When singer/songwriter Max Muscato released his punchy single “Valerie,” in February, it ended a five-year drought since he last released music in the form of his 2017 debut album, “Act One.”
The reason for the break was Autism Rocks, a non-profit inspired by his brother, Sonny, who has autism. It works to keep people with autism on track by offering workshops in music, acting, film and other arts careers while also raising funds and awareness for autism.
“I took three to four years off from my music career to make sure my brother was solid and the organization was great,” Muscato said in a recent phone interview. “And now that it is where we want it to be – it’s self-sustaining – I told the board, I said ‘Guys, I’m going to focus back on my music career now. It’s what I’m meant to do.’”
So fans can be assured they’ll be seeing new songs from Muscato on a more frequent basis going forward. Muscato, 32, has been writing songs in the interim and plans to release a new single every month or two, while building up his touring schedule.
“It took me awhile to kind of understand the new music industry now where unless you’re a big artist and have a big following, singles are really the way to go now because everybody consumes things so quick,” he said. “So if you come out with a single every four to eight weeks, it keeps the audience engaged and builds your fan base. And that ultimately triggers the algorithm for Spotify and Facebook and all the social media platforms.”
Muscato, who grew up and continues to live in Buffalo, New York, came to music naturally, as his father was a professional percussionist who toured with Aerosmith. His brother. Sonny, in fact, plays drums. But for Muscato, guitar was the instrument that got him hooked on music.
He began playing at age 13, learning guitar by playing along to songs by classic rock and blues artists. He also started writing original songs, and by age 16 was playing in a number of local Buffalo bands.
He went to the University of Buffalo, where he continued to hone his playing and songwriting skills, sometimes to the detriment of his studies. But upon graduation, he took a detour, moving to Florida where he worked as a personal trainer for a number of professional golfers.
But music stayed with Muscato, and after a few years, he returned to Buffalo to launch his music career. He released “Act One” before founding Rock Autism in 2018 and stepping away from music.
Muscato also found his activities interrupted by the pandemic, after he contracted COVID.
“It was a really tough case,” he said. “I don’t have the best immune system, so it hit me really, really hard and for about, I’d say, about two or three months after, I did not get back into anything until after that.
But 2022 has seen Muscato back and busy. He’s been writing new material and re-recording some of those songs from “Act One” for possible release as singles. He has released “Valerie” and has a second single, “Toxic & Poison,” in the pipeline.
Max Muscato plays Starland Yard on Friday, Nov. 18 at 7pm.
