Interview conducted on Nov. 20, 2021
By Dan Locke
When there was nothing left but us, we came together. From distant corners of the scorched and ruined Earth, as remnant, persistent shards of life and light, we merged and melded in an atomic collision that shot us into the outer cosmos to safety and surety, where we rested and regrouped, determined to one day avenge our devastated home. But now the time has come to return. To begin again, to right the wrongs- To claim our place. We are older, wiser… yet we burn no less brightly. We re-enter our planet’s atmosphere…. as a Jaded Star.
JADED STAR are:
Maxi Nil – Vocals
Dane Constantine – Guitars
John Dres – Bass
Angelo Vafiadis – Keyboards
Jim Rouvell – Drums
How did you discover music?
Maxi Nil: As an only child I was spending a lot of time alone and music was my companion and my escape!
How did you start to write music?
Maxi Nil: It came out really natural to be honest…I wrote my first song when I was 16. It was the song Stars that we released with Jaded Star!
For over 21 years you have been a crafter and musician. Are you still working on houses?
Maxi Nil: I still do some crafts like paintings and house deco but music and vocal coaching are my main occupation at the moment.
11 year ago you did some work with Elysion. Tell me about that time?
Maxi Nil: I joined the band in 2003 under the name of In Comma and in 2006 we changed the name to Elysion. We had some great times, played many shows though the years but after recording the album Silent Scream we parted ways since we couldn’t get along. Things like that happen all the time in bands I guess…
In 2015 you started Jaded Star. How did that happen?
Maxi Nil: During my time with Visions Of Atlantis I had at the back of my head the idea of making another project playing modern melodic music which is my thing and started writing songs so when we parted ways with VoA , Jaded Star became a full band!
How did you get your bands name?
Maxi Nil: I wanted a really powerful name and I love the word star! After months of brain storming with our former guitar player Kosta Vreto he came up with the word Jaded…we looked it up and found out that the jade stone is a very solid stone,harder than steel, with healing powers! It made perfect sense to us!
Describe your music.
Maxi Nil: It’s modern, melodic, motivational and dark at times.
What was your first performance like?
Maxi Nil: Our first ever show with Jaded Star was at The Dames of Darkness festival in UK. We hadn’t even released our debut yet people’s response to the songs was fantastic and the show was the best we could have ever asked for!
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP ?
Maxi Nil: Yes we are registered to SACEM based in France.
What makes a good songwriter?
Maxi Nil: I think the ability to make people relate to the songs.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
Maxi Nil: The first song I ever wrote was almost 25 years ago and it was the song Stars which was recorded in 2014 and released in 2015 by Jaded Star.
What is the process of writing your music?
Maxi Nil: It varies from time to time…sometimes a melody hits me and I’ll record it on my phone to work on it later, many times Angelos writes music and I’m writing the vocal lines and lyrics.
A bit over a year ago you released your last album. Tell me about the making of the album?
Maxi Nil: It took us almost 2 years to complete the album since we had to find new members. On the song writing process it was Angelos, Dane and I in the studio for months! We kind of rediscovered ourselves with this album.
What is your favorite track on your album?
Maxi Nil: That would be A Pain All Mine. It’s the most personal song I’ve ever written.
Why did you decide to record live version of your album?
Maxi Nil: Due to the current situation with Covid19 we weren’t able to perform live and share our new album with the world. We had the need to perform and the only way to do so was without an audience. So we booked a venue, recorded and filmed 4 songs live and we released already 3 of them to celebrate the 1st anniversary of Realign! It was the only way for people to see how we look and sound live.
With over a million streams, what are you’re feeling about streaming music?
Maxi Nil: It’s necessary in order to reach more people but it’s a total rip off for artists that are not in the mainstream industry.
Digital vs. vinyl?
Maxi Nil: Vinyl vinyl and vinyl!
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
Maxi Nil: Keep on rocking in a free world by Neil Young because this is how it should be!
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
Maxi Nil: Covid has already affected the music biz…Bands that make their living from live shows are close to bankruptcy. Physical sales drop digital rise.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
Maxi Nil: It is a plus for studio artists only in my opinion.
Were you surprise that your post was deleted about the fires in Greece?
Maxi Nil: Nothing surprises me anymore to be honest , RIP freedom of speech…
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Maxi Nil: First of all I /we didn’t put ourselves in quarantine. Quarantine had been forced to us, hahahaha…
I worked from home with online vocal coaching , I’ve worked out , cooked different things, read books and watched movies and series like most people.
How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?
Maxi Nil: I work out, eat good, talk with my friends, listen to music and in general I try to stay creative and active although it’s not easy. In general I try to stay positive!
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
Maxi Nil: I’ve started working out again and it has changed my life!
How is your calendar coming along?
Maxi Nil: The sales are going really well! Can’t wait to send it out!
Why did you pick Stella Mouzi to create it?
Maxi Nil: Stella is a longtime friend and extraordinary photographer and artist. She always pushes me out of my comfort zone and I’m always very happy with the results! Stella always makes the best out of her models.
Recently the virus has come back with the Delta outbreak, which as cause many people in the industry to worry about the future of live music.
How would you like live shows to be held and still keep you and fans safe.
Maxi Nil: I just want everything back to normal, which very unlikely to happen… nothing makes sense anymore. It doesn’t feel good to divide people and perform for vaccinated only…music is supposed to unite. I really don’t know what to do at the moment.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Maxi Nil: We live in the golden age of pay to play…This is why we don’t play that often…even local bands are asking money to play with them…it’s ridiculous! Mainly bands that are willing to pay thousands for a show or a tour are on the road the last years.
The show Star Trek introduced people to the holodeck: an immersive, realistic 3D holographic projection of a complete environment that you could interact with.
Today holograms are already being used in a variety of way, such as medical systems, education, art, security and defense
Performers like Tupac, Michael Jackson, Roy Orbison, Frank Zappa, Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse, Buddy Holly, Ronnie James Dio, Marylin Monroe, and Whitney Houston have done it already. The band ABBA just announced that they will be doing a comeback together after nearly 40 years as holograms on their next tour. With ABBA it was with the help of George Lucas .
If the cost was down to the point you could do it also, would you be willing to do Holographic concerts in our living room?
Maxi Nil: As long as there will be “old-school” live shows as well yes, I wouldn’t mind having the experience of a holographic concert too.
In the past if a musician stop doing music they find a new career. For example David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
Maxi Nil: I’m teaching singing and loving it but I had to quit that too I guess I would continue making crafts and paintings. I don’t see me working in an office 9-5 job ever!
What is your happy place?
Maxi Nil: Home!
Since anyone can go into space now, are you thinking about becoming an astronaut again?
Maxi Nil: Hahaha an astronaut no but I’d gladly be a simple passenger!
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalong for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million) , Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180 song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited . Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative then the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
Maxi Nil: The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. And it was not a easy thing for him to do. But by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off of his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. And now he doesn’t have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands which hurts his ability to play guitar.
Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
Maxi Nil: Haven’t really thought this through to be honest…depends on the offer , on how bad you need the money and what you’re willing to sacrifice for this.
There are many platforms out there that allow artists to get their music heard. Artist Republik, DistroKid, Tunecore & plenty others offer distribution services. These services enable independent artists to put their music on some of the most popular streaming services globally, from Spotify to Apple Music & everything in between. If you’ve been in any part of the music industry in recent years, you probably know someone that has distributed a song.
Spotify reports that in 2021 there are about 8 million artists on the platform. Of those 8 million artists, about 57,000 are raking in a whopping 90% of the total revenue from streams. That means that .71% of the artists on Spotify are making good money. In 2020, there was a total of around $5 billion paid out to artists on the Spotify platform alone.
Therefore it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time.
What do you think what that could mean to independent artist?
Maxi Nil: It’s a great opportunity to get heard but you need to make it to big playlists. Independent artists make more money from Spotify than signed artists but still you need to go mainstream in order to see real money coming from streaming.
Over half a billion active users around the world share their favorite music on TikTok either with something like a dance challenges and lip-sync videos or creating a funny skit or candid camera moment.
TikTok has became a great platform for music promotion, sharing songs, and finding new listeners. In which it has become a place for music artist to earn revenue when people use their music. Which in many cases the daily promotion on TikTok has led to hug boosts on other platforms like Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.
TikTok does this with the the algorithmically generates a feed of content for each user, which you see as the displaying of #. The more a user engages with content, the smarter TikTok gets at guessing what kind of videos the viewer wants to watch.
Because a song can go viral because of this.
Sony Music and Warner Music Group- , The ByteDance-owned video app revealed that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
Maxi Nil: Thx for the info! Will definitely try it out!
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer.The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
Some of the on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, and Mick Jagger.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary,Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could became a force in the future of streaming music?
Maxi Nil: Sounds good but it’s a new thing. Let’s wait and observe!
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Maxi Nil: I want to thank you for our nice chat and thank the readers and supporters as well! I’d like to ask you to keep purchasing physical sales and merch from the bands you like. It’s the only real income a band has!
Cheers!
