Do you attribute the strong following to the band’s use of technology (i.e.  The band’s myspace site and several members have blogs)?    

Jacob:  John Frazier, head of marketing, deserves all the credit for all of our advances in the technology realm.  He is the most passionate music lover that I know.  He has worked so hard and given so much of his heart and soul to help the band.  This is where indie labels have an advantage over major labels, having a smaller caseload; the indie labels are able to spend more energy with those types of personal touches.   

Mae was born as a studio band; yet, the band has been on the road continuously since 2002.  Do you see the band as a studio band, touring band, or a band that can do both?   

Jacob:  We definitely want to have a balance between the road and studio.   

After reading lead singer Dave Elkins’ blog, he said the band just finished writing the last track to the new CD.  Is the new CD all ready for production?   

Jacob: No, when Dave wrote that post, he meant that we had finished writing the last track for the new CD.  Right now we have 16 to 17 ideas.  Probably 11 songs will come out of that.  Currently, we are still writing lyrics.   

The Everglow told the stories and experiences from two years traveling on the road.  Will the new CD have a common theme throughout?    

Jacob:  It won’t be as overtly conceptual as The Everglow.  Our goal as a band is to put together an album, not a collection of songs.  The benefit of writing that way is you do not have to do it all in one song.  Each song doesn’t have to have a resolution.     

In terms of dissecting Mae’s lyrics, are you asking more out of your fans? 

Jacob:  To genuinely follow a CD requires not knowing the big picture.  Just like us during the writing process of The Everglow, we were so innocent and naïve.  We had no idea what the big picture was.  We were literally making it from one little boast to the next, like finally being able to afford a hotel room, then two hotel rooms, then a touring bus.  We definitely have an appreciation for where we came from.  Our music will continue to show this growth.   

Not to be a name dropper, but when I spoke with Guster’s Ryan Miller, he also mentioned the lifestyle change of graduating to a tour bus.  Do you notice the same positive effects?   

Jacob: Definitely.  It allows you to breathe and refocus attention.  Although it does sacrifice the extreme camaraderie the band had in the van, it allows each of us to have our own space and restore our perspectives.