The Music of Black Max

A combination of genres, we find our roots best in the early and mid 20th century. From the vaudeville stage to the birth of rock n' roll we endeavor to take our listener on a gentle summer cruise through dark and turbulent waters.

Drawing influences from powerhouse artists like Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Stephin Merritt, our songs duke out the particulars of love, heartbreak, alienation and terror all with a strong lyrical edge. At times the musical dimensions look very familiar, but at the heart of the simple, driving arrangements is a theatrical sense of whimsy that we try to capture with almost every song.

As an ever-evolving project, we want to make sure that people know what we are up to. Yes we have our full length album, but we are also in the process of brewing new material. With the help of home recording, we're able to bring some of these samples to you here, often in extremely rough early forms. Sometimes it's all we can do to grab a guitar and a microphone before an idea leaves our heads. Others are more polished.

Clicking on our Black Max Radio music player, you will get to hear not only our professionally recorded material, but also an eclectic mix of "homebrew" demo pieces. We always feel that seeing the evolution of a song you like (or at least that We like!) is extremely satisfying, and this way you can see pieces as they change while enjoying some of the tunes before they distill into their final forms. Some of the tunes you hear at this site may not even reflect the current composition of the band. We have evolved and changed, but the songs remain. Other songs may be found at our Myspace page.Now that the band has found a stable and loving home in Memphis the rougher recordings will start getting replaced, but in the meantime enjoy!