Canadian Music Week is coming up and we had a chance to chat with some of the bands! We met John at a drive in theatre and chatted about Canadian Music Week.
1: Describe your sound for those who haven’t heard you?
I like to call my music "Motivational Modern Rock" because I've fused my passion for songwriting with my passion for studying mindset and personal growth material. I've found my own way to write songs inspired from life lessons and experiences, both positive and negative, with subtle nuggets of thought for people to find if that's what they're looking for. Two of my biggest influences growing up were Bruce Springsteen and Billie Joe Armstrong (of Green Day), but musically I feel like my sound falls under a modern day throwback of mid-90's alternative to early-2000's rock, occasionally seasoned with some flavour from pop, country, and even Disney music.
2: What is your favourite part of Canadian Music Week?
I'm a huge fan of both the festival and the conference! Networking with other artists and bands is something that I learned at a grassroots level while growing up. There's nothing better than bar and club hopping around the city, meeting up with old friends and kicking off new relationships with a band that you've never heard of who just blew you away when you accidentally caught their showcase. And I'm like a sponge during the conference. We never stop learning through life and there's no better place to fill up your cup of music biz knowledge than attending the seminars and keynotes. CMW does an amazing job of bringing in the best and brightest individuals who have their finger on the pulse of the industry.
3: Who is one of your favourite local bands?
I love that you've asked this question but unfortunately I can't answer...unless you don't mind me listing more than just one ;) Let's have a little fun with it. First I'll start by expanding the word "local" to "independent" (not signed to a major label) because I'm sure that's where we're going with this. And second, we'll use the parameters that these bands/artists are Canadian, actively performing, and I have purchased music in support of them, have personally worked with them (as a sign of my investment into their careers), or would travel out of town to see them play. And we'll limit it to 10, so that I don't run off the page with this. In no particular order, here are a bunch of my fav bands/artists and where they're generally based out of:
Texas King (London, ON)
The Honest Heart Collective (Thunder Bay, ON)
Loviet (Toronto, ON via Nova Scotia)
Acres of Lions (Victoria, BC)
Handheld (Kitchener, ON)
Madison Galloway (Fergus, ON)
Billy The Kid aka Billy Pettinger (Alabama via Vancouver, BC)
Harley Olivia (Toronto, ON)
JP Sunga (Waterloo, ON)
KIRA aka Kira Isabella (Toronto, ON)
4: Whats coming up for you?
At the time of writing this, I have a new song called "Fix My Attitude" that has just been mastered and will be an upcoming release, though I'm still working on securing the release date for it. Also in a week from now I will be performing and speaking at my first Keynote Concert in Waterloo, which is a new type of event I'm producing that mixes bands/artists that have good energy with inspirational speakers/storytellers taking turns on the same stage. Later this year I'll be performing at CMW (and of course attending the conference), and we're working on landing a few festival bookings for this summer. I'm also always working on new music with my band, so we are likely to find ourselves in the studio as well. For anyone reading this, if you're interested in what I do and would like to work together on something, reach out on socials or through my website and let's connect!
5: Where can people find you? What are your social media links?
I love connecting with people on socials or through my website. My main presence is on Instagram and Facebook @JohnMaksymMusic and you can find my music on all of the major streaming platforms.
Website: https://johnmaksymmusic.com/
Email: JohnMaksymMusic@gmail.com
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