Formula Indie Sessions Interview with Lonely Parrots
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Michael – I was raised in a very music-centric household, mostly because of my mother. She played guitar, piano and loved to sing, and would serenade my sister and I to sleep when we were little. I was also a fiend for Disney movies, musical theatre and 90s pop divas like Celine
Dion and Whitney Houston (really whatever was on the radio and those divas ruled the airwaves in the 90s).
Max – As a young boy learning to play the piano, I grew up listening to and playing mostly classical music. My grandmother was eager to support me in this tendency and would take me to live music events from time to time. She knew I was madly in love with the story and music of The Magic Flute by Mozart, and so during one of my visits, she and I went to see a live production of the opera. Having listened to the recording over and over again at home, I knew the words by heart and would belt it from the top of my lungs any chance I’d get. When Papageno’s theme came on and he sang his Birdcatcher’s song (“Der Vogelfänger Bin Ich Ja”), I jumped up from my seat and started singing along. Mind you, I was probably 5 or 6 years old at the time, and probably sitting among an audience of mostly retirees… so this must have been quite a funny moment to witness. Luckily my grandma patiently and quietly got me to sit back down, and besides the chuckles of some of the audience members, no harm was done!
How did your passion for creating music begin?
Michael – I was very inspired by Sara Bareilles’s music and storytelling, she was the first non-classical concert I saw and it really opened up my world! My sister introduced me to her music as well as my other favorite band, Lucius (a big inspiration for this project Lonely Parrots) and I remember when we dropped my sister off for college we stayed at a hotel with a grand piano and snuck out of our room at midnight which is when I showed her some ideas of my first song seeds. Eventually there wasn’t a piece of paper that was safe! Post it notes & journals started filling up with ideas and ruminations, all in an attempt to create something out of thin air, something that felt & sounded like me.
Max – When my teenage angst made me feel tired of dedicating myself fully to my classical piano practice, I started instead to immerse myself more deeply into the world of pop culture. I’d lock myself into my parents car and sing along to my favorite vocalists (at the time, ideally something with a lot of runs and long, belted notes… yes, Christina Aguilera was a guilty pleasure of mine), but I’d rarely, if ever, sing in front of people out of fear to embarrass myself. It wasn’t until my later teenage years that I finally allowed myself to share this passion of mine with people. I began writing songs about my first love, my first heartbreak, and auditioned for school showcases and local talent shows. I’d go to school early to play the piano in one of the empty classrooms, and in the afternoons I’d go to a nearby church to which I’d been given a key, writing more songs and playing the grand piano in the majestic acoustics of the beautiful building. With many (partly decent, partly pretty cringy) songs under my belt by the time I was finishing High School, there was nothing else I felt more strongly about: I had to pursue this dream of mine and find my path as an artist.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
We’d been friends for 8 years and had never tried writing together, always on the peripheries of each other’s lives. Then, in the summer of 2021, Max became a nomad, and after sharing an Instagram story to find some friends’ couches he could crash on while wandering the country to explore nature and play shows, Michael offered to host him in San Francisco. Max took him up on it many times over the course of the next year or so. One fateful day, Michael was out of the house (at therapy) and Max noticed a flock of parrots on the power lines behind the house. He noticed that all the parrots were coupled up, sort of ‘kissing’ & grooming each other (little did he know at the time that parrots mate for life), until he saw one lonely parrot sitting by himself. He showed Michael the video of this sad little bird and they wrote a silly little song about the bittersweet scene. Later that same day they brought the guitar to their favorite beach and their first full length song was written. A week later they had half a dozen songs and realized…they might be a band now. The parrots unlocked something in them and three and a half years later, the duo is finally releasing their first original project – “For the Time Being.”
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music Before?
Our music is very much inspired by this planet and the nature that we are all a part of. It could be described as Indie Folk-Pop or Singer-Songwriter, a mixture of organic elements à la Noah Kahan and the anthemic sweeping sounds in the vein of Coldplay. But truth be told, our favorite genre that we’ve been dubbed is “Earthy Hymnal”, and sometimes we like to call it “Earth Pop”… Feels right for the nature boys we see ourselves as!
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music? Learn the rules so you can break them. It’s great to have tools in your belt for writing and making music, especially when you feel in a rut. But often what makes a song or production get unstuck is doing the opposite of what we think we should; leaning into what FEELS right, rather than what you think you’re supposed to do. Sometimes the best things happen when you let your musical mind wander freely, and let the lyrics dictate where the music might go. And more importantly than anything else: as unique or quirky and out there it may end up being, an honest, authentic song will always resonate more deeply with people than the most technically brilliant lyric or melody.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process? When writing we pretty much always find ourselves in nature. We’ll bring the guitar to the woods or the beach and just see what comes to us. Once we have a song and we’re in the studio we record and produce in ProTools, and even though we appreciate the opportunity to make a whole record out of the box (with samples, plug-ins, virtual instruments, etc) we are at a point in our careers where we deeply love the process of working with real musicians. For our project “For The Time Being” we got to go into the iconic 2200 Studios in Marin, CA (used to be The Record Factory, where “Rumors” by Fleetwood Mac was recorded) and worked with dear friends to record live drums, bass, electric guitar and synths. It’s just so fun to let the spontaneity and synergy of a group of wonderful musicians manifest in a record!
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Anything and everything by Raye (obviously).
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision? Given that we sing everything together at all times, our music and artistry in relation to this duo is informed by our shared experiences. When we started making music we were the best of friends and that got all the more beautiful and layered (and complicated) when we fell in love. As incredible as it is to experience nearly every facet of life with your partner, it can also be overwhelming. Most of the songs on our first album are written from time spent in nature and the perspective of being best friends. And while the music on what will be our second album dives even more deeply into themes of nature and the ecological crises, it also explores the new layers that our romantic relationship has added to our dynamic.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work? We hope people who hear our music at shows or online hear our love for each other and for this Earth. We aim to convey a message that embraces empathy, patience, joy and love. We believe you can’t have light without dark and so while we certainly explore some heavier themes, we want to leave people with hope. Given our deep love for this planet, and considering the extremely poignant moment in time we are all finding ourselves in right now due to global political & ecological instability, our main intention for our music is to help people reconnect to their own rootedness in nature, and provide moments of healing & shared joy.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
To tell the truth. What’s the point of a metaphor and sugar-coating if you just muddle what’s real?
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Red Rocks. The Gorge. Really any incredible outdoor venue!
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why? Given that she was one of the artists that inspired both of us to start making music in the first place… Sara Bareilles.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links) Lonelyparrots.com
@lonelyparrotsmusic on IG & TikTok
“Lonely Parrots” wherever you listen to music
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
We’re excited to get our first album out by the beginning of next year! It’ll have been 4 years since we started the project by the time it comes out so we’re eager (to say the least). Our
dream is for our songs to reach the people who genuinely need our music. We believe in the message, and have seen the impact it’s made on folks at the intimate house concerts we play, so we would love for it to reach more people however it’s meant to do that. We’d love to find sync placements for our songs (personally think our song “Soulmates” would be a great fit for a show like Heated Rivalry). We are also the co-founders of an initiative called MORF – Music on Regenerative Farms – and our dream is to build out a team and see it become a global concert series, where music and nature lovers can come together to celebrate this beautiful Earth of ours.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way? We hope that listeners will discover something about themselves along the way. Our music is inherently earnest and when heard in the context of nature, we believe it can move you closer to your inner child and your authentic self.
