kevin max: the imposter

i got into christian rock when i was in middle school. my first introduction was the self titled cd by audio adrenaline. (i know, i know, i apologize, but back then i thought it was cool...) another band i thought was cool (and i will still defend this one) was dc talk. i got into them with the jesus freak cd, but really loved the supernatural album. when they announced they were breaking up i was pritty disappointed. then they all released solo stuff. like most people, i was first drawn to toby mac. his song extreme days totally rocks. but i thought the rest of the album was crappy "i want to be a hip hop star" filler. so i moved on. next, i checked out tait. i dug it actually. i really enjoyed his first album, and rather liked his second. i liked it, but never really got into it. on a whim i decided to check out kevin max's album. i gave it a listen, and decided it sucked, so i tucked it away for about 3 years. this spring i happened across it again after all this time. figured id give it a spin, an fell in love! wow! for some reason, all these years later, it really connects with me. i tracked down his short 7 song cd, and now have just gotten his latest from northern records. ive only been through it a few times so far, but i really like it! ill keep listening and get back to you about some of the details...

institute: distort yourself

i am a fan of the music group bush. i must admit that i came to the party a bit late. i wasnt really listening to that kind of music when they showed up on the scene. when i first got into them was actually after razorblade suitcase. unfortunately i had totally missed out on songs like come down and machine head. i went back and picked them up and really liked their first one, sixteen stone. i really got into them, for reasons i cant really explain, with the song the chemicals between us. i think it was the cool title of the album, the science of things, and the rad video for that song. but, i got that album and really dug it. years later they finally released a follow up with golden state. i didnt really care for it at first, but then it started to grow on me and i listened to it alot. actually, everytime i would play ssx3 video game i would put it on mute and listen to that album (i still instantly think of snowboarding every time i hear that cd) then the band broke up. doh...
i really dig gavin's stuff and was getting frustrated that he hadnt put any solo stuff out. his wife was getting all the attention, and the real musical genious of the family was playing second fiddle. well, finally this summer he released another album with a new band called institute. kind of a dumb name, but i can get over it. anyway, its totally awesome. ive had it in my car cd player for about the last month straight. it sounds exactly like bush, but the songs are so good, it sounds like a disc of bush's greatest hits.

a brief summary

i figured i would share a little bit about what i like to listen to. my musical tastes arent very strange at all. they are perfectly normal. if you think they are strange, perhaps it is just you who is the strange one, no?it would probably help to explain my music listening background. i grew up listening to country. not this crappy country thats so popular now, im talking REAL country music- like jonny cash, ronny milsap, oakridge boys, statler brothers, marty robbins, conway twitty, etc. as i began to choose what i wanted to listen to i was introduced by a couple friends to this whole 'christian rock' type stuff. so i started listening to stuff like audio adrenaline, newsboys, dc talk, etc. but i soon grew weary of the generic cookie cutter music and cheap lyrics. i started to explore the more offbeat christian music like joy electric, starflyer 59, ln, pony express, andrew osenga, etc. and still enjoy some of it. otherwise i like some of the stuff on the radio, but the past year or two i have found very few bands that i have any interest in. instead i just keep up with some older bands and enjoy their new stuff. bands like u2, our lady peace, black lab, bush (or now institute), nine inch nails, smashing pumpkins, verve pipe (or now brian vander ark), hootie and the blowfish, michael jackson, and a few others. anyway, thats my musical tastes in a nutshell. that should give you an idea of what kind of stuff i dig...