Artist Spotlight: Max Boyle
Artist Spotlight: Max Boyle - Cold As Ice
Cold As Ice by Max Boyle live in Nashville, TN
Don’t forget to turn on notifications for new updates and videos like Cold As Ice by Max Boyle! 🙌🏼
Recorded, Edited, Produced by Chaz Mazzota + Nashville Pop Check out her interview below!
Watch the Video
An Interview With Max Boyle
Tells us about the song you are performing for the Nashville Pop Artist Spotlight. What is it about?
“The song is titled Cold As Ice. It is an edgy, sassy, "F you" type of song that deals with the situation of catching someone in the act of lying to you and just being like “you know what, you suck and I’m over it.” I wrote it by myself on an acoustic guitar, and it was brought to life / produced with Joey Liechty in his home studio in Nashville. The full production on the song is a ton of fun and has some pop rock elements to it.”
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
“I describe it as Pop/Soul/Singer-Songwriter all kinda mashed into one. I basically say it's like if Ed Sheeran, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, JP Cooper, and Justin Timberlake had a baby.”
What first got you into music? How did the journey begin?
“I'm the youngest of 6 kids, and music was kind of a normal, casual part of our household. We had a piano and some guitars, and everyone would play or sing a little bit as a hobby. So basically I was just kind of brought up enjoying being around music, listening to my siblings sing or play guitar / listening to whatever they had downloaded on Napster, which had a wide variety of different genres. So early on I discovered artists like Rascal Flatts, Usher, James Morrison, and so many more. Singing became a hobby for me at a young age, but I was very insecure and nervous about it, so I never sang for anyone, not even my family. My friends didn't know I liked to sing too, sports was all I was involved in and I never sang around them either. I randomly got the courage to upload a cover on Facebook of You Found Me by The Fray when I was 17, and it got a good response, so I started uploading them more. Eventually, I joined my high school's gospel choir my senior year of high school, and that's where I performed live for the first time. From there, I started writing and focusing on getting better on guitar, and started slowly working into playing some shows here and there, and eventually started releasing music a couple years after that..”
What does your music represent?
“My music and music in general to me is just a means of expression. The songs I write and release come from an authentic place and usually real life, first hand experiences. So I suppose my music represents authenticity.”
What is your creative process like?
“Many of the songs I've released have been written by myself on my guitar, sitting on my bedroom floor at like 3 am. Since I've moved to Nashville, I've been cowriting much more, but the process is typically the same. I usually just mess around with some chords on the guitar or piano, and start humming melodies that feel good. I really focus on how i want the the melody and phrasing to sound and feel like, usually just singing a bunch of gibberish, and then many times try to fit lyrics into those structures. You can have great lyrics, but if that feeling in the melody and phrasing isn't there when singing it, it isn't going to hit as hard. I try writing in a journal or in my notes pretty consistently without any guitar or melodies as well, so sometimes the idea or lyrics come first and I find a melody and chord progession to fit it.”
If you were to open for any 3 artists, who would they be?
“Ed Sheeran, Allen Stone, and JP Cooper. I love all of those artists and I feel like I'd be a good fit to open for them.”
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
“I would most likely be a counselor of some sort.”
What is the best advice you’ve been given so far in the music industry?
“I think the best advice I received was when I was kind of just getting into the music industry, a little before I moved to Nashville a few years ago. It was from an A&R / Manager who has been in the industry for a while, and he basically just pointed out how hard you need to grind. I think sometimes we think talent alone will get us where we need to be, but that isn't the case most of the time. No one is going to just come along and sweep you into being successful. You have to do all the little things you can to gain an edge, to advance your career. Work on your craft consistently, reach out to industry people to get on there radar, make an effort to maintain connections, put yourself in situations that are out of your comfort zone, establish your brand, not count on any free handouts, but also basically do everything you can to have everything already in motion when someone does come along that can potentially help further your career.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
“I love how what we create connects with people. It's such a cool experience to put something out in the world that came from within you, and for people to consume it, and be like, "something about this makes me feel something, I like that," especially when it's a complete stranger.”
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives such as yourself?
“I'm not sure about all of society, but like a small musician's career begins with friends and family. The best thing friends and family can do at the very least is share and listen to the music, show up to the shows they put on, etc. This career is such a grind and the odds are so against you, it helps having that small core to build upon.”
Social Media
Nashville Pop: @nashvillepop.us
Max Boyle: @MaxBoyleMusic
Chaz Mazzota: @itschazmazzota
Join The Community
Nashville Pop is a community that supports Emerging Artists outside the realm of Country Music with Community and Events throughout Nashville, TN.
Sunset Sessions a tiny desk style live performance at sunset featuring original music by local nashville artists.
Artist Spotlight Features happen monthly and slots fill up fast! If you want to jump in the Nashville community and share your music. Check out the links below!
Join the Nashville Pop Community or Signup to Play
Nashville Pop Playlist:
The Nashville Pop Playlist is a curated spotify playlist featuring local Nashville Artists. It’s a great way to find new artists in town for collaborations and to keep an eye out for new music releases. The Nashville Pop playlist updates on the 10th of every month and submissions can be sent via email.
