Kevin Max

Kevin Max

Kevin Max (born August 17, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and poet. He is best known for being a member of the Christian pop group dc Talk. As a solo artist since 2001, he has recorded four full-length studio albums and two EPs.

Biography

Early years

His birth name is Kevin Max Smith, but he legally shortened it to "Kevin Max" in 1997, as a tribute to his birth father. Kevin was himself adopted by the Smith family and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Another reason behind changing his name might be because his adoptive brother was named Max. Kevin showed incredible vocal and musical talent early in his life and his talent grew while at Grand Rapids Baptist High School and later at Liberty University in Lynchburg Virginia.

dc Talk

Later, at Liberty University, he met fellow dc Talk bandmates: Toby McKeehan and Michael Tait. Together they formed dc Talk and went on to achieve great success in both Christian and mainstream music. The band went on to win four Grammy Awards, 16 GMA Dove Awards, and other recognitions. However, they decided to take an extended "intermission" in 2000. A reunion tour is planned for early 2009.

Spirituality

In recent years, Kevin Max has attempted to create a name for himself apart from dc Talk. While he does not shy away from vocally defending his Christian faith, he has expressed a desire to create art with a universal appeal. He insists, "My music is for a Christian and a Buddhist to pick up and still enjoy, as well as for an atheist. But it is there to prod and ask some questions: What's my worldview? What do I believe in, and why do I believe it?"

Stereotype Be

The resulting solo album, Stereotype Be, released on August 28, 2001, was praised by All Music Guide for "[combining] pop, rock, and world music to create a versatile and intriguing project." Legendary artists Adrian Belew, Larry Norman, and Tony Levin contributed to the album.

Further projects

While Stereotype Be has developed a considerable cult following, it wasn't well-received in the Christian music market. Soon after its release, Max was dropped from his Christian label, Forefront Records. Undeterred, Max began to slowly build his solo career through live shows and word-of-mouth. He released independent albums via his website, including an EP entitled Between the Fence & the Universe and a spoken-word collaboration with Adrian Belew entitled Raven Songs 101, both in 2004.

In fall of 2004, Max's word-of-mouth strategy finally began to pay off. He played the title role in the Visalia Theatre Company / Hutson-Cavale Productions revival of the classic Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Later that year, he signed a new deal with Northern Records and released a second full-length album, titled The Imposter, said to "contain...a sound that recalls the passion of early U2, the soul of Jeff Buckley, and the ambiguity of Blur" on October 18, 2005. He released a Christmas album, titled Holy Night, in time for the 2005 Holiday Season.

Also, in April 2007, Infinity Music announced that Kevin Max has been signed to their label and that his next project, The Blood, will be released this fall. According to Max, "The Blood is not a classic hymns cover project or a white/homogenized version of black gospel or soul music. It's a sensitive and stylized adaption of the music that was at the root of rock and roll, blues and popular culture."

In February of 2008 Kevin Max starred in the independent film The Imposter, on location in Dallas Texas. Kevin plays a character named 'Johnny C", a singer who becomes addicted to Oxycontin and loses his family and job as a Christian Music Star. The movie also features : Tom Wright (24, Honeydripper, Creepshow, Barbershop etc), Troy Baker (Commanche Moon) and many others.

Poetry and writings

Max is also a poet and an author. He has published four books, three of which are poetry books: At the Foot of Heaven (1994), The Detritus of Dorian Gray (2003) and PO.ET.RY (2005). The other is an autobiography of sorts titled Unfinished Work (2001), an in-depth look at the meaning of each of his songs from Stereotype Be. In addition, Max has a spoken-word EP album that accompanies his first poetry book At the Foot of Heaven, released in 1995 by Starsong Productions.

Discography

Solo

• At the Foot of Heaven (spoken word EP, Starsong, 1995)
• Stereotype Be (Forefront Records, 2001)
• "Ravensongs 101" (spoken word with Adrian Belew, 2003)
• Between the Fence & the Universe (EP, Northern Records, 2004)
• The Imposter (Northern Records, 2005)
• Holy Night (Northern Records, 2005)
• The Blood (2007)

Collaborations

• The Canticle of the Plains, (musical written by Rich Mullins, 1997)
• Raven Songs 101 (collaboration with Adrian Belew, Blind Thief Publishing, 2003)

Singles

• Sanctuary (2005)
• Existence (2001)
• Be (2001)

Filmography

• Existence (ForeFront Records, 2001)
• Seek Live (Northern Records, 2003)
• Untitled (Blind Thief Publishing, 2003)

Books

• At the Foot of Heaven (poetry/artwork, Starsong, 1994)
• Unfinished Work (autobiography, T. Nelson, 2001)
• The Detritus of Dorian Gray (poetry, Blind Thief Publishing, 2003)
• PO/ET/RY (poetry, Blind Thief Publishing, 2005)

Guest appearances

• Rich Mullins - To Tell Them

from the 1992 album The World as Best as I Remember It, Volume Two

• Kevin Max - Lonely Moon

from the 1994 album Strong Hand of Love: A Tribute to Mark Heard

• Audio Adrenaline - My World View

from the 1994 album Don't Censor Me

• Passafist - Louie's Solo

from the 1996 album Never Say Dinosaur

• Rich Mullins - If I Could Make It Work, Love as Strong As Death

from the 1997 album Canticle of the Plains

• SONICFLOOd - Something About That Name

from the 1999 album SONICFLOOd

• Kevin Max - Help Me Rhonda

from the 2002 album Making God Smile: An Artists' Tribute to the Songs of Beach Boy Brian Wilson

• tobyMac - Atmosphere: Remix

from the 2004 album Welcome to Diverse City

• Playdough - Sandal Sole

from the 2006 album Don't Drink the Water

• Manic Drive - Blue

from the 2007 album Reset & Rewind

Personal life

In 1997, Max married Alayna Bennett. They divorced in 2003 for undisclosed reasons. He remarried in April of 2005 to Amanda Lynn MacDonald. Their daughter, London, was born on October 7, 2005. [1] They lived in Hollywood, California, until July 2006, when Max and his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. In December 2006, Max announced on his website that he and Amanda were expecting the birth of their second child (a boy) in June 2007. He was born as Wilder Liam Max at 7:00PM on June 6, 2007. Kevin and family are currently moving again to Nashville where Kevin has secured a new recording contract.

See also

• dc Talk
• Tait
• Michael Tait
• Toby McKeehan
• Northern Records

External links

• Kevin Max
• Kevin Max MySpace site