Interview with the Artist of the Week Andrew Mack
Andrew Mack is an aspiring pop singer from Florida who recently released an EP called “Head Verses Heart”, which is available for free download! Check out our interview with him below where we ask him about music, growing up and his EP!
How old were you when you realized music was your passion?
“I was in sixth grade when I first picked up the guitar and started singing. But, it was probably in third, fourth and fifth grade when I had a piano at my house and my mom and my dad forced me to take piano lessons for a year that I realized I wanted to pursue music. When I was in sixth grade I wanted to be more of a rocker and play guitar.”
What got you into music in general?
“My family. My family has a background in music. My great grandma used to play violin for a really big orchestral piece up in Boston. I’ve always been an artistic person, so music always just came naturally to me. At a very young age I just grew into it.“
Growing up what kind of music did you listen to?
“It’s pretty embarrassing I started off listening to a lot of Rap. Then in Middle School my friends showed me bands like Blink-182 and all those pop punk bands, So I really got into them. Then in High School I started listening to more mature music like John Mayer, and artist’s along that line instead of such pop punk bands.”
Who would you say are your inspirations in the music industry?
“Totally Tom DeLonge, the dude that plays guitar and sings for Blink-182. He’s kind of the reason I shifted from piano to electric guitar and wanted to be a rock’n’roll guy. As I got older I defiantly started to look up to John Mayer as an artist all around because he started his career as a pop artist and grew into became a really well-known guitar player.”
If you could collaborate with any one artist who would you pick and why?
“Just to throw a curveball in there, I don’t know why, but I’m going to go with Kanye West. Even if it was to just have him produce something, because I know he worked with John Mayer on this track called Bittersweet, and it was cool to hear Kanye do the verse’s and then have John Mayer sing chorus’. It was cool to hear something different. I have an appreciation for things that are different from the normal. Sorry I know that’s a weird answer [laughs].”
The EP you recently released is available for a free download, why did you release it for free instead of charging fans on iTunes?
“I’m just in a place where even if someone just listens to a song of mine that’s amazing to me, I don’t need your money. I’m not doing this for money! I’m doing this because music just comes out of me so naturally. I do it to make myself feel good too. If I can write songs that people relate to and enjoy listening to, or a song that they will show to their friends, that means more to me then a dollar or something per song. So, I like to give away music for free. I used to be in a big rock band here in Orlando called Madeira and we were up and rising and d haa lot of attention given our way. I totally always made the guys in the band give away our music for free. I think we only charged for like one song out of our whole year-long career we had down here. I think the music industry is headed in a direction that it makes more sense to have music that is easily available to listen to. You can make money from touring and merchandise or whatever else, you don’t need money from songs. I’m just trying to give back, I don’t need a dollar per song.”
What is your favorite song off of the EP you released?
“Probably New Rose. It’s more of a poppy upbeat one. The funny thing about the three songs that I released, those are all songs that I finished and had written in 2008 or prior. .Asking me why, which is the last song on the EP I wrote when I was a junior in High School. I didn’t even start a solo project until this year, because I was always working on other projects like being in bands and stuff. But, New Rose was the song that stuck out to me the most and it’s one I always wanted to record. Now like four years later I finally got the chance to do it.”
What is the meaning behind the song New Rose?
“It’s more or less about when you meet someone. Like when a guy meets a girl and you don’t know that girl but you fall in love at first sight. It’s about that feeling of thinking that something is so impossible, but then it actually happens. Like when a guy meets a girl and thinks “oh, she’s way to pretty for me” or “she’s out of my league” and then later on down the road you and that girl end up with each other and [the song New Rose] is about that emotion and feeling you get that is just so impossible to you, and it becomes a reality. It’s about being unexpected.”