maxeen photo book that she wrote and illustrated for us, which was really amazing, really nice Japanese hankerchiefs, tea cups, soap (was that a hint?), etc. that was great. She’s an amazing fan.

M- Will there be an European tour again ?

J- Although nothing is confirmed in stone yet, it looks like we’ll be over there for the summer festivals . . . news coming soon about that. Promise!

M- Which of your songs do you like most ?!

J- Well, that’s like asking, “Which of your kids do you like the most?“ When you come up with a song, it has some sort of meaning to you that’s personal. I like most of our songs, and i like them pretty equally. There have been a couple of new songs that i haven’t cared for, but, for the most part, i like them all.

M- They ask you to write a special song for raising money (like Band Aid did) and you can decide who`s in it, who would you choose and who definitely not ?

J- I’d definitely have The Futureheads in there . . . they’re the best new band in the past decade, and will kick everyone’s ass. Plus, Franz Ferdinand, the remaining members of Morphine, Brian May from Queen, Paul McCartney, Jane’s Addiction, Cheap Trick, and P.J. Harvey and Bjork.

M- A perfect day would be…

J- No day is ever perfect, is it?

M- Personal aim for that year ?

J- Make the best record possible.

M- Looking back to your high school years…which characterization fits you more: Geeky one or clown of class ?

J- I hated high school. Couldn’t stand it. But, i guess i was a mixture of the geek AND the class clown. I didn’t have anybody who wanted to kick my ass, though, which was good.

M- If you wouldn`t be a musician, what would you do today ?! And what job did you do before meeting the other guys ?

J- Large mammal vet, definitely. I was working at a bunch of different places before i met the guys . . . i once worked in the front office at a Catholic School in LA for like a week, but got into a fight with a nun and got canned. I was so happy to leave that place!