Interview: Magic Man

Written by Erin Mathis

Magic Man.

If you haven’t yet heard of them, now’s your chance to explore all they have to offer. With their eighties-influenced, synth-y, irresistible sound, they’re making waves on the Indie music scene, and are on the verge of blowing up. It all started in the summer of 2009, when lifelong friends Alex Caplow and Sam Lee became inspired to create music during their travels in France, and started making electronic music on their laptops. On January 25th of 2010, after months of hard work, they released their self-produced debut album, Real Life Color. Since then, they’ve added some of their high school and college friends to the group: Gabe Goodman (bass), Joey Sulkowski (drums), and Justine Bowe (keyboard), becoming a five member strong band. The lineup changes proved to be a step in the right direction, as the band has made strides toward stardom in the past few years with the release of their EP, You Are Here, in September of 2013, and full length album, Before the Waves, just this past July. Additionally, Magic Man has toured the U.S., supporting bands like Walk the Moon and Panic! At The Disco, and have recently completed a tour in London. Currently, they are kicking off their co-headlining North American tour with Smallpools, Panama Wedding, and Waters. I was lucky enough to sit down with the duo that started it all, Alex Caplow and Sam Lee, and speak with them about their recent experience on live television, their thoughts about being in a band of best-friends, and what they would be doing with their lives if their music careers hadn’t taken off.

So let’s start with the album you released this past summer, Before the Waves. Something that I really loved about it was it’s ’80s synth-pop influence. What are some of your favorite 80’s bands?

Alex Caplow: Oh there’s so many. I personally love The Cure, Kate Bush, and Talking Heads.

Awesome. All good picks. This past summer, you guys were featured on Late Night With Seth Myers. Was it nerve-wracking to perform on live television?

AC: Yes it was. But I think the most nerve-wracking part wasn’t even the actual performance, but the entire day leading up to it because we had to get there at about 8 AM, and stay there all day.

Sam Lee: And it wasn’t fully live which was nice, but it was still in front of a live audience and we only got one shot to do it, so it very much felt live.

AC: It’s just that there was twelve hours of anticipation, between sound check, and camera checks, and getting makeup done, and the haircuts, and the whole record label was there, so it felt like such a huge moment just because of all the buildup, but the actual performance went over pretty quick, it was only one three-minute long song. And then we had to stay up until 1 AM to watch it live, but we had a bunch of fun together at a bar, and it was pretty surreal to see ourselves on TV to be honest.

So you guys just released the music video for Texas. I was surprised to see Abigail Breslin as the star of it. How did that come about?

AC: Well when we saw that she was a fan of us on Twitter and that she tweeted a few things about our album, we responded, and then just started talking back and forth about how we should definitely collaborate sometime. So when we needed someone for our video for Texas, I called her and asked if she would do it last minute, literally like a week before we had to shoot it, and she magically was available and happy to do it. So she came and spent the day shooting, and we’re really happy with the way it came out.

That’s awesome. You guys came back from London not too long ago, and you just kicked off your North American tour, what is something that you absolutely need to have with you on the road?

AC: Maybe not a particular “thing”, but I definitely need good friends with me. You spent so much time in such close quarters everyday, so if everyday is like a road trip with your buddies, as opposed to a horrible really long commute, then it’s always fun. I’m an extrovert so I always need to feed off people’s energy. But at the same time, sometimes if we’re out at a restaurant or something, we’ll all be on our phones, just like not speaking to each other. And from an outside view I’m sure people are like, “How can they spend the whole dinner not saying a single word to each other?” And we can’t really explain to them like, “You don’t understand, we live and work and spend every single second of our lives together.”

Nice. I’m going to come at you with a few “Who is most likely to…?” questions, ready?

AC: Ready.

Out of everyone in the band, who is most likely to get arrested?

AC: That would be our drummer Joey [Sulkowski]. He’s the sweetest guy in the world, but he does hate authority. Anytime we’re around a police officer or security guard or something we’re all terrified that he’s going to say something snarky or cheeky and get arrested, but luckily, no problems so far.

SL: Well also, Joey is Batman. And I feel like the cops are always chasing Batman.

AC: Wow! That’s brilliant Sam, I’ve never thought of it that way. That’s exactly what it is.

Wait, why is Joey Batman?

AC: He is whatever he wants to be, and he loves Batman, therefore he is Batman.

Okay, okay. That’s a solid explanation. Next one: Who is most likely to spend their money on something they do not need?

AC: That would be our keyboardist, Justine, who has a love for very specific little trinkets or leather backpacks or whatever strikes her fancy. But then again, I buy a lot of sugary beverages that I don’t really need.

SL: Yeah, I was going to say you, you definitely have the tendency to buy food and drink products that your body doesn’t necessarily need, or want. Plus I didn’t want to perpetuate the girl shopping stereotype, but yeah she’s always shopping.

Okay so last one: Who is most likely to trip and fall on stage?

SL: We’ve all been there, but the answer is definitely Alex.

AC: Everyone else gets a pass because they pretty much stay in the same place besides a little walking around. But yeah, my job, because I don’t have an instrument, is to front-man it up, which means flailing myself around the stage as much as possible, often tripping on cables, breaking Sam’s guitar pedals, and spilling water all over the stage.

SL: It’s sort of like when you catch a fish, and drop it in the boat and it’s flopping around. Imagine that, but it’s one of those big mouth singing bass things.

AC: Yes but one that’s somehow more vertical and string-bean like. Most people refer to me as the flopping noodle or the dancing pencil.

That’s pretty great. Has music always been your guys’ plan? And if not, what was your original plan?

SL: Well, at a certain point in middle school, my dream was to become an international super spy, and to tell you the truth, there’s no way to tell you that I’m not doing that right now. I’m traveling the world, I’ve got a pretty classy lifestyle, meeting different people, gathering information about which bathrooms are the best in which venues.

Are you a part of the Illuminati?

SL: Oh yeah.

AC: I’m trying to remember what my dreams were. I think I wanted to be a marine biologist so I could swim with dolphins and whales all the time. But then I wanted to be an architect, but I didn’t want to do all the math required for it. But I’ve dabbled in a lot of different creative mediums all throughout high school and college, like drawing and photography. And I am actually trying to make a web comic. One night I couldn’t sleep because of jet lag, so I opened up Photoshop, and I started drawing some characters.

SL: That’s why you haven’t been picking up my calls, you’ve been making web comics!

Any ideas for what you want to be for Halloween?

AC: Well I wanted us to be Power Rangers, but Justine didn’t want to wear the pink outfit because it perpetuates female stereotypes.

It seems like she’s very against female stereotypes.

AC: Yeah, I mean, being the only girl in the band, she stands out as “the girl”, and also, if you’re a minority in any field of work, people are going to single you out. No one comes up to us and is like, “What’s it like being a guy in the music industry?” So it’s like she has to represent girls in the music industry. It’s unfortunate, but I’d have to say that she’s definitely the best for the job.

Magic Man Tour Dates…

Oct 24: The Opera House w/ Smallpools, WATERS…Toronto, Canada
Oct 25: Cabaret Mile-End w/ Smallpools, WATERS…Montreal, Canada
Oct 26: Paradise Rock Club w/ Smallpools, WATERS…Boston, MA
Oct 28: Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Smallpools WATERS…Brooklyn, NY
Oct 29: Theatre of Living Arts w/ Smallpools, WATERS…Philadelphia, PA
Oct 30: Irving Plaza w/ Smallpools, WATERS…New York, NY
Oct 31: 9:30 Club w/ Smallpools, WATERS…Washington, DC
Nov 02: Terminal West w/ Smallpools, WATERS…Atlanta, GA
Nov 04: Exit/In w/ Smallpools, WATERS…Nashville, TN
Nov 06: House of Blues w/ Smallpools, WATERS…Chicago, IL
Nov 07: Mercury Lounge w/ Smallpools, WATERS…Louisville, KY
Nov 08: Deluxe at Old National Centre w/ Smallpools, WATERS…Indianapolis, IN
Nov 10: Granada Theatre w/ Smallpools, WATERS…Lawrence, KS
Nov 12: House of Blues w/ Smallpools, Panama…Houston, TX
Nov 13: Emo’s w/ Smallpools, Panama…Austin, TX
Nov 14: House of Blues w/ Smallpools, Panama…Dallas, TX
Nov 16: Crescent Ballroom…Phoenix, AZ
Nov 17: House Of Blues w/ Smallpools, Panama…Anaheim, CA
Nov 18: House of Blues w/ Smallpools, Panama…San Diego, CA
Nov 19: The Fonda Theatre w/ Smallpools, Panama…Los Angeles, CA
Nov 20: The Independent w/ Smallpools, Panama…San Francisco, CA
Nov 21: The Independent w/ Smallpools, WATERS…San Francisco, CA
Nov 23: Wonder Ballroom w/ Smallpools, Panama…Portland, OR
Nov 24: Neptune Theatre w/ Smallpools, Panama…Seattle, WA
Nov 25: Venue w/ Smallpools, Panama… Vancouver, Canada

==============================================================================================================================================