Wise words follow a sensational new single from indie rock legends DownTown Mystic. Maybe Love’s A Crime is an infectious new song with a nostalgic beating heart and an ever-impressive musical ensemble at the helm.
It’s always a pleasure to interview Robert of DownTown Mystic, and this time around we get into the work ethic needed to build a lasting presence as an indie band, the creative process when multiple musicians are involved, and the unchanging value of authenticity. Here’s the conversation in full.
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Hi Robert – hope everything’s going as awesomely as it seems to be! The music is racking up streams since we last spoke. What’s your secret?
Hi Rebecca, it’s all good here. I promote and market all my releases and I try to consistently release music every 3 or 4 months. I think that’s the best way to keep an audience interested. Attention spans have been getting shorter. There’s also a ton of music out there, so the days of releasing an album and coming back a couple of years later are over. I’ve been doing singles and EPs because it’s easier that way to stay in front of people.
The longer you wait to release new material, you run the risk of starting all over again because listeners have too many choices these days.
This is quite possibly my favourite release of yours. The arrangement is so likeable, the vocals and writing, the melody and title, all quickly feels like a classic, and perfectly timed for the colder seasons. What was the creative process and timeframe from the idea to the release, and what inspired this?
Thanks Rebecca, I appreciate you saying that because you have good taste. 😊
Maybe Love’s A Crime was recorded in stages over a two-year period. It’s an older song that I tried recording a few times and couldn’t find the right groove. I wrote it on piano and like a lot of songs, I wasn’t concerned with a groove because I wasn’t recording much back then.
Fast forward to 2022. I was going into the studio to finally get back to recording after Covid. I had a bunch of new songs and was looking for a demo of an older song. I think I told you about this before about how I found Somebody’s Always Doin’ Something 2 Somebody on a DAT. When I found that song it made me think about what other older songs I should look at. One of them was Maybe Love’s A Crime because I always liked the song and just couldn’t get it right.
When we got to the session to work on the song, Paul Page mentioned playing shuffles when he worked with RnR legend Dion and suggested doing one for the song. I’m a big fan of Dion, and when I heard his name, I knew it was the way to go. I ran it down on guitar with Paul on bass and Steve Holley playing with brushes on drums. Then we cut the track in one take! I should say Steve and Paul cut it one take because I would re-record my guitar. I asked them if they wanted to try another one and they said, “no, we’re good”. LOL
The next thing was to have Jeff Levine put a piano on it. I had sent him the track and just told him “you’ll know what to play when you hear it”, which was true. Jeff came into record the piano and was dialled in. I think he might have also cut his part in one take. It was amazing because he played it the way you hear it.
The background oohs were recorded next before I even recorded my lead vocal. I was working on “Day of Reckoning”, which I co-wrote with Jay Friedman, and she was coming in to record harmonies on it. She came down to Shorefire Studios with her husband Tom Wise, who I asked to bring his bass. The three of us had played and sung together at parties and the idea of putting a background part on “Maybe” popped in my head. After Jay had recorded her parts on “Reckoning”, I asked her and Tom to try some oohs with me on “Maybe” and we proceeded to lay them down. I decided to use the part like a pad played on a keyboard, which is why they’re also on the TV mix. The last thing I recorded was my vocals.
All that was left was the mixing and that was finished in 2024. But I was hesitant about releasing the track. It’s an old-school type of song and not the kind I’m usually associated with, especially with the piano as the lead instrument. I re-tweaked the mix when I was remixing On E Street in 2025. But I was still reluctant to put it out.
Then I heard the Role Model single High Hopes with the piano out front and that changed my thinking. Even he didn’t think the song would work with his audience, and I’m guessing it was because of the piano and classic rock feel. But it did, and that made me think that if a current mainstream artist like Role Model is successful with a track that’s more in my style, then it’s a sign. I went back to tweak the mix with the piano more out front and had Leon Zervos master it for release.
What’s your favourite aspect of this song and can we expect more creative shifts like this in the coming months?
Jeff Levine’s piano is a highlight. I had a feeling that he would play something like he did, but to actually hear it live as he was recording it was very cool. My other favourite aspect of the song is the background ‘Tell Me‘ vocals at the end of the song. I had finished recording my lead & harmony vocals and was about to take my headphones off, when once again, the part just popped into my head. Something in my memory tapped into this old-school type of thing that I must have heard on songs like this. It really caps off the song for me.
“As far as creative shifts coming up, if you think this one is different for me, then wait until you hear the next single. LOL”
Given your impressive connections with musical legends, how often do you jam and make music with other people, or is everything done online now?
The only time I get to play is when I’m getting ready to go in the studio or in the studio. The days of just being a musician have been over for some time now. Welcome to making music in the 21st Century!
If you’re an indie artist like me, you spend most of your time doing promotion and marketing 24/7. If I was just starting out in this day and age, I don’t think I would be making music. It’s a really tough gig.
“When I was in my 20s, being a musician was a very cool and respected thing. I don’t think that’s the case today. If anything, the opposite might be true. Just finding the time to write a song takes some effort.”
We’ve spoken before about your career and how many of these song ideas started decades ago. What’s behind your sudden inspiration boost this past year and the release of so many great projects?
Thanks for saying they’re great projects. I’ve worked hard on putting them together. The one good thing about a career like mine is that I have a catalogue of songs. It took years to build and it’s finally paying dividends for me. It allows me to have the material to put new projects together.
The inspiration comes from literally getting a second lease on life. Seven years ago, I had a stem cell transplant to cure MDS (Pre-Leukemia) and it was my music that kept me going and pulled me through. I was determined to come back and felt there was a purpose to putting my music out in the world.
I’ve concentrated on being a producer and releasing the best music that I can. Each release is meant to set up the next release and show how I’m evolving as an artist. I’ve been on a mission to help keep RnR alive and these releases are my contribution to the cause.
You also mentioned previously that authenticity is crucial for you, and that this is largely the reason why people are responding so well to your music. How do you maintain that when your audience grows and ultimately begins to expect a certain style?
I think you want to grow with your audience by keeping them guessing at what you’re going to do next. The best way to be able to do that is by being authentic. I’m not going to jump on some trend just to fit in. It’s not who I am. I want to stand apart from the mainstream. I’m not trying to be something I’m not and my audience will get that.
There are also a number of reviewers like you who get what I’m doing and are paying attention. You’ve heard On E Street Remix followed by Mystic Highway Road Trip and there’s no way you were expecting “Maybe Love’s A Crime”. If I can keep reviewers guessing, who hear everything out there and keep them interested, then I’m doing something right and the audience will follow with me.
You’re always busy, so I must ask – what’s next, what can fans look forward to?
Next up is my annual Holiday release to end the year and that will be On E Street Remix-The Album. It will be released on Black Friday November 27. I started the year with the On E Street Remix EP and this is a good way to bring that project full circle. I’ve added 6 new mixes with the EP tracks for a full album. This way new listeners can get the whole thing without having to go to the single or EP.
Then I start 2027 with a new single called “I Don’t Know” that will be released on January 22. This will be another departure from the style I’m known for, even though it’s still RnR. I wrote it with New Age Guru Monte Farber, who wrote the lyrics. Monte and his wife, artist Amy Zerner, have their own shelf at Barnes & Noble. They’ve created some of the best-selling divination games, including their own Tarot deck under the banner of “The Enchanted World of Amy Zerner & Monte Farber”. Monte is also a psychic and astrologer and has written many books on the subject.
Monte and I share the same birthday which is January22! We wrote I Don’t Know back in the 80s and I decided that I would change the groove from the demo. In doing so the track took a different turn than I was expecting. I cut the track on acoustic guitar with Steve Holley on drums and then had Tom Wise play bass the same day we did the background vocals on Maybe Love’s A Crime. Recording the song was a real challenge and I felt like I did a kind of Phil Spector production on it, if you can believe that. What’s it sound like? I Don’t Know! LOL
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