Max McNown continues to climb the charts, thanks to some strong songwriting, and his willingness to go all in, from barista to artist. The singer recently stopped by the Hard Rock Hotel New York to talk with Mike Adam about his music, inspiration, and the “theatrical” way he left his job at Starbucks to pursue music.
LISTEN NOW: Max McNown with Mike Adam
“Luckily I had wonderful relationships with all of the managers that I ever had,” McNown says of his time making coffee at Starbucks, “and the final store I worked at was in Redmond, Oregon, neighboring Bend, and, I put in my two weeks.”
“I took my first trip to Nashville, and I was gone for, you know, 30 or so days. And then I came back and started working again, and it felt so much had changed and it felt weird and I felt like I wasn't being the worker that I want to be when I'm just like, dipping for so long,” he shares. “I wanted to be theatrical for some reason, and I jumped out the drive-through window and that was how I exited Starbucks for the last time.”
“Actually, I made so many wonderful friends, that I'm still friends with to this day from Starbucks, and my co-workers were so encouraging,” he adds. “They were part of the push to have me go pursue this, right? And so before I left, before I jumped out the drive-through window that day, they asked me to sign their Starbucks cups just in case someday, you know, because they believed in me, and before I believed in myself at all, so it was a really cool moment, and Starbucks is great.”
Those cups were worth it, as McNown continues to chart a course for himself though music, taking personal songwriting and transforming it into universal sentiments for listeners. Like on “First Born Daughter,” which has found fandom across socials.
“They're all written about my wife, but they're written about certain aspects of her in unique ways from one another that resonate to an entirely different target audience. And so now we have some mingling of people that are brown eyes and first-born daughters, but it's so fun writing songs that are so specifically about my wife that a bunch of people hear and make their own.”
To hear more on touring, inspiration, and songwriting from Max McNown, check out the full interview above.
The “First Born Daughter” singer joins us inside the Hard Rock Hotel New York
The “First Born Daughter” singer joins us inside the Hard Rock Hotel New York
