Spotlight: Maxim Senin

Music Promotion via MusicSubmit.com

Webpage: http://www.reverbnation.com/maximsenin
Location: Lakewood, CA, USA
Description: Laid-back rocking in style of JJ Cale and Mark Knopfler with emotional, thought-provoking lyrics.
Biography: My parents always wanted me to play at least one instrument proficiently, to understand and appreciate music, and to get classical music training. In first grade, they got me a little violin, but I lost the interest in it quickly - the music teacher was yelling at me a lot, and instead I took carpentering and drawing classes in the basement of the same building as the music lessons were. Then they tried to teach me piano. But they could not afford to buy a piano for me to practice - we were poor. Renting piano for practice by the hour was even more expensive. In 4th grade they got me a clarinet, and I learned to play it pretty well, playing classical music and jazz. In 5th grade they finally bought a piano, but a year later we had to sell it again so we can buy food. At that point my musical education ended. I did not care much about learning to playing music - I did not feel the urge to play until many years later in university I got some friends who played various instruments and played in local indie bands, and then I realized I'm missing out on an essential skill. But only almost 20 years later, after I moved to US, I finally bought my first guitar. Being an engineer, I loved to figure things out, and started to play guitar by learning to strum three-four chords. I never took guitar lessons, but I practiced every day, listening to music and trying to play along, or watching other people play. Learning that way, I made quite a few "discoveries" for myself in sound and technique. Once I got familiar with basic strumming and finger-picking techniques, I began to play songs and sing along. Played cover songs for several years. I was very lucky to have co-workers and friends who supported me all this time and listened to the songs I played, mostly in the office, even though I was terrible in the beginning. I wanted to write songs since childhood, but that's difficult to do if you can't play music. Now that I had some basic guitar skills, I could try. A lot of things were going on in my life, and that's when I realized that the music is a good way of venting emotions, organizing thoughts, answering some questions for myself, or at least keeping myself busy so I didn't have to think. The themes for my songs that I was interested in the most were break-up, separation, "love triangles" and unanswered love. I like songs that tell a story told in first person. Singing only about these subjects would be too depressing though, and for that reason I like humorous songs, "joke-songs" as I call them, too. I can't wait to explore other subjects too. I still consider myself a beginner when it comes to music, and since I probably won't impress listeners with my instrument playing skills, I like to keep the melody simple but catchy, and focusing on the quality of lyrics instead. Finally, playing music and writing songs is fun, but it's even more fun when you can share your ideas, passions and thoughts with someone, and the process of learning, playing, writing and sharing makes me very happy.
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