Max Restaino – Another Rainy Night in Paris

By starrymag | May 3, 2021

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) My sound is pop with a jazz influence with timeless sounding melodies that tend to write themselves.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) I love everything from ELO, Supertramp, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, The BeeGees to beautiful classical jazz songs and trading folk, but I think it was Quincy Jones that once said, “There are only two types of music, good and bad.” And I just like anything that appeals to me

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Before I Lose Faith in You.”

 

A) I have always wanted to write a Gospel song with a big sound like “Man in The Mirror.” So, “Before I Lose Faith in You” was a style that I wanted to write for a long time. It is a song from the forthcoming album that I am most proud of lyrically and the horns were fun to arrange and record.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) The song is about holding on to someone important to you and I think that’s been a very poignant message for the last year we have all experience d and had to live through.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) There isn’t a set way of writing it, composing, that I stick to, but personally I find writing the lyrics first and the putting a melody to the lyrics is much easier for me. The melodies seem to write itself. There’s nothing worse than having a beautiful melody and forcing lyrics onto it. It becomes a puzzle and the words can start to have no meaning in order to fit the melody. So, lyrics first for me.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) I think it’s important to do as much if the production as possible, otherwise your vision gets blurred and lost. I write the music and lyrics, arrange each instrument and play and record the piano, guitar, accordion, saxophone, vocals, arrange the backing vocals and record all the strings, etc. Then, I sometimes send the song to be mixed and mastered. My band are great at playing what I’m hearing, and we have been working together so long we can finish each other’s sentences. I have looked up to Jeff Lynne all my life as he does the same process as me.

 

Q) What are some themes you explore on your upcoming album Another Rainy Night in Paris?

 

A) Another Rainy Night in Paris is loosely a concept album. The concept being the entire album is one big dream. I came up with this idea to give me something interesting to write about lyrically. The first song “If Only Dreams Come True” is where the character falls asleep. The album ends with “You Can Run But You Can’t Hide,” representing a nightmare and the character wakes up at the end of the track.

 

Q) What songs off the album that really hold a special place in your heart?

 

A) If I had to pick one song it would be “More Than Life.” I wrote “More Than Life” for my girlfriend a few months after we met. She came to see me play for the first time when I was supporting Peter Andre in 2019 and I surprised her on stage with the song she had never heard before.

Also, a song I wrote with radio one legend Mike Read. The song is called “New York High.” When I listen to it now, I can’t believe it’s a song I had a hand in. If someone told me it was a jazz standard by Sinatra I would believe them. Mike is a great lyricist. He sent me the lyrics and I wrote the melody and produced it.

 

Q) What tracks challenged you the most to create?

 

A) “Before I Lose Faith in You” – I spent a long time on the lyrics because I knew I wanted to make them powerful and meaningful and didn’t want to rush or just say anything. “Before I Lose Faith in You” was the most challenging on the album.

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from fully listening to Another Rainy Night in Paris?

 

A) All writers will tell you that the only thing that matters is making sure the audience feels something. If you can evoke an emotion in a listener, you have done your job as a writer.

 

Q) You’ve worked with a number of incredible artists. Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) I would absolutely love to work with some of the greats like Jeff Lynne or Paul McCartney, but most of all I would love Quincy Jones to produce some of my songs as he is the greatest producer and music arranger of all time.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) At the moment, it’s been a singer from the 70s called Gilbert O Sullivan. He wrote a song called “Alone Again Naturally.” One of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard melodically and lyrically. The saddest and most poetic lyrics ever written. He has many great songs and I think people should rediscover his music.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) I am on all social medias:

Facebook: Max Restaino Music

Instagram: max_restaino

 

It is important to use social media as a way to connect with people. I don’t think it has ever been so easy for musicians to become close to their fans and share posts and music with them so easily.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan

 

A) I really hope you like the new music and that it resonates with you. I hope we’ll get to see each other at a gig or a concert really soon. Thanks for all the support.