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Max started playing piano in grade school, but no rock-minded kid wants to practice Beethoven!
Formal lessons only lasted for 3 years, and unfortunately, he didn't make the switch to guitar until college!
Once there, he met Oleo Polyester, who played some killer guitar and that was it... he was hooked.
The good girlfriend bought him a '64 Gibson Melody Maker for $75 that is still played today!
Of course now there are at least 9 or 10 guitars in the stable with a new Les Paul R0 Historic
being the mainstay.
Max's first band was a Grateful Dead cover band called Uranus. Most of the members of that band
are still playing today, even though that was a number of decades ago! Later bands included Technology
In Totalitarian Society (The T.I.T.S.), Dinner With the Relatives, Tongue and Groove, and The Greenheads.
Most of those bands played danceable, up-tempo, tongue-in-cheek, original tunes that were appropriate for
the 80's and early 90's.
Max has never forgotten his roots of the Allmans/Dead style of groove jams, while embracing
diverse sounds from Dire Straits, The Cars, The Cure, The Stones, Clapton, Neil Young, Jeff Beck,
Garbage, etc. There is also a deep appreciation for all Jazz, and especially the 70's style of Jazz Fusion.
All these influences have shaped Max's style over the years. Max has also been having fun with a
Santana-like sound that is capable of waking the neighbors!
Max has always been a fan of early Classic and Southern Blues as made popular by
acoustic Hot Tuna. The New England Blues scene is really strong and
there are a number of open Blues Jam
opportunities and you can
occasionally find Max at those
venues. Also, many players come down to
Jamspot in Somerville on Sundays to "strut their stuff!" in the
privacy of the showcase room. It's a great way to meet
like-minded Blues players and share their Blues knowledge.
Max and his band "Max's
Boogie Blues" played their
first Showcase gig at Kilroy's in
Quincy, MA. in early summer 2008. The 3 song showcase set
was a big hit with the crowd who
yelled for an encore! Of course,
that might have just been the
alcohol yelling... but still... That
band took the summer
off, and instead, Max was playing with a new band, The BluesBenders!
Max is now working on reforming his
Boogie Blues!
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