Max Savage Of Parquet Courts Tells Us About His Finals, Touring, And Groupies
By Angela Almeida
When I first met Max Savage my freshman year at NYU, he mentioned growing up in Dallas, playing drums in high school, and the fact he had “just joined a band.” Naturally, Savage sounded much like the other struggling artists in my view — destined for a few shows in Brooklyn and a degree in Creative Writing. But the archetype couldn’t have been more wrong.
Savage, a CAS junior and drummer for the rising New York rock band, Parquet Courts, has achieved a level of success over the past two years that makes the average artist want to crawl in a hole. And cry. Last year, Parquet Courts was charted #5 on the list of Time Magazine’s “The Top 10 Everything of 2012.” A few weeks ago, VICE published a documentary charting their spring tour from Mexico to London — with ten shows at SXSW sprinkled somewhere in between.
Savage, a redhead with an adorable affinity for math tutoring, seems to just be doing his thing, alongside brother, Andrew Savage, and fellow band mates, Austin Brown and Sean Yeaton. Aside from his painstakingly cool name and current life, NYU Local wanted to catch up with Savage before leaving on his European tour. We first asked about what it’s like being a math major-creative writing-minor-rock-star, and how the fuck he manages to stay in school.
NYU Local: How do you focus on finals?
Max Savage: I really don’t. I’m scheduled to leave the day after my last final for London. School is just like — this semester it’s been physically impossible because there are all of these assignments — like for my creative writing class, part of our assignments are to go to these poetry readings on the weekends, but I’ve been gone basically every weekend. We’ve been touring on the weekends all semester. I’m not here ever. I’m trying to work something out with my professors right now and hopefully I’ll pass.
The thing is, every student is busy with internships and jobs, but there are 9–5 hours for that. When you’re in a band…
Yeah, tests I’m okay on, but having time for homework is the biggest challenge.
And you plan on graduating?
Hopefully, yes, I plan to. I’m going to have to take next semester off.
For the tour?
Yes.
What are the whereabouts?
First, we’re going to London. Then we’re doing Primavera, and then we’re coming back and doing the U.S. tour, but then we’re going back and doing the European festivals. It’s crazy. The European festivals are more toward the later half of the summer. We’re going to Barcelona for Primavera Sound, Norway, Denmark, France and a lot of other places.
Let’s backtrack a bit. Take me to the beginning of when this all started happening for you.
The band started actually my freshman year and it’s weird because everybody thinks that we started in Texas and then moved here because one journalist wrote that and then every rock journalist decides too. So that’s just how it goes. Everyone says we’re like a band of Texan transplants. Not true. Not everyone in the band is from Texas. One is from Boston. We formed the band after we all moved up here and I didn’t even know them. My brother knew them.
Did you guys intend to start Parquet Courts?
No, none of us had any idea about it. It was a few months after I moved here. Well into the school year. One day he just called me up and was like, “Hey do you want to come by this practice space that I reserved.” The first year and a half, the band was kind of quiet. We put out a bunch of mixtapes on the internet. We made a website and put out the mixtapes of our influences, just to build internet speculation or whatever. That’s how everything started. We put out this tape at the end of 2011 and it was a really small release and we put out like under 500. They went pretty fast. Then in August our first record came out. When the record came out, I don’t think any of us were expecting it to take off. I certainly wasn’t. For the first few months it was pretty quiet. We got reviewed by the Usual Suspects and small blogs got into it. And then in October, Spin Magazine did a feature on us and that was pretty out of nowhere. That’s pretty where it all started.
After that, you guys were covered by Pitchfork, VICE…
Then Time Magazine did like Top 10 songs of 2012 and we were like #5. I think the song they chose was ‘Master my Craft.’ Which is the first song on the record. That was sort of insane. I was in my room doing homework when it happened and my roommate, he’s the guy who owns our record label, came in our room and knocked on my door and told me about it.
What did you foresee for yourself coming to NYU?
I was pre-med. I decided I hated pre-med, then I switched to major in math because I decided I wanted to be a math teacher. After that is when this crazy stuff started happening. When it started happening, it became so hard to go to school and go to class. One of the biggest challenges I faced, there was a short period — I guess it’s still kind of going on — when I was like, “Fuck it.” But no, I’m am really trying to focus on school and still be a good student.
This is a classic question, but I’m going to ask it. What is it about your sound that differentiates you from others out there? There are always bands trying to make it, especially repping this whole ’90s nostalgia vibe, so what is it about Parquet Courts that makes you shining stars?
God, probably the hardest question ever. I’m still not sure what it is really. I guess one of the reasons people like us is because we’re a good live act. We’ve always been a good live act. We have a lot of energy and people say that they feel like we have a lot of chemistry on stage when we play.
What’s the coolest show you’ve played?
I was just thinking that. It was at SXSW. It was an illegal show we played on this pedestrian bridge. Whenever we were playing people were going crazy and setting things on fire and stuff. We played a bunch of shows at SXSW. We played one sponsored by FADER and converse. It was called the FADER Fort. It was probably the biggest crowd we’ve ever played for. Before the show they took us to a big room full of converse stuff and we’re like, “Ok, pick out whatever you want.” I got these ridiculous shoes I’m never going to wear. They’re just like sitting in my room.
What do your parents say? Did they think that both of their sons would end up in a rock band?
Ah man, they’re so nervous. It’s so funny. They sort of maybe knew all along. They know this opportunity is right now and I have to take it.
Do you have groupies?
I hate to use that term because I feel like it’s so derogatory. Everywhere we go there are females.
But there are people who have followed you guys around?
Totally. There was this one girl who kind of creeped me out. She followed us to several cities on tour and sometimes they’ll friend request me and message me on Facebook. That’s why I stopped Facebook altogether.
What was it like initially when you had that first fan?
The first time I really noticed was in Mexico and then these teenage Mexican girls were somehow sneaking backstage. Security was really tight but they got backstage and just sat down and offered us a cigarette and started chatting us up.
Well, you know what the best thing is…you have a name that was bred to be a rock star. ‘Max Savage.’ You basically were willed from birth.
Maybe my mom had it in mind when she named me that.
So what’s your plan for this week?
First I just want to get through recording. Saturday night we’re playing in Philadelphia. On Monday, the show will be huge. We’re playing with The Breeders and then again on Thursday night in Boston. I actually have a show the night before my discrete math final I think.
What are you going to do?
Yeah, I don’t know.
Do your teachers know?
Two of them do. My Chinese teacher knows. She’s been to one of my shows actually.
What made you choose creative writing as a minor?
I just wanted to try it. I’ve always loved to write.
I imagine you’re getting a lot of material.
I am. In fact, it’s funny cause my creative writing teacher really wants me to write poems about my experience, but I haven’t actually yet at all. I’ve been writing poems about store-brand grocery products and girls that build robots. Just random shit.
What keeps you humble?
I don’t know if…
Are you humble?
I hope so. I guess, whenever it’s in the middle of the week and I tutor. On the weekends, I get crazy and let it out but during the week, I try to focus on teaching kids math. It’s one of the coolest things ever. It’s really fun. Blow their minds!
Has being in the band helped your ladies’ game?
I mean, I guess it just requires a lot less effort now (laughs).
Because it’s presented to you.
Yeah, there are people who know who I am who I don’t even know. Today, I had this really awkward experience actually cause I was just going to class and this girl was a few feet away from me waving. Sometimes I don’t know if people know me from class or they’ve seen the performances. So I go up to this girl and she’s like, “How’s it going?” I felt like an asshole because I had no idea who she was. As far as that goes, things have gotten cooler and creepier.
Who are you listening to right now?
I’ve actually been on this Oasis kick lately. Oasis is my guilty pleasure brand right now. ‘Some might say’ is on my iPod a lot.
Let’s do that. Craft me a “Max Savage Playlist.”
Oh! Ok, put ‘Some might say’ by Oasis on there….
Some Might Say — Oasis
I Love her all the time — Sonic Youth
The Modern Age — The Strokes
Your heart out — The Fall
SOS — ABBA
The Magic Number — De La Sol
Watch me jumpstart — Guided by Voices
voodoo trust — Naomi Punk
Do you have any nostalgic band stuff of your own? Parquet Court memorabilia.
The one thing I do have, when we were in London we did a session at BBC Radio 1. I kept my BBC badge. But stuff like checking out our videos and seeing how many views, I don’t do that shit. I feel like it’s a way to bring me down. It’s not really what I’m interested in. The way we got here in the first place was just by focusing on our music and that’s all I want to do. I’m really not interested in who’s talking about me. Fuck that shit.
