For the better part of a decade, Aaron Maine has been an omnipresent force in the indie rock world, releasing consistently impressive music under the moniker Porches. Just about 18 months after his last release, Ricky Music, Maine is prepping another new LP. All Day Gentle Hold ! has something for everyone, covering the full spectrum of Porches’ evolving sound over the last several years. Where some songs have the more straightforward indie rock approach of his earlier releases, the electronic experimentation that dominated recent releases like The House and Pool is also stronger here than ever before.
To celebrate the new album, Maine sat down to talk Willie Nelson, tattooing an ex’s initials, and Cher’s Twitter in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Aaron, weird, impossible, joyous, annoying, bubblegum, magic….7
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
Pure. I just would want people to think of me as someone who devoted their life to making art, and that the joy I felt creating these songs would be felt by the listener.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?
NYC!
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
It’s much less a person than it is an irrepressible inexplicable urge to create, but maybe The Beatles are the most engrained in my head.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life?
My girlfriend’s house last night.
What album do you know every word to?
The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie. “My brain hurt like a warehouse, it had no room to spare/I had to cram so many things to store everything in there/And all the fat, skinny people/And all the tall, short people/And all the nobody people/And all the somebody peopleI/ never thought I’d meet so many people.”
What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?
Jonathan Richman at Bowery Ballroom was the most joyful performance I’ve ever seen.
What is the best outfit for performing and why?
It changes all the time, but whatever helps me believe in myself or is most in line with my mood, you gotta feel like yourself up there more than anything else.
Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?
Maryam Nassir Zadeh on Instagram, Cher on Twitter.
What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?
“On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson always gets the morale up, that or “Long as I Live” by Toni Braxton.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
‘Ferrari bird neck tie’…couldn’t find it.
What album makes for the perfect gift?
One that the person has never heard.
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
I’ll never forget staying in this RV in Texarkana that belonged to the person who booked our show there. We made a beautiful bonfire that night and the band slept great, I think I was like 19 years old.
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
It is my high-school girlfriend’s initials LOL! I got it on Valentine’s Day when I was 17, probably my favorite tattoo still because it’s so over the top.
What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?
Whatever station that seems like it might play “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus for no reason is the one I’m glued to.
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
Allowed me to make a career out of singing.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
DON’T SMOKE.
What’s the last show you went to?
Dan English at Baby’s All Right.
What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?
The Temptations biopic. It’s probably not still on TV but when I was growing up I ate that up every time it came on, and it was always on.
What would you cook if Obama were coming to your house for dinner?
Blueberry pancakes.
All Day Gentle Hold ! is out October 8. Pre-order it here.
