SXSW Interview: Blonde Maze
Blonde Maze is the project of New Yorker Amanda Steckler; she’s probably sitting at home right now crafting delighting electronic pop gems. She’s getting tons of traffic as of late, and we’ll hope you’ll take a little time out of your day to learn a touch more about her. She’ll be playing her set at Iron Bear Bar on March 14th at 10 PM. You can also stream a tune down below to catch the feels.
ATH: Every Year there is a lot of hubbub concerning corporate sponsors and pay to play and what not at SXSW. As a band, what’s your reason for coming to play at the festival? What do you hope to get out of it?
BM: Definitely the people. It’s so awesome that people from all around the world come to perform and attend the festival. We’re all taking a week off from regular life together and just hanging out.
ATH: For most SXSW sets, you get 30 minutes to leave a lasting impression. What’s your plan of attack? You have a set list mapped out yet?
BM: Yeah, I have a set list mapped out. It’s going to be my first time playing a new set I’ve been working on, so I’m hoping it’ll leave a better impression about me and my music than it ever has before. I’m trying to be a little more genuine with it, and do more of what I want than I previously have – I’m going to be focusing more on live production than I have in the past, although vocals will still play a large part.
ATH: The festival caters to music fans, but food and booze are an important aspect of the fans and the bands. What’s your band’s food and beverage of choice?
BM: The super healthy combination of a burger and a pale ale.
ATH: There are tons of bands coming into town. Who would you ideally like to play with of the 1000s of bands gracing our city? Make your own optimal line-up.
BM: Salt Cathedral, Louis Futon, EMBRZ, Summer Heart, Blonde Maze
That was really hard, I started out with enough artists to have a sub festival and had to narrow down…
ATH: We are partial to SXSW obviously, but what festival do you feel is the best around?
BM: I loved The Great Escape in Brighton, England when I went a few years ago. Brighton is such a charming city and it was really cool to explore its venues and see what kind of music the festival had to offer. It kind of feels like the SXSW of England.
ATH: Let’s say your band has been booked an official showcase at a pop up venue somewhere in the middle of 6th street. The lineup features thrash metal, hip-hop, spoken word, and you. The sound is horrible, the lineup is not your style, and the crowd seems angry at the world. How would your band deal with such a situation?
BM: I’d play my backup cover of Oasis’s Wonderwall. Next thing you know we’re all singing together.
ATH: What’s your favorite album to come out in the last year? What’s playing in the tour bus?
BM: A tie between ODESZA – ‘A Moment Apart’ and Petit Biscuit – ‘Presence’. Sylvan Esso’s ‘What Now’ was great too.
ATH: Who wins the World Cup this summer?
BM: England!
I loooove watching the games, I have literally no idea what the rules are besides kick the ball into the goal and don’t touch the ball with your hands, but I still somehow manage to get unhealthily competitive when I watch them.