Chris Maxwell on Craft, Commerce + Connection
The Peak talks to Emmy award winning songwriter/composer Chris Maxwell ABOUT musical creativity, modern commerce + making connections.
Photo by Bobby Fisher
Chris Maxwell has been making riveting music for nearly three decades now. First, as leader of Arkansas's Gun Bunnies, then with NYC post-punk pioneers Skeleton Key, and most recently as a critically acclaimed solo artist.
He is one half of Elegant Too, the music production team he co-founded with Phil Hernandez. Together, they have composed for a vast swath of acclaimed TV shows and films: Bob’s Burgers, Inside Amy Schumer, John Oliver, ESPN, Anthony Bourdain, and the list goes on... We checked in with Chris about his current take on musical creativity and modern commerce and if ever the twain shall meet.
How did Elegant Too come to be?
Elegant Too, Phil Hernandez and I, started doing remixes and making beats in my bedroom studio in Tribeca in the mid-90’s. It was the dawn of home recording software—the DAW (digital audio workstation). We had a connection with Daddy’s House, which was Puff Daddy’s studio, and they would send us stuff to remix. We were learning, figuring out the software while working with acapellas from some of the biggest names in Rap: Biggie, Mace, Lox, Puff Daddy (as he was known at the time). From there, we started producing a lot of Lower East Side bands. We also did live shows as a duo. That was fun—a very strange mix of my songs and sample-based creations that we would play with guitar and drums, and then we’d both trigger sounds. It was primitive but when it worked, it was great, and when it didn’t work well….
From Gun Bunnies to Skeleton Key and your current solo albums, you have a long history of making creatively rich, inventive records. How do you bring that same artistic integrity to your day job?
I’m lucky that my day job is writing music for shows that I like and for people I like. Though most of the time it’s silly fun, the aesthetics are cool and they allow me and Phil to bring ideas that push the boundaries a little. I wouldn’t say I bring the same artistic integrity from my personal work to the TV and film work, but I think that’s by design. I do get to bring the craft I’ve honed as a songwriter, producer, etc...to the work, but I can keep it separate from what I want to say as an artist. I don’t want to feel like I’ve spent what I want to say on someone else’s creation.
How do art and commerce play off each other with your TV and film work? Do you ever feel like you're making compromises?
Art is a tricky word. I don’t think I try to make art as much as I try to be artful doing what the job calls for. As far as compromises, with regard to film and TV, it’s all compromise or most of it is anyway and that’s OK. It’s not my baby. It belongs to the creator of the show or the writer. I’m just trying to help them tell their story. I just hope that they chose me to help them because they like how I approach solving musical problems. That world is very different from working with a band or producing my own material. When it’s my baby, I try to make no compromises. That’s why it takes me so long to make a record. :)
Phil Hernandez lives in Panama. You live in Woodstock. The Bob's Burgers team is in LA. That's a very modern workflow, and something you were doing pre-pandemic. How do you make it all work? What tools do you use? Any suggestions for approach?
I started working out of my house in Woodstock in the early aughts. The technology was just getting a grip on helping people work remotely. It got up to speed very quickly with tools like Dropbox and Slack, which are the two ways we toss things back and forth. Before that, Phil and I spent years together sharing one mouse and one screen. I don’t know that we’d have the kind of working synergy we have if we hadn’t had that time together at the beginning. Nothing beats being in a room with somebody. You can’t know someone if all you have to go on is a digital version of them, at least not in the same way. Having said that, I love how it’s all come together and how we are able to work together.
Did Covid-19 change anything for Elegant Too?
Not really, except we haven’t flown out to LA in a while, which is unusual.
Tell us about your most recent album, New Store No.2. The pandemic impacted its release. What happened? What did you do differently to reach people's ears? How do you leverage the internet to reach an audience?
Well, I spent several years making a record. I played two shows: Feb 28th at the Colony which was a musical highlight for me, then a second show in NYC on March 4th, which was also a great night, and that was it. Poof! Done. I did get a lot of great press and I did some interesting articles. Using Facebook and Instagram, I was able to continue promoting. The website LTL MTN made for me was a huge help, allowing me to show the work, rather than tell about it. I made a few videos that came out great, and that helped. Ultimately, nothing can replace live music, but everyone was in exactly the same place, so we all did the best we could.
How do you make time for your own art, while attending to Elegant Too business, as well as recording other musicians?
It’s hard, but there are always lulls. You just have to be ready when they come. Also, being a songwriter is something that is always on. Songs begin for me mostly with a few words that resonate. I’m always listening for those moments. I make notes and then when there is time to sit with them, I try to be ready.
Do you have any frustrations, worries, or paranoia about conducting business - or life - online?
Oh yeah. Big time!! Life seems small to me when it comes out of little boxes like our phones and computers—no matter how good the resolution. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so glad that I can live here and make music in a little shed on my property that I know a few days later literally millions of people will hear. I try to apply the same rules to technology as I do all my vices—everything in moderation.
What are your goals, aspirations, or hopes for your online world?
The pandemic has done a number on all of us. For many of us, it’s made our online lives front and center. I look forward to getting back to working with people in a room again and having my online world be a means to that end.
For more on Chris Maxwell and his musical endeavors, visit maxwellsongs.com and eleganttoo.com.