Meet Maybird

Sometimes I just need a blast from the past. But like, make it weird. Make it woozy. Make it feel like I’m in a dream sequence in Across The Universe or something.  Rochester’s Maybird does just that. 

With a bevy of fun synths and distorted guitar, these guys produce visceral psychedelic tinged rock that will get your head swaying, your feet tapping, and your brain dreaming. 

Below, we called in these trippy fellahs to discuss their nostalgic longings, the best parks, and the “magick” of good coffee. 

Brew yourself some joe and give this a gander…for old time’s sake.

A CHARMING STORY WITH A HAPPY ENDING a Mad-Lib by, Maybird

Once upon a RABBIT, there were three little pigs. The first little pig was very QUESTIONABLE, and he built a house for himself out of RABBITS. The second little pig was CANTANKEROUS, and he built a house out of DOCTORS. But the third little pig was a PHANTOM, and he built his house out of genuine SOMNAMBULISTS . Well one day, a mean old wolf came along and saw the houses. “OH YOU!” he said. "I'll DANGLE and I'll WRANGLE and I'll blow your house down." And he blew down the first little pig's TUG BOAT and the second little pig's WOMEN. The two little pigs ran to the third pig's house. Thereupon, the wolf began blowing, but he couldn't blow down BENNY BOY THE OCTOPUS’s house. so he SNUFFED off into the forest, and the three little GANGLY-DANGLY pigs moved to Chicago and went into the sausage business.

Would You Rather…

be stuck in an elevator with three of your exes, or sharing an Uber with all of their mothers?

Sam: Share the Uber, my exes parents all really liked me.

Some Questions with Maybird

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Sam: A top a large mess we’ve created

How and when did you start making music together?

Josh: Adam and I are brothers, so we started playing music together when we were babys. Sam and I met when we both lost a Battle of the Bands at my school. I think we decided we wanted to play music together that night.

How does nostalgia play into your music?

Josh: I’d say we blend some nostalgic sounds (mostly from era’s of music we weren’t alive for) with nostalgic lyrics pretty often. A text book example would be our song “Looking Back” - we made a music video for that song using old family videos, mostly on VHS tape.

What are the key ingredients to a good album?

Adam: I am going to steal something I recently read Jeff Tweedy say, that an album should have its own “internal logic.” I like that. Classic albums are like planets you can visit with their own laws of physics, mythologies, emotions, etc…

What is your favorite park in NYC?

Sam: Central Park because it’s the perfect park. 

Adam: This is a hard one…For mushroom foraging: Prospect Park. For walking and talking: Central Park. For skateboarding: Maria Hernandez Park. There is a special place in my heart for Bryant Park, due to its proximity to the NYPL (its stacks stretch below the park…which is kind of mind-blowing and very New York).

What was the last fight you had about / with?

Adam: Josh after our fight.

What is your morning routine?

Adam: The only solid routine I have is making coffee. Sometimes at night, I start to look forward to the morning’s coffee. I roast my own beans (Maybird’s Coffee Magick available at select shows), and every morning grind some and make a Chemex full. I know somewhere out there Sam is doing the same thing. Sometimes I’m listening to a podcast, or if it’s a Friday, I might start checking out new music early in the morning with my coffee. If I have unusual dreams that seem worth documenting I’ll write them down. Recently, I dreamt that I was given a pet goat on a grassy bank by a mall after going through a portal in a secret attic at my parents house. It was very Being John Malkovich.

What is your favorite part of song-writing? Do you take any influence from other writers or artists?

Josh: I take plenty of influence from all the cool shit I hear, new and old. And that’s got to be one of my favorite elements of songwriting too. Trying to take this and that influence and create something unique sounding with whatever comes from them.

Describe your music in three colors.

Sam: Green because it’s sometimes sad/blue, and sometimes happy/yellow

Yellow because the Simpsons were yellow and Bart Simpson would be a big fan

And indigo because no one’s ever seen it, sort of like how no one knows who we are (yet).

How do you feel about greyhounds in sweaters?

Sam: Prefer cats

What has been the biggest highlight in your music career so far?

Sam: Playing at Electric Lady and getting cursed by Jimi

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Sam: Support your local biz’s