Today we’d like to introduce you to Make Keene.
Hi Make Keene, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in the circus. My mom was an actress, dad was a musician. I still remember the basement rumbling from his band practices. My mom’s whole family is in the arts going all the way back to my great-grandmother Viola Spolin, the inventor of theatre games and author of Improvisation for the Theater. Her son/my grandpa, Paul Sills, started the Second City in 1959 using her games and exercises. Fast forward to Paul and my grandmother Carol helping my mom raise me and my sister after my parents split. I’m growing up running around backstage, playing with their costume bin, and coming up with own little ideas out in their barn in Door County, WI. I started playing guitar in 6th grade and it wasn’t long until I had notebooks full of lyrics. In High School I had an incredible Music Director named Charlie Echardt who really motivated me to not only pursue music but to respect it. To serve the song. On top of that, I’ve been able to spend an invaluable amount of time with songwriter Pat Macdonald at the Holiday Music Motel. The songwriting intensives that he hosts with his partner MJ have been a crash course in writing, collaborating, recording, and performing. Looking back on my short time on this lil planet I’ve had some incredible teachers. After some bad years outta high school, rock bottom being losing my dad to ALS in 2016, I got my act together and recorded an EP called Haymaker with my band the Makeouts in where else but my grandparents barn. Today I’m out in Minneapolis with my fiancée Caitlin, we moved in January 2020 right before the world ended but we love it out here. The Makeouts released a new single called “Witchu” just last month in October.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The older I get the more I see that we all grew up a little fucked one way or the other. We all have struggles and if my music can lighten the load for anyone out there I can get a good nights sleep. I’ve lost a lot of people, crashed a lot of cars, and make stupid mistakes on the daily but damn am I a lucky guy.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m the front man, guitarist, and songwriter for the somewhat eponymously named band “the Makeouts”. Since 2019 we’ve released an EP and some singles and hoping to hit the stage again summer ’22! My job in the band is to write the songs, sing the songs, record the songs, promote the songs, rinse and repeat. Luckily for me, I have an amazing band of friends that help me bring my music to life. What’s special to me about my work is that it’s at the root it’s really just me making music with my friends. No labels, no pressure, no outside influencers, just a bunch of damn hippies making music.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
In the studio or on stage, it’s fun to take risks. At the worst you just laugh it off. In life it can be a bit more complex than that but if what you’re doing ain’t hurting no one might not be so bad.
Contact Info:
- Email: make.makeouts@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.themakeouts.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themakeouts/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Makeouts-109388984842899
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfcrG35N8G5HpN0dRSPmRZw
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/make-keene
Image Credits
Ryan Castelaz (Photos 1 & 3)
Collin Massad (Photos 2 & 8)
Soirsce Moriarty (Photos 4-6 )
Sam Kersebet (Photo 7)
