Interview with Red Maker

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Morgan- My dad was a pretty avid record collector, always playing all of these different albums. At some point I wanted to be able to make an album just like the one’s I obsessively listened to, and now here we are.

If I wasn’t doing music my dad also was big on movies. I’ve always loved horror films and still have dreams of being involved in that in some sort of way. Probably writing scripts just because I love writing so much.

Kyle: My dad got me into music.

I would’ve probably been a pilot, that’s about the most Ive ever dreamed of doing. Otherwise I’d be on the street

Sam: Honestly as a kid I wanted to be a comedian. Being a chubby, long-haired kid, I naturally liked Jack Black. He's funny, but he also plays music. That fact lead me to discover Weird Al, which then sent me down the rabbit hole of discovering a lot of older music, eventually joining band in school, and learning whatever I could get my hands on. If I never got into music, I'd probably have a degree in Computer Programming, since that has always been a fascination of mine.

What do you like to do when you’re not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Morgan- I tend to be with my family quite a bit. My relationships have inspired a lot of the songs I’ve written so far like “Better In Time” or “Song of Wings”. Whether I’m just wanting to talk about how happy I am in life or maybe even try to organize my thoughts when I’m confused or upset about things. It’s all very therapeutic for me.

Otherwise I’m at work which usually drives me to want to make this music thing happen so I can finally leave that situation. It also influences a lot of my angry work. “B!tch” was written about a day I had with a coworker who was being an unbelievable asshole to me, he’s also been a huge jerk to everybody else but when he did that to me I had to write a song about it before I blew my top. If you’re reading this Eric, fuck you!

Kyle: I tinker a lot. Just trying to make my own things, I’m always on a pursuit for something new. And that bleeds over into everything I do. I’m always tinkering with my tones.

Sam: When I'm not playing or working on music, I like to work on my old Buick or my motorcycle. I'd say they influence my creativity in a way where if I can't find or buy a tool or a part, I usually figure out some way to get what I need done (usually by not-so-safe means). I just love facilitating and getting things done, especially when it demands a different point of view to solve the problem.

How long has your band been around?

We started during the pandemic. Just jamming and writing but we only officially put out music and start ed gigging about a year ago. I feel like for the short while we’ve been around we’ve made quite a ruckus.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

We had one show last summer, I think it was only our second show even. And for some reason we agreed to play a four hour outdoors show. We did not have anywhere near enough material for four hours. We crammed a boatload of covers into our skulls in like 2 weeks. But during our jam on “B!tch” some cowboy came up to the front and started moshing with himself. The song is pretty groovy with a bunch of attitude and it must’ve possessed him. He got so rowdy he picked up one of the chairs and threw it over a bunch of our crowd and into the grass. We couldn’t believe it. Apparently about an hour before that he had just gotten kicked out of the bar for getting naked inside and decided to take the party outside for all of us to see.

What is your favorite venue to play, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

We’re big dreamers and big thinkers so of course we’re shooting for venues like Madison Square or Wembley. Long shots, but shots we plan on shooting for in the future. Any of those huge festivals would fun to play too like Lollapalooza.

But even with the big dreams we have our favorite venue has probably been the Shoebox in St. Paul. It’s a basement venue ran by the band Airship Caravan. We’ve never played anywhere so cool. Even compared to the real deal venues we’ve played, the Shoebox absolutely topped them all. Cool vibes, great crowds, never fails to have awesome bands, played there only a week ago and already dying to go back.

How did you get your name and what does it mean to you?

The name came from an old elementary school yard gang Morgan was in back in the day. The only reason why we even landed on it is because it’s the only name, after weeks of saying no to each others ideas, that one was thrown out and everyone was just like “sure”. Probably only agreed because we were sick of trying to find a name.

Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

We’re based out of Sioux Falls. If there’s a shallow answer to how it’s influenced our music it’s that there’s nothing to do except listen to album after album and practice hour after hour. Probably the reason why we’re always bringing in all of these ideas and different styles to our music. We come in saying “they did this on this punk album, or they did this on this Metallica song, we should try it too” just off our leash, in our own studio, trying out all sorts of things. All because there’s basically nothing to do.

If you could play any show with any line up, who would be on the ticket?

If we wanted to do a bill that’d make sense we’d play with bands like Hockey Dad or Soccer Mommy, or Snail Mail or somebody within our style.

If we wanted to have a killer time, we’re all raging metal heads so we’d probably be the odd band out on bill full of death metal and thrash bands. We’re just odd like that.

If I could name one band I’m sure we’d freak out about has got to be Pantera. We all wish we could’ve been there for that.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice you’d give yourself?

Morgan: If you’re first starting a band, I’d say make sure you’re in a band full of like minded people, in the sense that you’ve all got the same end goals, the same vision in mind. I’m sure it’s all self explanatory as to why. No one will put in the effort and care into your band as you will so make sure you’re asking that of somebody who wouldn’t share that with you.

Advice to myself, man write more, record more. No better way to close the gap on sucking at playing music than to not being half bad is to constantly create. Also i regret so much not practicing to a metronome so I’d definitely go back and change that if I could.

Sam: Advice for people who are just starting to play in a band? FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE. Make sure you all share the same goals, whether it's just for fun or if you want to be the next Beach Boys, if you're in a band then you're on a team, and they shouldn't slow you down. You'll be surprised how fast time can fly by with the wrong people, and how great the experience can be with the right people

Kyle: Play bass, people always looking for them so it’d help you landing a gig. And be open to things, new music, new adventures. It took me a long time to figure that one out and I’m happier for it now.

Of your songs, which one means the most to you and why?

Probably our song “B!tch”. It not only was a great release of frustration but it was one of those immediate “something rad is happening here”. It changes the crowd vibe every time we play it to a new crowd. It’s the song that’s the most requested, it’s so fun to play, it’s had the most success on Spotify and all of that. Can’t help but view it like a favorite child, like “you shouldn’t have a favorite favorite” but we’ve seen it do a lot for us so.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Get together with Red Maker sooner! Could’ve gotten so much further by now.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

We all write songs by ourselves and get together and see what everyone else can add and improve on. We really inspire and push each other in our creative process.

What kind of messages do you like to get across your music?

Experience life, is mainly our message. It’s good, bad, beautiful, ugly. Be present and experience everything life has to give. Make mistakes, have fun, be angry, feel happy. Just be there and experience it all.

Do you ever have disagreements in the band and how do you get past them?

With a band full of experienced musicians and strong personalities, of-course fights are going to happen. But you know, nothing either a reasonable conversation or a slug to your fucking face can’t solve.

What are your plans for the future, anything you want to spotlight?

Lots of shows going on right now, finished up recording and getting the rest of our album mixed. That should be coming out in the next couple of months so follow us everywhere to stay up to date for when it comes out!