There was a time when bands rocked.  I remember it well.  I may have been just a poor boy from a poor family, but I could always depend on Pearl Jam, the Smashing Pumpkins, Rage Against The Machine, Soundgarden, and Nirvana to keep me going.  Few bands play with that same sense of energy and urgency today.  However, Mae, the flourishing quintet from Virginia Beach, is one of today’s few exceptions.     

Mae, the acronym for multisensory aesthetic experience, is Dave Elkins (vocals, guitar), Jacob Marshall (drums), Mark Padgett (Bass, BG Vox, Sequencer), Zach Gehring (guitar), and Rob Sweitzer (keyboards).  The band’s name was derived from an academic major Marshall both created and studied at Old Dominion University.  The band defines multisensory aesthetic experience as the study of “how our senses interact and perceive information into terms the other senses can comprehend.”   

The band is collectively inspired by the Holy Trinity of music:  The Beatles, U2, and The Police.  This is clearly evident in the band’s first two releases.  Mae self-produced their initial album, Destination: Beautiful, in Padgett’s father’s shed, and The Everglow, a detailed account of two years of tour experiences, was produced by the musical genius Ken Andrews (Failure, Year of Rabbit).  Both albums were released on the indie label Tooth & Nail.  Mae is currently in the initial stages of completing a third album, which the magazine Alternative Press put on its “Most Anticipated” list.  Like the aforementioned legendary bands, Mae excels both melodically and lyrically.   

(Photo courtesy of Mae – from left to right – Mark Padgett, Jacob Marshall, Dave Elkins, Rob Sweitzer, and Zach Gehring)

Interview:

I caught up with Mae’s drummer Jacob Marshall in Cincinnati, where the band is headlining the last tour for The Everglow album.  Even though I was running late and Marshall did not have a lot of time before going on stage, he graciously spent his scarce free time conversing about the band. 

How has the last tour for Mae’s second EP The Everglow been going? 

Mae’s Jacob Marshall: We have been on the road now for 10 shows, and it has been absolutely outstanding.   

You have already sold out several shows.   

Jacob:  And we have done it without a radio play or a relationship with MTV.  We have been pleasantly surprised.  It has been a year-and-a-half since the release of The Everglow and the life of the album has been incredible.  It seems like it just keeps going and going.