Interview: Maddock Park
Background on Maddock Park
"My Name is Frank Albanese, and I grew up in Michigan. I was born in Pontiac, but grew up in the White Lake area. I was put into piano lessons at a really young age, I believe I was 2-3 years old. I remember learning John Williams' songs (composer of Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc). I grew up around music because my grandmother was really good at piano and my great aunt played the organ in a traveling circus in Europe, two generations before me. Finally, my mother played piano, and I continued on with the lessons. My father played guitar in the Army, but not much around the house, so it wasn’t until I was twelve years old, when my godfather gifted me a guitar and it changed my life.
I started learning chords and taking lessons with a local instructor called Dave Mende. He was an amazing guitarist, and he taught in his free time during his retirement at the local high school. He taught me a lot about form and such, and as the years went on, I just continued writing songs and went on to record on a two-track stereo. Eventually, I upgraded to a four-track and then a D4 for unlimited tracks, and then I started joining a bunch of bands throughout middle school and high school. Many of them didn’t play live, but we wrote songs and went through the flow of things until I came to a project called Revolutionaries. It was a two-piece band, and we played covers by White Stripes and played Pop Punk on the keyboard. We went as far as creating an EP, but never got around to doing anything with it, which is kind of sad. Around that similar time, I started a band with another group of my friends called Act of Novelty. We eventually turned into a band called The Natives and started recording songs and playing shows.
Then our name changed once more, and I worked on another project called Spare The Thief, and that turned into a band called Charlies Orchard. And that turned into a project called Aviva, which is the project I’m working on right now. And now that turned into Maddock Park, which is the name of an actual park in Michigan that I walk my dog at. There was something so peaceful about it and it was one of the highlights of my day.
One morning I woke up and had an idea for a song. It just flowed out on piano; it's hard to describe, but I just felt inspired to start this project and the name Maddock Park came to me. I started my social media and did a few covers and it led into my title track ‘Rebel with a Cause’ which is on my current album.
I went into a studio to work on vocals and I serendipitously met a man named Jeff who was starting his own record label. He was looking for artists and listened to my music and when he got back to me; he shared that they’d love to collaborate on an album, this album. We worked together, and I met so many people in that project. I put myself in many situations that I wasn't sure I’d be comfortable in. As an artist, I’d always been kind of shy and was pretty much the only person listening to my music until this.”
Where is the number one area playing your music right now?
“Mexico City. It's so cool to me, it looks like an amazing place and I’ve seen videos of bands like Arctic Monkeys playing at festivals there. I think they have a taste for rock, alternative and punk. It's great and inspiring to see an audience growing there and makes me think about when I’m releasing music. Maybe some people from Mexico City will listen to it.”
When you started making music, did you think it’d be hard finding an audience?
“I wasn’t really thinking about that. What I’m learning is that it's a journey. There're no guarantees, and if you’re really into music sharing, you have to take those steps to reach out to people and let them know you’re here. Many people may not like it or listen to it, because everyone has different tastes. But it's important to celebrate every little step of success along the way because sometimes things are slow and it's easy for people to start doubting their art. So, I just constantly remind myself that I love what I’m doing and I’ve loved it since I was two years old.”
How hard would you say that it is to be authentic?
“That's why I was so shy because I write songs for myself and what I think is meaningful. When I’m in that mode, I’m not thinking about if something is presentable and that to me is what I love about art, everyone is unique, even if the melodies are the same as another artist, they’re unique. Music is one of the few things you can do and somehow all be unique because everyone doesn’t play the same.”
How interesting is it to have someone else listen to your music and relate to it with another meaning?
“When I’m writing songs or singing, I’m kind of thinking of memories from my life and I know that people have different memories. I’m really curious about what people think about when hearing someone's song. It's the beauty of art. My goal is to just be honest and write things I’m proud of. Numbers are just interesting, but not a measure of success. It's a reminder that music is universal. Art is something where no one owns it, you don’t pay for it, because it's used to express yourself.”
What made you passionate about music?
“I could hear a song from someone in a different language, but the emotion and chord progression or even the choice in rhythms help me feel. For example, punk rock and hip hop, which just has a vibe. It's beautiful, it's just really cool. It's just a way of seeing someone be free.”
Do you think for musicians it's easier to transcend different languages of music rather than a traditional listener?
“It's really hard to answer for other people, I can only answer for myself. It's almost like in popular music there is that pressure to listen to that new Drake song for example, but just being able to take a step back and listen to an obscure band from Venezuela, for example, you connect to it more. For me, I listen to music with no pre-qualifying factor. I just listen for honesty, if it feels sincere to me I like it. Like the genre doesn’t matter as long as someone is being themselves and being courageous and not trying to fit a mold.”
Who are some of your favorite artists or songs right now?
“I’ve been going through a couple of Coldplay songs. Like The Scientist, Yellow, Fix You. I’ve also been listening to Denver artists' music recently, one by the name of Zanib. She’s afronubian and plays violin.”
