“Take Five” is a new interview series that will focus on Chicago’s ever-growing music scene by giving you insight on the city’s best local acts via the best source possible: the acts themselves. We ask five questions, and they give five answers. Here is the second installment featuring The Maybenauts.

Chicago glam rockers The Maybenauts have only been around 21 months, but from the look of their stage presence and sound of well-crafted pop songs on their debut EP, you would never know this to be true. Singer Leilani Frey, bassist Ellie Maybe, guitarist Vee Sonnets and drummer Emily Agustin write well, look well and rock well together. We recently chatted up Maybenauts bassist Ellie Maybe about the band’s foray into making music videos and their involvement with the Jane Wiedlin-approved charity Bowling for Boobies.

LLP: The Maybenauts recently released a video for the song “Not Aware.” How did you all decide it was time to make a music video and where did the concept come from? Do you think you’d do it again? Talk about the process, if you can.

EM: Originally, my concept for the video involved paintball guns and a bunch of rampaging pandas. However, LCD Soundsystem came out with their video for Drunk Girls a few months ago and I was heartbroken — quite literally, they played my idea out in its entirety. Now if they rip off my video idea for “2012,” a new song of ours, heads will roll.

Filming was a hilarious nightmare. The choreography was way more complex than necessary, and it was huge clusterfuck. There were a handful of injuries on set – I took the horn of my bass in the eye and could barely see for more than half the shoot; I tripped over and took out the highhat stand and got slashed by one of the cymbals; Vee got nailed in the gums by the headstock of my bass. And at the end of the night, he spilled hot chicken soup on my bare foot. Which has nothing to do with the video, I just thought I’d mention it because it’s funny.

We spent over eight hours on set and ran through the choreography countless times. Thanks to our kick-ass director Jesse Dorje Irwin and our super-helper Kristin Heigl, owner of Late Bar, it was an entertaining mess that turned out beautifully.

LLP: I saw on Facebook the other day that the Maybenauts are offering a special merch package with half the proceeds going to the breast cancer charity Bowling for Boobies. How did you get involved and why was it important to do so?

EM: Our friend Jane [Wiedlin] has been involved with Bowling for Boobies for several years. Personally, I’m a fan of charities that take a grassroots approach, I.E. the money raised goes directly to the people we’re trying to help. Every donation directly and positively impacts the lives of women live with breast cancer. Bowling for Boobies is a fun way of approaching a really awful situation, and we’re happy to do our part, even if it is small.

LLP: Continuing with the same subject, do you feel more bands — regardless of success level — should get involved with charities? Feel free to name names and start a feud. (Joke)

EM: Absolutely! I’ve wanted to start a “rock for a cause” kind of event for years, but haven’t had the time or resources to put it together yet. Like I said, I really appreciate the grassroots type of effort put in by smaller charities, as opposed to larger organizations that lose a lot of their fundraising in administration fees and the like. Unfortunately, as a young and broke band, we don’t really have the resources to make a huge impact — yet. If we were ever to make it “big,” I hope that we’d spend as much time giving back to the community that nurtured us as we did partying like, err, rock stars.

LLP: Most people probably don’t know that you are in several bands outside of the Maybenauts (The Sonnets and Slutter, for starters.) How do you find the time to play so many shows, not to mention the countless hours of rehearsal?

EM: The time is irrelevant — you make time where you need it. Vee, our Space Panda, and I live a very minimal lifestyle — we eat shitty food and don’t own anything of value. We live together in an illegal two room apartment that doubles as our practice space, all of our shoes have the heels worn out and I couldn’t tell you the last time we bought brand-name breakfast cereal. Last year we made less than $14,000 in combined income. But we’re happy!

We’ve built our lives around music, and the hopefully temporary vow of poverty allows us a lifestyle that focuses most of our time and energy on music. Slutter and the live karaoke band we both play in make some money; the Sonnets and the Maybenauts are an indulgence. It’s equivalent to working at Binny’s Wine Depot during the day and moonlighting as a sommelier — only a hell of a lot more fun.

LLP: Coming up on the 25th the Maybenauts are playing at the Cubby Bear with Spacehog. Can you tell me how that show came about? And What’s next for the Maybenauts?

EM: The Spacehog gig was pretty random — I got an e-mail from the show’s booker asking if we’d like to open, and of course we agreed. It should be a blast, despite the fact that “In The Meantime” has been stuck in my head since we got the offer. Oooo ooo woo hoo ooo woo hoo oooooooooo…

As for what’s next — nice sneaky sixth question, by the way– the Maybenauts are auditioning for a Red Bull sponsored reality show later this month; if we get picked we’ll be doing a national tour down Route 66! Other than that, we have a handful of songs waiting to be recorded, a couple video ideas, countless button designs, and a few shows throughout the rest of the year. 2010 has been a blast, but in 2011 everyone will know our name, and I can say that without the slightest twinge of pompousness. Okay, I’m lying. We’re totally awesome and it’s everyone else’s fault that it hasn’t been realized yet.
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Catch The Maybenauts on Saturday, September 25, at the Cubby Bear with Spacehog! Listen to Q101 for tickets.
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