If there is one thing anyone who comes across the man behind The Maverick Band, it’s that he is a loyal person. Whether it’s to his best friend, whom he penned “My Friend For Life” for, or his football teams – well, we’ll get to that. Being Spanish but born in the UK – that can get tricky. We talked about balancing two worlds, as well as all the new music The Maverick Band has on deck as the world rolls into the hotter months.
Kendra: You’ve been releasing music for about a year now since 2023’s, “I love coffee culture.” What transpired in life that made you want to start down that musical path?
The Maverick Band: I guess I’ve always loved listening to music and loved air-guitaring and singing along. A friend of mine plays the guitar and when we go on holiday together, he always brings his guitar with him and after dinner he plays songs that I like such as “American Pie” by Don McLean. I enjoy singing along while he plays!
Well that got me thinking…As the nights are long during the winter, I thought “Heck! I should learn to play the guitar and then I can play the songs I like at home!” So, I borrowed an old acoustic guitar from my brother-in-law and a brilliant guitar songbook called ‘The Complete Guitar Player Songbook’ which shows you guitar chords and just started learning to play some tunes!
After about six weeks I decided to have a go at writing my own song, which I did! A love song about my wife called “My English Rose, My Valentine”. I was told not to bother writing songs as it was too early and should focus on learning the guitar. Well, being the maverick that I am, I decided to ignore that advice and so far I’ve written 16 songs! And now you know why the band’s called The Maverick Band too! I guess I’ve always been a bit of a rule breaker, even when I was at school. I hate being told what to do or being told it can’t be done. That just fires me up to prove them wrong! I hope at least one or two of the songs become big hits. I’d love to see the faces of all the doubters!
Kendra: Since then you’ve released plenty of singles, including “Romance In Paradise,” a song that isn’t just about love, but very much feels like an homage to your culture with the Spanglish elements. As someone who is mixed race, I sometimes struggle with being sort of in-between when it comes to culture. Is that something you’ve ever dealt with in life, or have you always been able to embrace various aspects of what makes you, you?
The Maverick Band: That’s a very good question! So, both my parents are Spanish but I was born in the UK. I have a British passport not a Spanish passport much to everyone’s surprise. Ever since I was a kid we’d go to Spain for summer holidays and I’d be immersed in my Spanish heritage and my parents taught me Spanish. By the same token I also love my British heritage, as I’ve lived in the UK all my life.
And now the conundrum…when England plays Spain, say in football, I find myself caught in the middle. I always want it to be a draw! When I’m in Spain with my relatives I don’t feel 100% Spanish and when I’m in the UK I don’t feel 100% English! I feel like I’m in ‘No Man’s Land’! But the great benefit of having a ‘double culture’ and being bi-lingual is that when it comes to writing songs, I can draw on my experiences and produce a song like “Romance In Paradise.”
Incidentally, I have written two more Spanglish songs to be released over the coming months!
Kendra: One of your more recent singles, “My Friend For Life,” pays homage to your best friend, a guy who’s been by your side since you were 10. I think that’s around the age I met my BFF. Do you think there’s something special about that age, that period between say…9-12 that makes us attach ourselves to another person for life?
The Maverick Band: Children are at a bit of a crossroads in that age bracket. You’re at the top of primary school or you are at the bottom of the senior school and just transitioning to being a teenager. I think that if you form a friendship at that age, because senior school can be really tough to begin with, you and your friend (the one you really get on with the most) stick together through thick and thin. That support and bond for each other has a real chance to continue as you grow up.
Kendra: Do you think that when you were 10, they could have ever imagined you’d be writing music about them all these years later?
The Maverick Band: NO! Not in a million years! LOL!
Kendra: That’s what I like about your music, you have songs that are more universal but also write from a very personal perspective like “I Miss My Dad So Much.” What would you say comes easier for you; personal or universal?
The Maverick Band: At the moment ‘personal’ because it’s very easy to draw on all those experiences that I’ve had in my life but as time goes by, and I’ve noticed it already, I’m moving more into ‘universal’.
Kendra: Time for a side note – With it being May, there are a lot of graduations happening across the country right now, and I’d love for you to share a song with the collective class of 2024. So what song would you dedicate to them? Can be one of yours, or another artist’s.
The Maverick Band: Well, I hope the class of 2024 has made some fantastic friends during that period of their life. I know lots of people who would say they met their best friends during that time; so much so that in some cases they’ve married them! So, I’d like to dedicate to the class of 2024 my most recent song that I released called “My friend For Life” which I hope is very fitting. I’d like to wish all the class of 2024 every success in whatever they do…the world is full of opportunity!
Kendra: Lastly, with a cascade of singles out now, what else can the people expect as we start to roll into summer?
The Maverick Band: Plenty… starting in mid May with “Just Four Simple Words”, a song about the current state of our wonderful planet and the lack of action to protect it; then a Spanglish song called “Moonlight love affair” coming out late June, as I will be sending “I Miss My Dad So Much” to radio stations for Father’s Day (16th June). After that there are five other new songs coming out between July and November – one a month!
