Q: I've read somewhere that you had a difficult
early life, how did this effect you as a child? What were your interests growing
up? Did you play sports or where you always into the arts? Did other children
give you a hard time?
AM: That's a lot of questions! Let's me see. I was
very fond of stamp collecting, knitting and ballet...so was MJ-in fact he still
does ballet. Haha! Seriously? I was a bit of a loner. I was into books and
drawing. My family came to Canada from the UK and settled in the suburbs.
Brampton. It was a shithole. The other kids at school? I gave as good as I got.
I'll be completely frank here-it wasn't the happiest childhood but hey many
others have had far worse...and I survived it.
Q: Do you draw from those experiences in your
songwriting today?
AM: No. I spend my time trying to forget :) ...I
draw upon everything that's happened to me.
Q: It often seems like the mold for a
singer-songwriter or any other artist is a difficult childhood. Do you feel that
pain gives you an advantage?
AM: I dunno. We all feel suffer and feel pain.
This is part of the human condition. I think if a person can sublimate pain into
something beautiful and higher than themselves-into a song or "art"-then that's
noble.
Q: And very healing...
AM: Halleluliah! "sexual healing" -No that's not
a proposition.
Q: How old where you when you discovered you can sing? Did you have any
classical training, or voice training? You play different instruments, where you
self taught?
AM: I was a songbird as a kid-choirs and stuff.
The singing kind of happened out of necessity. MJ can't really sing to save
his life. I had all these songs written and we just sort of fell into our roles
quite naturally.
Q: Your bands name is the kind of name that
sounds like a person, like Max Webster or Pink Floyd. What are the origins of
your band name?
AM: Its my name. Actually my middle name. I
always liked the idea of a name that was aspirational, larger than life. Your
creating myth here as well as a brand and an "idea".
Q: What is your first name?
AM: Its a secret.
Q: Any hint?
AM: Sure. Its in hieroglyphics and it ends in an
e.
Q: What does MJ stand for?
AM: Haha! There was a crooked Tory politician
over here who happened to have exactly the same name as my buddy. He couldn't
stand people constantly giving him the wind-up about it so out of that came the
moniker MJ.
Q: Would you describe yourself as a "political"
songwriter?
AM: Not really. Some of the songs may have
political themes-but I'm not primarily a social protest kind of
songwriter-although I do really admire those guys. I love phil Collins. Pardon
me! I mean Phil Ochs.
Q: I really like how you compose and arrange your
music, very classic rock. It sounds like it was recorded in the mid 70’s.
A cleaner untainted classic rock sound, was that your intention? Does self
producing your work at home give you more control over the sound?
AM: Yea, I've always loved songs that hit you
with everything and kind of leave you breathless. A really huge sound full of
hooks. I still find that irresistable. Great pop has a sense of urgency. This is
how I approach all my songwriting, weather its a ballad or a rocker. I think the
three minute single format kind of forces you to be concise. You've got very
little time to move someone-to sell your life.
Q: I've noticed that even traditional love songs
like "Too True To Be Good" have this anthemic feel? Does that come from your
britpop/glam roots?
AM: Yea. So much great music has been
made-everywhere in the Uk and over here. Why can't somone really dig Nirvana and
T.Rex? Oasis and Elliott Smith? If you get inspired by diversity then hopefully
one can create something new and original and help to "push things forward". Its
all about new combinations of things I think.
Q: It also helps when you have things to
say...Your lyrics are very diverse. I love your song "This Guys Got A Problem"
I hear shades of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" in this song. Are they
an influence? What's the story behind the song?
AM: You have very nice ears-I mean good ears! Its
a song about urban violence and war.
Q: I get the same sense with "We Are One" there's
a sense of rallying, taking a stand against a threat. What's does all that
mean?
AM: What does it mean to you? If you like the
song and it moves you then that's good enough for me. The magic of songwriting
is that any given song means different things to different people and a good
tune changes-it grows with the listener. I just write about what's important to
me and hopefully it will resonate with someone else.
Q: When trying to research some information on
you, I noticed that on your MySpace page there is none. Why is that?
AM: I'm a clone.
Q: What are your biggest pet peeves?
AM: Answering questions
Q: You’re a very interesting and mysterious man.
What would be one thing you would like fans to know about you?
AM: The best is yet to come