M.A.G.S.

This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

About two weeks ago, I was able to sit down with Elliott Douglas, better known as M.A.G.S., during his recent tour stop in Washington D.C. to discuss his recently announced plans to take a hiatus from the project. I asked him about the factors that led to this decision, his recent collaboration with American Football, and what the future looks like for him.

Thanks for your time today, Elliott, and great to see you again. The big news that you announced on social media recently was that you’ll be stepping away a bit from the M.A.G.S. project. What factors led to your realization in this decision?

It’s kind of been a long time coming, I would say. I was just at this point where I could either continue doing this and see where it takes me, or I can stop and really give myself a moment to understand what I’m supposed to be doing. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve given my whole mind, body and energy to this thing, but I never stopped to think, is this actually good for me? Is this helping me as a person? Is this helping me grow? That was kind of when I needed to step back and realize…there’s a couple things in my life that have always been out of order. Or, I’ve been willing to sacrifice the growth in those areas because of M.A.G.S. So I’m kind of doing a 180 right now where I want to take a little bit more time to focus on myself, Elliott versus M.A.G.S. and that’s kind of where that came from.

Yeah, and did you go through many edits of that <social media> post?

Yeah, it took me about a month to write that. I think I wrote it in chunks, and I wanted to make sure I got my point across. I didn’t want to be a martyr anyway, because a lot of people, a lot of artists, a lot of bands, are going through very similar things to me, and I’m not “special” at the end of the day. I recognize my position is a pretty normal position for someone at my level to be at, and I just didn’t really want it to be a thing of, like woe is me. I’m just doing what I think I have to do. And I wanted to let you know that it’s happening so that you’re not wondering, like, “Where the hell did he go?”

So this tour with Covey might be the last time fans get to see you perform for a little bit. What did you want to do differently for this particular tour?

Yeah, I think that even before I decided that this was gonna be the last tour I wanted to play, there were a bunch of songs that I had never played before. So, there are a few songs in the set list that I either haven’t played since like 2015-2016, there’s also songs that I just have never played before. I just wanted to try to mix it up and have a bit of variety for people who are fans of every record.

That’s awesome. So you recently teamed up with American Football for the covers compilation that includes your take on “I’ll see you when you’re both not so emotional.” How were you approached to add your cover song to the compilation?

I played a festival with American Football, I think it was August 23rd and it’s kind of a long story, but we ended up at the same hotel that night, and we partied and hung out and everything. I got really tight with Steve, the drummer. And we ended up staying in touch after that. We would FaceTime occasionally, or just try to schedule time to talk about music and talk about life. And I think some of those talks were really beneficial to me and helped me understand where I was actually at versus where I thought I was at. We stayed in touch for months, and I don’t exactly remember when it was, but at some point near the end of ‘23 was when they asked me to be a part of the compilation. It was a surprise, I will say.

And you also got to perform with American Football at a concert in LA in October of last year. So what went into that? Did you have to do any rehearsals or things like that?

Yeah, totally. We had a different drummer than I normally use. So there was a little bit of like, “how’s it gonna go?” kind of our first show together. But, I had the full band. I really like to bring as many guys out as I can. So we had the full five-piece band, and I got to sing and perform, which I love to do. Honestly, just try to put on the most kick ass show. And I think we succeeded in that too.

Yeah, and I think the Bandcamp <digital album> did pretty well too, where the money went to those affected by the LA wildfires…

Yeah, it was very timely.

That’s awesome. Do you have any short term or long term plans for yourself, either personally or professionally, after this tour wraps up?

That’s a good question. I’m not much of a long term person. I think that’s kind of what I want to figure out. That’s part of why I’m taking this break. I definitely don’t think that this is the end for M.A.G.S. by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t think this is actually my last tour ever. It doesn’t have that feeling. It feels more like this is a great place to put the bookmark in. So outside of M.A.G.S., me and my partner, we’re kind of getting our life together. I just got a full time job, JHS pedals guitar company. So, I build guitars, or build pedals rather, and I’m one of the members of the quality control department, and I really enjoy that. I’m really good at it, and I want to just see what that takes so I get to just kind of have a “normal” job and make a normal paycheck, and also get to be around other creative people who are talented, who have a lot of really cool ideas, and that kind of environment’s really good for me. I’ve been working in isolation for so long, probably five plus years now. So having the kind of environment where I can bounce ideas off of people, whether it be work or it’s creatively, I usually do better in. I’ve worked so many jobs that I don’t even care to admit. But I’ve worked enough jobs and I’ve gained enough experience so when I did apply, there was enough on my resume that they were like, “Okay, let’s at least get him in here and see if he’s a good fit.”

Yeah, that’s awesome, and I’m really happy for you. You’ve mentioned to me in the past that you’re constantly writing new material. What do you hope to do, music-wise during the hiatus, regarding these recordings? Do you plan to release them in some capacity?

That’s actually the plan, I think. In 2022 I switched from using primarily Pro Tools to primarily Ableton. I felt like Pro Tools was starting to kind of limit me in terms of what I could do with it. And it seemed like Ableton, or Logic, with all the kind of sounds built into the DAW, it’s going to be a little more conducive to what I wanted to do. They come from, like an auto engineering background, if I probably told you?

Yeah, I think for the Creator project, right?

Well, I did that one in Ableton as well. My self-titled and Say Things were done totally in Pro Tools, where I live tracked every single instrument. Hyped up the drums, everything, and then properly mixed it. Whereas I got a little further on, I was like I can keep spending money on plugins and trying to figure out ways of doing things that I can do automatically. So it was a pretty easy decision to switch over, and I started making a lot of beats during that time too. I had to learn the software and kind of expand my creative process a bit. So from 2022 to 2024, I was making so many beats, and I think I want to maybe compile some of them into a project, maybe something under a different name. Not an elaborate kind of roll out. It might just be like, “Here’s some music that I made.” There it is on Bandcamp. I don’t have any itemized listed plans or timeline kind of thing. I think the only thing I really want to do when I get off this tour is go back to work, obviously. But then I just want to really stop. Stop for this whole summer maybe, and just enjoy my summer and find some new restaurants in Kansas City, and figure out what else I like to do. You know, outside our music. When you’re an artist you give so much of your time to your crafts that some of the other things that you like or are passionate about, can feel like I’m wasting my time if they aren’t helping to drive the plot. Like playing video games. I could play video games for three hours, but I could have set that three hours working on something else.

And I think at this point, you don’t have to feel guilty about wanting to take a break. You’ve accomplished so much already! Are there any artists that would be on your short list to collaborate with after this break?

I’m definitely open to that. I haven’t thought of anyone specifically, but I think that’s part of the reason why I want to take a break. So I can kind of get more into the producer bag as well. I’m mixing an album right now for Andy, who’s in my band. He’s got a project called Known Moons. I’m kind of like a “satellite member”/producer/songwriter/ghost member kind of thing. So he put out his EP last year or so. So, I’m kind of always looking for new projects. Gonna take a few months to just not do any of that after I finish his EP. I really want to start doing some more remixes and start stuff that kind of like borrows from the idea of Creator. Like take a song and just kind of remix it.

Would that be your own material? Or, are you gonna look at other artists?

I would love to look at other artists. I feel like I’ve always had this urge to do more remixes. And whether it be remixes or covers, that kind of stuff, to me, is exciting.

Has there been anybody in particular that you’ve come across recently that you have been really excited about artist-wise?

There’s a band in New York called Lip Critic. It’s really hard to explain what they sound like, but it’s mostly noise <rock> and experimental. They have two drummers, and they have a guy who plays on a sample pad or something, and then they have a vocalist who is just kind of spewing anecdotes, but it’s all very clever, and fits well together. It is really high energy, and it makes me feel like I want to run through a wall. I like it a lot!

That’s the type of music you want! So your last album, Destroyer, was a great mix of heavy guitar elements paired with an improved vocal project for yourself. I think in the past, you talked about your vulnerability to your own vocals, but I think you’re really coming into your own in that department. What are some of your favorite memories during this era of M.A.G.S.?

I think one of my favorite memories was the preview tour that we did before the album came out. On that tour, I announced that I was gonna be doing a headline run on the West Coast. And I don’t know if it was just kind of like the timing, but it just completely went off. A lot of those dates sold out. We played unreleased material, and everybody was just so into it.

Is that where that photo of you doing a guitar solo on the fans in the inner part of the Destroyer vinyl gatefold came from?

That was actually from a show in Milwaukee, I think, right before that tour. I was just talking to Andy about that last night. That was such an awesome tour.

You also played some big places supporting Sleeping With Sirens…

Yeah, that was nuts. That was definitely nuts. That’s definitely got to be a top-three experience. I mean, they were all so welcoming and accommodating and made us feel like we belonged there. They would always invite us to hang out with them on the bus and it felt like we were kind of getting to get a taste of what really touring was, you know what I mean? There’s obviously a difference between doing a DIY thing and then going out and playing 3,000-cap rooms, right? It’s a very different kind of experience, but it was nice to be able to have that experience and use that as almost like a marker of where we could go.

And I think that’s in your band’s future, for sure. I definitely see that for you. So the last question is, if you just decide to ultimately retire the M.A.G.S. label, which it doesn’t sound like you are, what do you think the legacy of the project is going to be?

Right now, I think this is the kind of project that people will always correlate with a specific time in their life. It doesn’t really have anything to do with me. Whenever people come up to me at the merch table, or if I bump into them or something, they’re like, “You got me through blank and blank times.” Whether it’s a breakup or “I met my friend at the same time that I was listening to your album” I’ve had people tell me it got them through divorces and stuff. I think it’s not really about anything that I am personally, I think it’s a lot about how the music affects people’s lives, and what they decide to imprint onto it, you know? So if I inadvertently had a part in that of helping them or changing their perspective on something, or even just giving them a soundtrack to like exist…I hope that’s the legacy. People always tell me my sound is kind of nostalgic. And it’s funny that people say that and then also tell me about the nostalgic experiences that they’ve had with the music.

Do you have any last words for the fans who want to stay connected with you over this hiatus?

It’s tough because obviously Instagram is kind of like this fucked up amalgamation of bullshit at this point, and most people don’t even see what I post. What I’m trying to do is I want people to follow me in other areas, like Patreon. I want to actually start using my Discord and just kind of get my clan together outside of social media. I think as long as we’re all just on social media there’s always going to be this divide between us. So I would encourage people, if they want to actually stay in touch with me, go check out my Patreon, which I’m probably going to make for free, or join the Discord. I think those are probably going to be the most effective ways to stay in touch.

That’s awesome. Always a pleasure chatting with you, Elliott!

Thanks, Adam!

more

Not all embedded content is displayed here. You can view the original to see embedded videos and other embedded content.