Q&A with Mike Maimone from Mutts

Mutts, a Chicago-based band influenced by blues, garage rock and everything between, is making its return to Be Here Now tonight.

The band has rocked the house a few times before in Muncie, most recently at Muncie’s MusicFest last semester.

Vocalist and keyboardist Mike Maimone shared his excitement about returning to town, his thoughts on the upcoming album and how one of Mutts' tunes ended up on the Cinemax show “Banshee.”Q: What brought you guys to Muncie the first time? And what keeps you coming back?A: Whitney [Stump], from Be Here Now, came to our show when we played out on the Terrace in Madison, Wisc. I’m sure exactly what he was doing up there in Wisconsin, but he saw us play with Maps & Atlases and told us he had a venue.

And we’re the kind of band that’s like, “Yeah, we’ll try anything once.” So, we booked a show a couple years ago and had a really great time. So, it’s been one of the places whenever we head east, we’re just thinking like, “I wonder if we can book Be Here Now.”

Q: Since you have been to Muncie a few times, do you have any memories that stick out?A: Well, Muncie MusicFest last year was incredible. We got to play outside and we had always played inside at Be Here Now. It was pretty sweet to finally play on that deck. And there were tons of people out there.

And then, I don’t remember what show it was, but I think we were playing with the Chicago Typewriters, who we will be playing with on Saturday. We're downstairs, it was packed, and I remember we set up in front of the stage that was down there. And everybody was crowding around the keyboard and our bass player. It just felt like a real, good basement party.

Q: Your song “Country, God, Grave” ended up on the Cinemax show “Banshee.” How did it end up on the show?A: Somebody came to us about a year ago and said they liked some of our songs and asked if they could use them for licensing. And we’re broke, so we said, “That’s cool.”

We told them that we feel like we don’t want on our stuff on commercials at this point, but if they could find a movie or TV show, then we would love to support someone else’s artistic vision with our stuff.

He came back to us and said this show “Banshee” was interested.  And it took forever to actually find out that this was going to happen. And when it finally did, it was surreal to see the show open up and our song is playing in the opening scene.

Q: You have described your upcoming record as the “Muttiest” album yet. What exactly does that mean?A: I think our first couple EPs are pretty heavy and then we started getting into other sorts of things. And then our last album is all acoustic. So, we’ve kind of been all over the place.

I think this one packs the most different sound that we’ve done into one album.  And there’s a couple of songs that don’t sound like anything we’ve ever done. It’s the most eclectic mix of our range of stuff on one record.

Mutts will take the stage at 11 tonight at Be Here Now. The show starts at 8 p.m. with  Brother O'Brother, Dingo Dingo, Tribe of the Elk, and the Chicago Typewriters.

The cost is $6 for older than 21 and $8 for younger than 21, and half-off before 9 p.m. For people who come after 9 p.m. with a Ball State ID or a canned good, they will get a $1 discount for the door fee.

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