[Interview] The Third Degree with Marc Mays & Robert Reives!

I had the opportunity to interview Robert Reives regarding his work with Marc Mays. He was very honest, forthcoming, and cool under the onslaught of my probing questions. Here's the skinny:

Can you give my readers a brief introduction to the band, for those who are unfamiliar with you. How did you form?

Yes, & nice to meet & speak with you. Yea' Marc is tied up with a lady friend so I will be fielding the questions today if you don't mind. The band is basically myself, Robert Reives behind the scene on the boards as the producer, composer & writer along with my partner in crime Marc Mays the artist & guitar virtuoso with & other key players like my business partner Sammy Q, D. Barber, Matt Alcorn & 30Seven Partners, Corey Sands & J. Allison handling the business & PR aspect of things. We have a great team behind us.

Marc & I linked up briefly while I was in Ithca, New York working on one of the artist that I was managing at the time Ginuwine's album along with also working with Aaliyah on her album One in a Million. Marc knew the studio owner so we started to kick it or hang out when I was working recording. Then we really hooked up to work a few years later because a mutual friend of ours Brad King push my buttons to get with Dude to create the music that we came up with now that we like to call Urban Rock & now we're on the way to hopefully create a successful history in music together.

When did you first start writing music?

I have always been deep into music as a young child of 5 or so. My parents were nice enough to get me guitars & keyboards even though I was very young. I started playing in the school band on drums around the 4th grade which I had to lug that drum to school everything & it was probably as big as me at the time. Playing in band went all the way to high school when I chose basketball & football over band due to a conflict in scheduling. So I have been writing stuff as long as I can remember. I was always still keeping music in my life listening to everything & anything under the sun, then I was lucky enough to hook back up with a childhood friend Devante from Jodeci & start working with him as an A&R, Producer & song writer even becoming the manager at one point for his group Jodeci on their albums Diary of a Mad Band & their 3rd & last album The Show The After-Party & The Hotel. Marc has been in music through the church when he later formed a band called Boiler who is the band I saw him perform with in New York while working on those albums that I mentioned before. I was blown away by his stage presence along with his talent on the guitar. He has also been writing since he was a child.

How did you choose your genre?

I like to think the genre of music chose us. I mean, a song will tell you what it wants to be if you listen to it, or if you listen to the vibes or energies around you hard enough. Like I said we call the music we create Urban Rock because it is a lot of different musical types going on at one time which is where I think the industry of music is actually going at the moment & we like to think that we are ahead of the curve so to speak. There are a lot of people trying to do what we do but I like to think that we perfected it. Urban Rock Rules!

Who were your influences?

Wow! You're like Oprah or something, getting all the deep & dark hidden stuff huh? For some reason I don't like people knowing the music that I listen or my influences. The list is so long but I will name a few. Well, I'm a big time Prince fan for sure, of coarse Michael Jackson, Madonna but I'm also way into people like Bjork, PortisHead, Massive Attack, The Deftones, Led Zepplin, KISS, U2, Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, Parents, Friends, Banksy, movies, ESPN, life, love & pain among many other groups, artist & experiences.

Did you ever take any formal music lessons?

Yea', in band which we won the state championships for best band 3 years in a row while I was in junior high school. We actually got a perfect rating or score all 3 of those years. Shouts out to Mr. Hanna for being such a cool teach & dude. It's funny now but a lot of what he taught me has been very useful in my years within the music industry. Also a lot of on the job training through the years & people I have worked with in the pass. I soak up things like a sponge. What's amazing is Marc is self taught kinda in the same way that I am.

Did your environment while growing up have an impact on the kind of music you make today?

Yes, I think it did. I was around so many types of people both black & white as well as other backgrounds so I was able & open to be turned on to so many different types of music which is a huge part of my life now & the way I approach producing & song writing. I have to thank all the people I have been in contact with for sharing their musical taste with me.

Which of your works would you say is your favorite, so far?

Oh my God, you can't ask me that. That's crazy & way to hard to even answer but for you I will try my best. Uhhhh, sometimes it's not always the song itself but how the song actually comes together that makes it stick out to me as a favorite. I gotta start with 2pac, Dude was a pure genius. I worked a bit on How Do U Want it but there is another track I worked on off his All Eyes on Me album called No More Pain, that song is really amazing. I would suggest everyone give it a re-listen with the headphones on & loud so you can really peep everything that he is saying & that is going on with that song. Jodeic Feein & Freaking U is some super sickness. The Aaliyah song 1 in a Miillion and is really crazy how that all came together but currently we have new songs like: I Adore U, Passion, Lebron James & People Act Strange that I truly believe are taking things to another level musically especially for me as a producer & song writer. But also I have a few songs not yet recorded that are ready to roll themselves out to you and the world like: Can We Fall In Love Again, Kiss U There & Have U Ever Had a Real Women that I know are gonna be huge hits once they are done so keep your ears on ya' dig & stay tuned to our company Solutions Global Media web site: SGM7.com so you won't miss all the flaming hot things that we have going on as a company in the coming months ahead.

How did you come up with the name of the new album?

It just kinda came to me out of the blue. The album is called: Urban Rock: Infamous, which you can find & buy thru our web site: SGM7.com

We want to really push the unique sound that we have out there not only as a new musical sound but as a brand or calling card & what is my larger than being Infamous? A wise man once said, "You can become unfamous but you can never become unInfamous. I hope that, that is a word but nonetheless it is so very true.

How do you feel about the impact of the internet on the music business?

I feel like the impact of the internet on music is such a beautiful thing. As a producer or artist you just have to know how to use it properly. I mean without the internet there might not be a Solider Boy who is really cool to me. Without the internet there might not be a Drake along with a lot of other hot music that I am up on that you may have never heard of but the internet has made it possible for people to get their music directly to the people without the corporate filter of the labels. The people, the fans are now more than ever really in control so please use your voice through the internet to speak back to the world about our music as well as all your other favorite artist. Like right now, this interview wouldn't be as easy & cool to get out to the whole world if it was for the internet so thank you Mr. & Mrs. Internets, wherever you are. Shouts out to "The FrenchMen" Arthur Piffoux & G.Gregiore who both hold us down with a lot of the internet stuff.

Do you think major record labels are necessary any more?

Sad to say but yes, they still have a big role. More so with TV & Radio than anything else but yet & still, it's still a big role. In my experience the labels that I have worked for or with like Uptown MCA or direct with MCA along with Atlantic, just to name a few, they have never really done much with the creative aspect of any of the albums I have worked on. They didn't tell us nothing to do. They just gave us the loot & got out of the way. We just did what we wanted to. I guess we had earned a trust level but in reality what I found early on is that when it came to the creative process, they didn't know what the hell they were doing but when it came to the inside game of things they have that on lock. With labels & artist & producers, it's a messed up marriage but still a marriage, nonetheless. It's like women, "you can't live with them but you can't live without them either". Well at least I know I can't, you other fruits will have to speak for yourselves. So labels can be good & bad it just depends on the situation & the players that are involved.

How do you normally write your songs?

Uhhhh, Would Prince answer this question? Again you are trying to dig into my secrets or bag of tricks. I don't really want to go to deep into that subject but a song can come to me from anywhere or in a lot of different ways. I just think you have to live your life in a way where you are open to it. You have to allow the Muse to pay you a visit & to know when he or she is really & truly knocking at your door. Sometimes I can be out in a bar & a song will hit me then I have to leave it on my voicemail or someone else voicemail. See, that was a lil' trick right there. A song could come to me when I think of someone that I care about or cared about. But in the studio you have to turn it on right then & there. You have to set a mood or vibe so the magic can happen right when you need it to like musical viagra. I think I will leave that questions answer right there before I tell you something that I will have to kill you afterwards for. Sorry

In your opinion, what does a good song need to consist of?

Okay now, Damn you! Your asking for it. Uhhhh, a great song should have a masterful hook in place which is one of the things that I think I am the master of so all you hot artist out there holla' at your boy Rob Reives at RobertReives@hotmail.com so I can lace you with something lovely ya' dig. Duhhh! The track should be banging even if it's a ballad. I'm a big melody guy which is super important & I like to believe is another one of my many talents if I can say so myself. A good song just has to have a nice flow to it, good song structure along with great lyrics that mean something to you or to the people. You have to be able to touch people in their hearts, minds or in their booty. All 3 really cool pressure points if you ask me. Wouldn't you agree?

What song is most exciting to play live? Original and/or cover, please!

Well Marc does the playing at the moment but for me to see from the stage or the crowd it would have to be People Act Strange & LeBron James. It's just crazy to watch the people react to a song at the very moments you wanted them to when you wrote the song. Its still gives me goosebumps & still blows my mind. I'm still a student of music as well as still being a huge fan of music.

What cities have been your favorite to play?

Of coarse the MIA, Miami, South Beach where we currently work & live but also New York. We would love to do something on the West Coast or Overseas for sure so once again people, Holla' at your Boy.

What do you think the best part of touring is?

Just being able to touch & get next to so many different people, feeling & hearing their feedback & energy live & in the flesh. It's great to see the love out there all over the place cause we put a lot of love into every note or song that we do. For Marc is would have to be being able to play his guitar in front of so many people along with working the Mic to move the crowd. Really cool stuff.

What cities have had the best reception for your music outside of your home state?

New York, New York the melting pot of planet earth.

Describe your worst night on tour, ever.

I can't get into that here like this cause where I come from it would be calling snitching so let's just say sometimes people just don't know how to act. But it is always possible to turn a negative into a positive, a minus into a plus or an "L" into a "W". Shouts out to the Lakers & my main man Ron Artest for coming back to win that Championship. California Love!

Where do you see the band in 5 years? 10 years?

In my home studio in one of my many sick high-tech environmentally sound cribs I have designed somewhere in the world after becoming many more times Platinum while working with a hot new talented artist creating more hits for the world to make love to or to dance their ass off to while I check in by phone to my swiss bank account to see just where my finances stand at that moment or time. Marc would be on tour rocking the Road like the Rolling Stones who seem like they are never at home but the road is where the real money is along with the people ya' dig.

Any words of wisdom for those with hopes of breaking into music?

Stay forever grinding, never listen to the haters or give up on yourself or your dreams. Reread this article many times cause their are some hidden pearls of wisdom in here for you and yours & keep peeping our music cause there is something new for you to learn through the music as well. The answers to your success are all around you. Stay Open to them.

What was the strangest thing to have happen while performing on stage?

Again, that's more of a question for Marc but knowing that Dude the way I know that dude it but for me it's the way the panties fly off of women & from the crowd up on the stage for that guy. I mean he is a really down the earth type dude so to see women going nuts over the music & him is always funny to me especially when a pair of panties end up hitting him in the face. He is kinda a germ freak so it always makes me laugh.

What's the best part of touring to you?

Uhhh, the women, next question. Nah, just joking with you. Man, we just feel happy & blessed that the music is getting out to the people whether it be though the internet or live & in the flesh in the form of live shows. The best part is the music getting to the people. I love that.

What is your biggest guilty pleasure?

Music, movies, architecture & sports.

If you could have a conversation with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

2pac, Obama and a member of the Rothchild Family.

What has surprised you most in your career so far?

On the good side, just the people I have been lucky & blessed enough to work with. On the bad side just the depths of how low people are willing to go for money, hate or jealousy. Shocking stuff really.

Any hobbies outside of music? Sports, etc?

• Football, Basketball, movies & people watching around here on South Beach.

What do you watch on tv?

Everything & anything, mostly movies, Court TV, MSNBC, The Boondocks but also this new show called DeathKlock which it really has got me hook at the moment off the AdultSwim channel.

What movies do you like?

Good movies. All kinds. I'm a movie Freak. Just saw Splice which is super crazy, a must see along with Kick Ass & I'm dying waiting on the new Predator flick which is coming out soon.

Read any good books lately?

This book called The Biggest Secret. Just read it again for the 4th time. There are still new things I find that are just now poppin' up in the really real world that have been mentioned in this book many years ago. Really weird stuff up in there to so you guys should take out some time & peep that book for sure while listening to our music, wink, wink.

Thank you for your time and honesty, Robert! We'll catch you on the road!

Connect with MARC MAYS/ROBERT REIVES:

• www.sgm7.com
• www.myspace.com/marcmays