About a month ago, the band MAITA set out on tour beginning in Portland, Oregon. The band is based in the Pacific Northwest city and will travel are currently travelling down into California and will return back up home to Portland. They will be making a stop at one of Davis' DIY venues, Magic Mansion, this coming Friday, July 19th at 6 pm and promise 90's indie rock tunes. I had a chance to talk to the band's singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Maria, via e-mail and Facebook Messenger to ask a few questions before they arrive in Davis for their show.
For more information about the show check out the Facebook Event
Interview
Who is MAITA? What was the motivation to start making music and when?
MAITA is the project name under which I started performing music about 5 years ago. The songs are written by me (Maria Maita-Keppelr) and Matthew Zeltzer plays guitar and engineers and helps produce them. We co-manage the project, and the live performances can range from being just me to a four-piece band. Although I'm the songwriter, my bandmates (Matthew, and my other drummer Cooper Trail and other bassist Nevada Sowle) have played a large part in arranging the songs and writing parts for them.
How is it pronounced? I know I've been struggling to say it!
MY-tah
Since Maita seems to be a female fronted band, have you experienced and sexism in the music industry from a local to larger scale level?
I've been fortunate enough in that department to be based out of Portland, OR, which has such a wide array of talented women who are active players in the music industry. I do think we are at a time now where there is a shift and the industry as a whole is started to change and recognize that a vast amount of the amazing new music that is coming out now is not being made by men. I think the main thing that needs to change now is for the other facets of the music industry to change--we need more sound people, producers, engineers, managers, bookers--to be women. The artists are just the tip of the iceberg and until the other parts of the web change, there will always be trickle down sexism.
What is your main goal in making and sharing music?
I have always valued music for the emotional impact that it creates. I leaned on it growing up as a source of catharsis, as a partner to whatever feelings I wanted to heal or recognize within myself. I was at a live show the moment I decided I wanted to pursue being an artist. I stood there feeling so full of visceral emotion and gratitude for the opportunity to have that experience. It truly is a form of therapy, and I wanted to be a part of that world, to bring that to others.
What's one thing that you really want the listener to get out of your music?
Emotional sincerity and intimacy. We live in a world today where so much of our daily lives is getting less and less personal, more automated, more separated. People barely have to communicate with one another and our attention spans are getting progressively worse. I firmly believe that we need to preserve our ability to feel, to communicate with one another about things that are real and things that matter in life, which is in turn vital to fostering empathy and compassion.
At least in Davis, DIY is dying. Have you been involved in the Portland DIY music scene and does it seem to be on the up or down?
It's hard for me to say whether it's on the up or down, because the scene in Portland is fairly multi-faceted. There are so many mini-scenes that revolve around different friend groups, with new house show spots popping up and disappearing all the time. I hope it isn't dying but I think if it was, it is still just as likely that another friend group will form and start another.
What's your favorite part about touring/least favorite?
I really love touring. I like being in a different place every day, and meeting new people as well as connecting with old. I see some of my friends who live in different cities more than I see the people I know who live in Portland. I love getting to have new experiences and not settling into a routine.
I suppose my least favorite part of touring is not being able to give yourself the self-care that you can at home. Exercise is a big one, and sleep. I also miss cooking myself a home-cooked meal, which is a pretty rare opportunity on tour. Eating out gets old after a while.
Find MAITA
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4vS7F8WLAPxQyMNAAHt9pn
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