Max Cady “Killing Me”
Each year, thousands of bands come to Los Angeles with dreams of stardom; some, like Guns N’ Roses or Jane’s Addiction achieve that elusive goal. But the Sunset Strip is littered with bad deals and broken promises.
Of course, the music business has experienced a mighty sea change since the halcyon Hair Metal Days. Back then, a band played the L.A. clubs, got seen by the right A&R reps, and got signed to a label.
These days, record companies are behind the curve. Any musician can upload a song to YouTube or ReverbNation and market their music unfiltered and without compromise.
Max Cady is a band that has been plugging away for quite a while. Formed in Dallas, Texas in 2003, they take their name from the malevolent character in film “Cape Fear.”
Robert Mitchum originated the role in 1962, Robert De Niro redefined the part, with direction from Martin Scorsese, in 1991. (Even Sideshow Bob from the “Simpsons” paid homage, with a hint of Gilbert & Sullivan, on an episode entitled “Cape Feare”)
Guitarist and lead vocalist, Justin Moore grew up inspired in equal measure by Black Flag, Minor Threat and Hair Metal bands. Although Max Cady has been through myriad changes, Moore has remained a stalwart presence. During their Texas years, they released three albums on the Sidearm label; Tonight Alive in 2005, Gun Crime in 2007 and Wicked Ways in 2011.
After relocating to Los Angeles a few years ago, Justin hooked up with bassist Carl Raether from Washington, D.C., guitarist Marc Boggio from Chicago, and Josh Fresia, a drummer originally from Kansas City. All three had cycled through a series of bands in their hometowns. It was the same story in L.A. Luckily, the chemistry between the foursome was electric. Max Cady was re-born.
The band immediately began gigging around L.A., playing notable venues like Boardners, Loaded and the Viper Room. They quickly developed a new repertoire of songs. Rather than wait for labels to pay attention, they have recorded and self-released a five song EP, Killing Me.
The album kicks into gear with “Stay.” A pummeling back-beat connects with tensile guitar riffs and thundering bass lines. The lyrics offer a succinct mantra of perseverance that mirrors Max Cady’s pursuit of a music career; “I saw a path and never looked away, and on that path I stay.”
“Killing Me” is the title track for a reason. Marauding, menacing and feral, it opens with sprawling guitar riffs anchored by triple-tattoo attack from drummer, Josh Fresia. Moore paints a vivid portrait of betrayal that is equal parts vengeful and philosophical. “I’ve had enough, I’m getting out, so far nothing true has come out of your mouth / It’s plain to see that you and me are far from friends, more like enemies/ And one day you’ll be gone, We’ll both be travelling on/And someday you will see that life’s too short for misery.”
At the instrumental break, the action grinds to a halt and suddenly downshifts into a Sabbath-y sludge-fest. Guitars scream and yowl and just as suddenly, the track accelerates, full speed ahead to a chaotic and cathartic conclusion.
“A Little Taste” is propelled by a monster hook. Here Fresia rides the hi-hat over Moore and Boggio’s tilt-a-whirl guitars. Raether tethers the low-end with rumbling bass lines. The lyrics offer an acrid take on the powerless grip of addiction; “Begged and bartered, bought and sold, it’s taken over, no control/A little taste in the morning for when I wake, a little taste on my tongue is what I crave.”
Defiant and unapologetic, “I Don’t Know Why” is a pure adrenaline rush. The rhythm careens with locomotion speed. Guitar riffs ricochet through the melody as stripped down and sinewy as Iggy Pop’s torso. It’s Punk 101 delivered with precision, economy, and a soupcon of justifiable arrogance.
The EP closes with the vaguely Oedipal angst of “Breakfast In Bed.” Lyrics conjure up a Greek tragedy waiting to happen; “Papa, break me off something, kick the door in again/Mama’s cooking up something, it ain’t breakfast in bed.”
Piloted by a whip-crack rhythm and roiling bass notes, chicken-scratch guitar licks give way to riffs that fuzz, buzz and howl. The tempo slows to a crawl before Moore and Boggio unleash a series of strafing guitar solos that detonate like smart bombs. A heady conclusion to a wild ride.
Max Cady is the real deal. In a bygone era when the “M” in MTV stood for music, this band would have been equally on home on the Punk-leaning “120 Minutes,” or the harder edged “Headbanger’s Ball.”
The only downside to this five song EP is just that, it’s over after five songs. This music is highly addictive. The listener’s only option is to program the CD player to “repeat” until Max Cady’s full-length album arrives.
Eleni P. Austin – www.coachellavalleyweekly.com – May 7, 2015
Legal Tender, Aeges, Goldsboro & Max Cady Play At The Viper Room
…Doors opened at 8:30 and a few minutes past 9, Max Cady started off the show with a more than decent set. Comprising four members hailing from different cities but coming together in Los Angeles to pursue this band, Max Cady presented a style of hard rock that’s clearly reliant on riffs and is portrayed through great guitar tones. Their set carried a dark, laid-back vibe that compelled those in attendance to stay inside the venue for the entirety of it. Most of the tunes they played moved at a mid-paced tempo, except for two of the last three songs which had some faster parts. The riffs are definitely strong enough to make a positive impact, and the songwriting built around these riffs is solid, but perhaps the only shortcoming they have as of now is a bit of sameness in the songs, specially tempo-wise. They would be well-served with a little more variation in that aspect. Nonetheless, good start to the show by Max Cady.
Andrew Bansal – www.metalassault.com – June 19, 2014
Max Cady “Wicked Ways”
Wicked Ways, the new album from Justin Moore-led Dallas rock vets Max Cady, is a solid album. There’s not much anyone will likely find objectionable, but there’s not much to make one who isn’t already into Max Cady get more excited about the current incarnation of the band. Perhaps blame it on a strong year for North Texas rock. Releases from Descender, Here Holy Spain, Soviet, Darstar, True Widow and Maleveller, among others, have set the bar terribly high for albums that aim to strip the paint off Elm or Main street storefronts. The straightforward, power-plowing collection, especially tracks such as “40 Nights” and “Obey,” leaves no need for hyphenated labels and the lack of pretense is admirable, even if the songs grow a bit one-note as the album spins away. Such is the risk with Max Cady, a band that’s always been upfront about its desire to aggressively pursue truth by blasting out amps.
Kelly Dearmore – Dallas Observer – Thursday, Dec 8 2011
Max Cady – Wicked Ways
One of Dallas’ longest running rock acts, Max Cady gets wicked with a disc infused with Foo Fighter ferocity and Red Jumpsuit aspirations. The band doesn’t break any new ground here, but fans will be pleased to add this to their collection. Straightforward progressions and some fuzzy riffing make this disc easy to head bang or fist pump to. Check out ” I Wont Obey” and “Jimmy Swagger” to swim in the band’s pool of irreverence. Max-Cady.com has more for you!
– Mark – LIT Monthly – December 2011
This Week’s Video Gold: Max Cady
I’m not going to lie and say that Dallas rock band Max Cady’s newest album, Wicked Ways, is one of my favorite albums of the year. It’s solid, sure, but it’s just not revving my motor the way in which I had hoped it would, I guess. Regardless, their video for their song “40 Nights” is cool, and definitely worth your time, you dig? Enjoy.
Kelly Dearmore – The Squawker – Best of TX Blog – November 28, 2011
Take Five: Local Songs for Your Weekend
Justin Moore, “20 Years” (listen) – The Dallas rock band Max Cady has toiled in the scene for a few years now. Lead singer Justin Moore sought out some production help from Paul Williams at Tomcast for the band’s soon-to-be-released third album, Wicked Ways. What’s different about this one, though, is that it will come out on the same day as a solo record from Moore called Four Letter Blues. And while I certainly appreciate Max Cady’s no-frills approach to rock ‘n’ roll, I’m finding more to chew on in Moore’s side thang. “20 Years” sounds like a reverential ode to Nirvana. Good timing! I’ll revisit Moore and Max Cady once a release date is nailed down.
– Hunter Hauk – DMagazine.Com – October 7, 2011
Dirk Nowitzki, Mark Cuban and Brian Cardinal Continue Tour, Bring NBA Trophy to The Loon
After stopping off at the LIV nightclub in Miami Beach on Sunday night (where Mark Cuban reportedly dropped $110,000 on drinks), the Dallas Mavericks and the Larry O’Brien Trophy continued its whirlwind tour last night, as NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Brian “The Custodian” Cardinal and others popped over to McKinney Avenue bar The Loon to continue their celebration.
There, Nowitzki, Cuban and Cardinal posed for pictures with various fans — and even let them hold the trophy, in some cases.
Among those who got to hold the trophy? Justin Moore, an eight-year vet of tending bar at The Loon and the frontman for area rock outfit Max Cady.
For those of you counting at home, this now makes two local musicians that have been photographed holding the trophy before you have or maybe ever will. The other would be noted area rapper Big Hoodboss, the man behind the weed-and-drank anthem, “I Got It,” who was at LIV in Miami on Sunday night and who now has a picture of him holding the trophy serving as his Twitter avatar. (Oak Cliff rapper Lil Twist came close; Twist stood next to labelmate and mentor Lil Wayne as Weezy held the trophy on Sunday night.)
After the jump, courtesy of Moore, check out a few other pictures from the team and the trophy’s visit to The Loon last night. And, for good measure, enjoy a video of the crowd at The Loon belting out Queen’s “We Are The Champions,” too.
Pete Freedman PICTURE SHOW – Tue., Jun. 14 2011
TOP LOCAL SHOWS
The rockers in MAX CADY are playing a show sponsered by Lone Star Beer on Saturday night at Bryan Street Tavern. Yes, that means complimentary brewskis will be available while they last. 4315 Bryan St. 214-821-4447. www.bryanstreettavern.com
Hunter Hauk – Quickdfw.com – September 19, 2010
NEWS
The new lineup for Max Cady is complete and they begin performing this month. Also keep an eye out or a new CD titled Wicked Ways. Front man Justin Moore promises this will be the band’s best disc ever. That’s a tall order. Stayed tuned.
– Mark Beneventi – LIT Monthly – September 2010
MAX CADY
Max Cady is commonly regarded and celebrated as one of Dallas’ best hard rock groups. They have been nominated in two consecutive Dallas Music Awards for Best Hard Rock Acts and for good reason. If you are looking for a good musical ass whooping look no further than the Max Cady show at Dan’s Sliver Leaf this Friday.
– Josh Hogan – mydentonmusic.com – November 8, 2009
Auld Bang Syne
…The bill also includes Dallas’ Max Cady — a loud mod-rockish quartet that boasts back-in-the-day Deep Ellum stalwart Spyche on bass…
– KEN SHIMAMOTO – Fort Worth Weekly – Wednesday, December 9, 2009
MAX CADY
Fans of ear-splitting rock might want to pull themselves away from the new Trees for a night to check out a show by Max Cady. They’re back from the dead with some new members after a yearlong hiatus.
10:30 p.m. Bryan Street Tavern, 4315 Bryan St. 214-821-4447. bryanstreettavern.com.
– Hunter Hauk – QUICKDFW.COM – Thursday, August 20, 2009
Moore Money, Moore Problems For Max Cady’s Justin Moore
Just got an amusing email from Justin Moore, frontman for the Cape Fear-lovin’, perennially DOMA-nominated hard rock act Max Cady.
Seems Moore is starting to work on an upcoming solo record–and he didn’t realize until just recently that there’s already a solo artist named Justin Moore out there. Oh, and better yet, until recently, this other Justin Moore was scheduled to perform on October 3 at House of Blues’ Pontiac Garage. Much to the local Moore’s chagrin, of course. Especially considering that the other, Nashville-based Moore has a song called “I Could Kick Your Ass.”
Writes the local Moore:
“I finally started recording my solo record and this douche bag, that shares my name, surfaces. What an asshole. ‘I Could Kick Your Ass.’ Are you kidding me?” At least the canceled HOB date is sitting well with the local Moore: “Guess I don’t have to kick his ass,” he says.
Pete Freedman – DC9 at Night – Wed., Aug. 20 2008
MAX CADY
Q: What Do Max Cady And Spinal Tap Have In Common?
A: Neither can keep a drummer.
“Max Cady is now looking for our 6th drummer in 5 years,” writes Justin Moore, vocalist and guitarist for the local rock outfit. “What a fucking nightmare…”
The Spinal Tap comparison’s an easy one, sure, but, c’mon, even Moore seems to think something’s amiss.
“Am I on candid camera?” he writes. “Is this a joke?”
Hell if I know. But it is a little funny. And it gives us an excuse to post the above scene from This Is Spinal Tap, and that’s always a good thing in our book.
– Pete Freedman -Dallas Observer – DC9 at Night Blog – 6-4-2008
Max Cady Frontman Doubles Down On Releases
The Dallas rock band Max Cady released its first album seven years ago. Tonight Alive combined hair-band riffs and punk-rock vocals, and its visceral power somehow made up for a lack of sonic innovation. Less was more.
Since then, newer recordings haven’t moved far beyond the established formula. Max Cady (named after the sinister Cape Fear character) also hasn’t managed to make much headway in popularity outside Dallas. But what really frustrates 37-year-old frontman Justin Moore is that his band has gone through about seven different lineups in as many years.
“I think there’ve been two times in Max Cady’s life where there’s been real momentum,” Moore told me over sandwiches at Jimmy’s a few weeks ago. “People showing up, talking about it. Performances, seamless and rocking. But it’s always a lineup change that kills it.”
The reasons none of the band’s rosters has stuck are too varied and predictable to detail here. Certainly nothing as entertaining as the events of This Is Spinal Tap. What’s compelling is the guy’s rugged determination to keep it up.
“If I could simply survive, make a living on music, that’d be good,” Moore said. “I’ve probably spent enough to pay off a house on band stuff. I’m the writer, the promoter, the driver and the manager.
“But every time I play in a room with other people – f—-n’ stupid as it sounds – I feel like that’s the reason I’m alive.”
Ah, there it is, the reason countless rockers keep on plugging in scenes around the world, to the detriment of their finances and health. At the same time, a certain skepticism tends to creep into the psyche as the worry lines become more visible.
“There are a lot of references in the music now about getting older and feeling this ticking clock, like, ‘I’ve gotta make something happen now!’ I don’t think that’s ever going to go away … well, unless something actually happens.
“I’m not counting on it, but I’m still trying.”
Moore’s latest attempt at making something happen consists of two full-length records released on the same day, last month.
The Max Cady album Wicked Ways (listen here) continues the riff-and-response, anti-melodic tradition, but benefits from increased vocal distortion as well as the studio skills of co-producer Paul Williams (Polyphonic Spree, Sorta, Burden Bros). It’s an apt, simple soundtrack for road rage: volume up, foot on the pedal, dead eyes forward. Moore’s on guitars and vocals; he’s joined by guitarist Craig Reeves, bassist Steve Murphy and drummer Tom Bridwell.
Bridwell (who runs Tomcast Studios and plays with Sorta and Chris Holt, among others) is also a key player on Moore’s second release, a solo record called Four Letter Blues (listen here). Here, Moore shows some unexpected vocal range and plays around with the musical influences that don’t necessarily fit on a Max Cady project. Anyone who listens to the Edge 24/7 could find something to enjoy, whether it’s the Toadies-worthy light blues of “Bound to Lose,” the subconscious
Nirvana ode “20 Years” or the slow-burning porn-worship anthem “Lela Star.”
“I don’t think I had a specific genre I wanted it to fit into. … My place has an extra bedroom, where I keep all my gear and s—ty recording equipment. I’ll just go in and start playing electric guitar until I come up with a riff; then I develop from there. I’ll usually just hum the melody for a while. Although, my stuff’s really not that melodic. [Laughs.]”
And what, exactly, helped mold Moore’s musical tastes when he was younger?
“The first music that captured me was early ’80s punk. Minor Threat, Black Flag – I like the rawness of that kind of s–t. At the same time, I liked hair bands. … I guess it all just melted into what I do.”
So, the two records are available now, but Moore’s unsure about where he’ll go with them. The studio players on the Max Cady album aren’t all in the band’s permanent live lineup. Hell, Max Cady might never have security in that way. So its singer’s currently trying to figure out ways to perform some of his new material alone.
“It’s pretty frightening,” he said. “Not sure if my voice lends itself to the solo acoustic thing, but I’ll try it.
“Playing music is the only thing that brings any sort of change physically and emotionally in me.”
Well, here’s to change.
Hunter Hauk – D Magazine Front Row – November 9th, 2011
Take Five: Local Songs for Your Weekend
Justin Moore, “20 Years” – The Dallas rock band Max Cady has toiled in the scene for a few years now. Lead singer Justin Moore sought out some production help from Paul Williams at Tomcast for the band’s soon-to-be-released third album, Wicked Ways. What’s different about this one, though, is that it will come out on the same day as a solo record from Moore called Four Letter Blues. And while I certainly appreciate Max Cady’s no-frills approach to rock ‘n’ roll, I’m finding more to chew on in Moore’s side thang. “20 Years” sounds like a reverential ode to Nirvana. Good timing! I’ll
revisit Moore and Max Cady once a release date is nailed down.
Hunter Hauk -D Magazine Front Row – October 7th, 2011
Moore Money, Moore Problems For Max Cady’s Justin Moore
Just got an amusing email from Justin Moore, frontman for the Cape Fear-lovin’, perennially DOMA-nominated hard rock act Max Cady.
Seems Moore is starting to work on an upcoming solo record–and he didn’t realize until just recently that there’s already a solo artist named Justin Moore out there. Oh, and better yet, until recently, this other Justin Moore was scheduled to perform on October 3 at House of Blues’ Pontiac Garage. Much to the local Moore’s chagrin, of course.
Especially considering that the other, Nashville-based Moore has a song called “I Could Kick Your Ass.”
Writes the local Moore:
“I finally started recording my solo record and this douche bag, that shares my name, surfaces. What an asshole. ‘I Could Kick Your Ass.’ Are you kidding me?”
At least the canceled HOB date is sitting well with the local Moore: “Guess I don’t have to kick his ass,” he says.
Pete Freedman – DC9 at Night – Wed., Aug. 20 2008
MAX CADY – GUN CRIME
Bands such as Max Cady demonstrate the Dallas music scene is far from dead. The band has beats that drop with a force that can only be compared to gravity. A few songs such as “Five Weeks” and “Fresh, Hot and Delicious” rock a notch above the rest -but all of ‘em rock nonetheless.
This band has come a long way since their early days of playing for coked-out crowds of convicted outlaw bikers in bars that shall remain nameless. Max Cady is Justin Moore (vocals/guitar), Pablo Xiques (bass), Drew Henry (drums) and Jeff Biehler (guitar). If you get the chance to see ‘em live, do so.
– Shane Epting – HARDER BEAT – November 2007
MAX CADY – GUN CRIME
If there is one thing that is inherently wrong with rock-n-roll throughout its existence, it’s that there are bands that wither take themselves too seriously and inundate us with trite, overblown anthemic rock and that don’t take themselves seriously enough and inundate us with trite, overblown anthemic rock. Regardless, many listeners with IQ’s higher than the average meth abuser like their rock music smart enough to weed lout the slack jawed yokels. Bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Local H and Foo Fighters are among those that continue to produce fairly intelligent rock music on a consistent basis. Add Dallas’ MAX CADY to the list. With “One Good Eye,” “Gravity” and “Excite Me,” the band capitalize on the promise they showed on 2005’s Tonight Alive, with punchy riffs, solid beats and a laid back sense of cool.
– David Cobbi – ENVY MAGAZINE – November 2007
MAX CADY – GUN CRIME
Dallas band Max Cady has been working on this CD for a long time. For fans of dirty garage rock and punk genres, it was well worth the time and effort. Known for the intensity and excitement of their live shows, the band finally delivers a take home version. Though it starts a bit meekly, Gun Crime boasts a “Murderer’s Row” of straight up rockers, including “Gravity,” “Sinner,” “Five Weeks” and the title track. You can hear strains of dozens of great bands as the disc (and your speakers) beats you up. Fans of the Pixies, The Strokes, White Stripes and Queens of The Stone Age will dig these tracks. Drums that range from punk lightning to tribal beating perfectly accentuate the layered guitars and Justin Moore’s Iggy-meets-Alice vocals. Play it loud, kill the Queen.
– Mark Beneventi – LIT MONTHLY – October 2007
DAILY CD REVIEW: A TWO-FER!
Max Cady, Gun Crime (Sidearm): Local bartender extrordinaire Justin Moore’s straight-for-the-jugular metal outfit has been one of Dallas’ hidden gems for more than four years now. It’s riff-propelled sound — equal parts AC/DC, Burning Brides and Kix (remember them, reformed ’80s headbangers?) with sprinkles of Rollins Band and Ramones, has two fantastically redeeming qualities: it’s easy to get crazy to and really conducive to a grinding, overdriven and lusty live set. Max Cady supplies both with brassy skill, and the essence of its no-nonsense stage act is captured well on this, its second CD. Cuts such as “Five Weeks” and “Gravity” will be served by Mr. Moore and co. with spittly verve on a smoky, beer-warped platform near you soon, but that rawness is also the CD’s major weakness. Especially on punkier tracks such as “Fresh Hot and Delicious” and the title track, solo tones are thin, the snare hits are inconsistently rattly, and the bass tone is stringy. Other decisons, such as the oblique guitar fills on “My Final Lie” and Mr. Moore’s brisk and erosive vocals, tend to grate more than ingratiate as well. Overall, Gun Crime does maintain a strong case for Max Cady as a snarly club-rock band. But in recorded form, it’s game has room for growth.
– Mike Daniel – GUIDELIVE.COM – September 24, 2007
REVIEW: MAX CADY CD RELEASE AT DOUBLE WIDE
Sat Sep 22, 2007 at 11:27:06 AM
“It’s like a freight train of rock,” my friend Nick leans over to tell me. I had never seen Max Cady (rhymes with lady, not caddy as the opening band, Salute, thought) before I got to the Double Wide last night for the CD release party of the band’s second album, Gun Crime.
I know of Max Cady from trying to peel its stickers off of that chrome bar in every bathroom stall in Dallas while I’m peeing. Not that I dislike their stickers or had any animosity toward them, it’s just the only thing to do when you’re standing there trying to expel however many beers out of your system and you’re all out of boogers to wipe on the wall.
OK, so I managed to get a little crass there, and maybe a little too personal, I remember the first time I was with a girl in a guy’s bathroom and she noticed all the hardened boogers on the wall and became visibly and audibly repulsed at the thought of men evacuating their bladders and leaning over to rid their hands of their new found nose friends, but here is the point I was trying to achieve with all of this is that -– well, shit, that fits in there a little too well –- Max Cady makes me want to pick my nose and drink beer and be in a bathroom stall with a girl… two girls, and we have to scream questions at each other until we all just do that loud concert, “OH, OK,” acquiescence because we can’t hear anything over the rock.
Immediately after taking the stage the entire crowd at the Double Wide took a cue from Jeff, the Flying V player in the group, and lit up a cigarette covering the whole set in an inch of smoke that might have been a trick to make the lights look cool. Somebody compared Max Cady to Queens of the Stone Age, but I would like to think that any one of these guys would have kicked Josh Homme in the nuts and made him grow his hair out.
The sound didn’t let up until … well the sound is still with me and I don’t know if it is going to let up at all today. The songs started and I just found my fingers curling up into the devil horns on their own free will. And as with any Dallas group, you see these guys passed out at (fill in the blank) bar and once you see them you can’t believe how tight they are. Not that being a “tight” band should be a compliment, but how may times have you had to see your friend’s band and you just shook your head while they pretend rock and fumbled through some songs you heard them writing last night. — Justin Skrakowski
Highlight of the night: Losing count of all the guys who weigh 130 pounds dripping wet, wearing a black shirt with one full sleeve of tattoo and another bare arm because they ran out of money after their first tattoo session. Seriously, it was the recruiting station for one armed-tattoo black shirt guys.
– DALLASOBSERVER.COM – September 22, 2007
GET BEHIND THE MUSIC
A DART bus inspired a new Max Cady song.
We asked Justin Moore, lead singer of Dallas rock ‘n’ roll band Max Cady, to tell us about three of his favorite tracks off new album Gun Crime . The band will release the CD with a show tomorrow at Double Wide.
“Gun Crime” –”The idea for the title track was taken off the side of a DART bus that runs in my neighborhood in southeast Dallas. The side of the bus reads ‘Gun crime gets you more time,’ which is also the lyrics of the chorus.”
“Five Weeks” –”It’s about an ex that I ran into five weeks after we had broken up. I expected it to be a civil interaction, but she ended up reading me the riot act.”
“Excite Me” –”My favorite track on the record. I wrote it about the mudane routine of life that humans get into. The chorus is begging for a change of some sort.”
– Hunter Hauk – QUICKDFW.COM – Thursday, September 20, 2007
RANDOM NOTES
Dallas rock band Max Cady is gearing up to drop new album Gun Crime next weekend with a CD-release show Sept. 21 at its second home, Double Wide. Find out more and hear some music at www.myspace.com/maxcady.
– Hunter Hauk – DALLASNEWS.COM – September 13, 2007
DOMA SHOWCASE “REVIEW”
…So, going forward with the theme, the next band to come on stage was Max Cady. This is one of those bridesmaid-but-never-the-bride-type bands in Dallas. They’ve opened up for a whole host of huge names in the hard rock and garage punk genres including Fu Manchu, Blue Oyster Cult, The Toadies, Local H, and the Breeders to name a few, and despite some spots on the Warped Tour and Ticketstock, they haven’t quite gotten over the local hump. Hopefully this will all change with the release of their sophomore album, Gun Crime, on September 18. After getting to finally see them live for myself, it’s clear they’re on the verge. Max Cady puts together a no BS show that rocks from the start to the finish. They are definitely one of the harder local bands you must see in concert. And then, of course, there was Bob, the keyboardist (see photo gallery) who really brought it home…
– Erin Rice – PEGASUSNEWS.COM – August 13, 2007
2007 DALLAS OBSERVER MUSIC AWARDS SHOWCASE
Max Cady – 10pm – Nominated for Best Hard Rock
Named after the creepy stalker villain from the flick Cape Fear, Max Cady indeed fills the soul with an adrenal fight-or-flight instinct. Why? Cuz the sound of a Gibson pounding fuzzy through a Marshall rig is supposed to scare the shit out of you, that’s why. But with Max Cady, it’s a good scare, the kind of heart-pumping thrill you’d get on a 110-foot bungee jump. Power chords and a dirty attitude, drums spanked like a tantrum-prone toddler, ragged vocals sung about topics ranging from bad girls to bad crimes—these are the blood and guts of Max Cady. Beware.
– Jonanna Widner – DALLAS OBSERVER – August 9, 2007
MAX CADY TO RELEASE GUN CRIME ON SEPTEMBER 18TH
Max Cady, the rock, just rock, straight up rock like your mama likes rock, rock band from Dallas will finally be releasing their second album. Gun Crime is due out on September 18, with an official CD release party on September 21 at the Double Wide.
Back in December PegNews previewed a rough version of the album, and were oddly inspired by the gun-reference laden, sort of violent record that raged behind lead singer Justin Moore’s lyrics. What that says about us, I don’t know, but I look forward to hearing the final, mastered work. Bloody revenge, still cool.
Don’t forget to also catch Max Cady at the Billiard Bar on August 11 as part of the DOMA showcase, where they will share the stage with the other harder nominees, Mitra, Baboon, Exit 380, Hey Hollywood, and Mad Mexicans, in these otherwise slightly wussified awards.
– Erin Rice – PEGASUSNEWS.COM – July 31, 2007
ALIVE AND WELL – COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE
The people who claim that rock is dead have obviously never heard Max Cady. Tonight Alive, the group’s debut, earned the band praise upon its release in early 2005 for its songs that resonate with a stripped-down aesthetic rare for modern rock-n-roll. Max Cady (named after the Cape Fear character) sounds like a more organic Queens of The Stone Age or a less bombastic Monster Magnet.
Front man Justin Moore describes Max Cady’s music as “loud riff-oriented rock-n roll,” and decries bands that simply mimic radio friendly rock in hopes of being noticed. “We’re not one of those bands,” he says. “I sit down, pick up a guitar and just play what feels right. I think it’s impossible to write a song without your influences seeping in, but I’ve never consciously written a tune to sound like any other band or any specific genre of music. I think my songs are some sort of culmination of every song I’ve ever heard.”
Even with steady gigs and the support of fans, like other local bands, Max Cady has to fight for its place in the competitive (and often apathetic) local music scene. Lack of local support is a common complaint among Metroplex musicians. “DFW has some really good bands…” Moore says. “But there is a lack of support from the people of this city and a lack of promotion from the bands, the press, the radio and the people themselves.”
Of course, a lot of bands don’t get chances to open for Toadies, The Breeders, Blue Oyster Cult and Local H. “We’ve been fortunate to play with some really great bands that have influenced me tremendously. If we’re on the right bill and we’re ‘on’ (playing well) we can play with anybody and we usually get a great response. Put us on the road with a hardcore band because that is the closest you could get to our sound. Crickets.”
Max Cady’s new album should be released this spring. “We did it in five days, at Artisan Studios with Paul Williams (Polyphonic Spree, Flickerstick, Burden Brothers) engineering,” Moore says. “The time constraints we were working under gave the record a very energetic, almost live feel. It sounds great… the tentative title is going to be Killing Time. A nice cheery war-time title for the kids.”
Among the many bands hoping to grace an Austin stage during this year’s SXSW, Max Cady plans to accompany the new album with a tour. “I’ve sent out the rough mixes of the record to lots of industry folks so maybe something will happen then,” Moore says. “If not, I plan on releasing the record on my own again in April. We’ll follow up the release of the record with a tour and start this whole mess of a process over again early next year.”
– David Cobb – ENVY MAGAZINE – March 2007
JUSTIN’S PICK OF THE WEEK – MAX CADY
The gamut of bands that declare themselves the savior of rock-n-roll in miles wide and as deep as the devil’s nut sack. Sadly, very few qualify, while most unknowingly drag rock into the mud (see band -) yet out of Dallas springs the bastard child of the true rock spirit where Foghat Live is on a loop in your ’77 Firebird and Pat Travers is still “snortin whiskey and drinking cocaine”. So if the flares still fit and you have no idea where to hang the God’s Eye, then take an hour to re-charge and check out MAX CADY at the Double Wide.
Akin to Southern Cal’s Fu Manchu, stapling riffs together with hard edged melodies, Max Cady could have easily existed in the rock heyday of the seventies and eighties, where a low-strung Gibson and a stomp box was Thor’s Hammer of music. Today’s idea of rock has been blown to smithereens as young emo bands soften it up or metal just demolishes its carnal pleasures and has taken the wing out of it. Nothing is more rock-n-fucking-roll than the swagger of Thin Lizzy or the party down classic of Van Halen: sexy, thunderous and spirited. Rock music is not a black trucker hat and a scowl; it’s Flying V and hair swinging to and fro, it’s about chicks moving their money makers and the T-Tops to and old Z. It’s Max Cady and their worship of the song, the melody and the wallop of the good rhythm.
So if you want the landscape to be continued to be littered by bands that think that Nirvana was sort of groundbreaking band, or that kids in their sister’s jeans is a sign of rebellion, then keep playing dead, but if you want your 1982 back, then support the Double Wide and Max Cady.
– Justin Press , DALLAS OBSERVER- January 25, 2007
SAMPLE MAX CADY
If you prefer a more visceral rock ‘n’ roll experience with plenty of adult beverages, you might want to head to Double Wide tonight for Max Cady’s show. The Dallas band will preview material from its upcoming sophomore album (tentatively titled Killing Time). Frontman Justin Moore told us of the new tunes, “My influences are bleeding through a little more on this one, and we played around more with the vocals.” He joked, “It’ll definitely be more accessible to 14-year-old girls.” Hey, if that ain’t a reason to check ’em out, what is?
– Hunter Hauk, DALLAS MORNING NEWS – January 25, 2007
YOU MEAN THERE’S ALL THIS ON A THURSDAY?
…If that’s not your style, then you can head on over to the Double Wide for a night of good old plain rock (and some punk and maybe a little indie influence). The Feds are headlining, and well, they’re just so darn popular if you have not seen them yet you probably should take this opportunity. Also on the ticket is Max Cady. Justin Moore, the band’s lead vocals, came to our offices not too long ago to talk about the group and ever since I have been patiently waiting for them to play another live show. Not to mention that their new material is killer. So if you’re into plain ol’ rock and roll then this show is a good choice.
– Erin Rice, PEGASUSNEWS.COM – January 25, 2007
MAX CADY NEW ALBUM PREVIEW
In a most unprofessional move, I have held off writing a preview for this as yet unnamed, rough mix for nearly three weeks now. The reason for this is that I was not quite sure at first what to say. In a new music atmosphere full of rock subgenres, like emo, screamo, indie rock, alternative rock, ambient rock, one rock, two rock, red rock, blue rock, I was not completely prepared to analyze a CD that is none of that.
Max Cady released their first album, Tonight Alive, in 2004 and for the past two years have been playing shows in support of that work. Finally the guys have headed back to the studio for this second album, co-produced with Paul Williams, of which I was given a rough version. In our interview earlier this month, Justin Moore, Max Cady’s lead singer, admitted that he’s not sure when the album will be released, but that it’s mostly complete. From the rough edit given to me to preview, I would say he’s correct in assuming that. Listening to it, I cannot imagine what else the band would want to change.
Max Cady’s brand of stripped down rock is back at its finest in this album. Most of the tracks are very drum heavy, by which I mean that they have a foreground presence, and are not merely a backdrop to the other instruments. They do not, however, sound overly complex, but are rather played with heavy hands and lots of cymbals which lend to this album’s overall old-school rock feel. The vocals are a constant across most of the album, but this is not to mean that they get tired and typical. In sticking with the naked rock theme, Moore, while taking more chances overall in these tracks compared to the last album, sticks to his angry, every-syllable emphasis throughout.
As the band contends, you will find no ballads lodged anywhere within this album. You won’t find uplifting music. You won’t find that one song with a positive message. All you’ll find is rock. With lyrics about revenge, chicks (“you’re so fresh, hot, delicious;” well hopefully this is about girls and not donuts), and more than one tune detailing bullets and guns, the fast paced album harkens back to rock from another era. One can envision that kid laying on the floor of his room, feet up on the bed, big headphones on, listening to this album and looking through his parents’ old records, plotting against the school bully. Then of course, I can only imagine the carnage and head banging in the pit when Moore repeatedly belts out “bullet in the gun” to a pulsating crowd of jean and black t-shirt clad young adults. Hell yeah.
Take this write-up as more of a preview than a review, given that the final copy of the album is not yet complete. I will, however, say this to end: In a time when rock is being mashed up with several other genres, sometimes well and other times disastrously, it’s oddly refreshing to hear a stripped down, fast paced song about getting your bloody revenge. Put the therapist on speed dial.
– Erin Rice, PEGASUSNEWS.COM – December 29, 2006
MAX CADY
Since 2003, Max Cady (pronounced maks-cA-dE) has been joyfully beating down the barriers between rock, punk, garage, pop and metal. The band members will say “call [the music] whatever you like. We call it rock-n-roll.” So rock-n-roll it is! And to elaborate, singer-guitarist Justin Moore adds, “in the beginning, we set out to play loud, fast rock-n-roll and that’s exactly what we’re doing…and will continue to do.”
Max Cady is a coming together of the remnants of several cool Dallas bands, including Vibrolux, Crash Vinyl and Frill. And after a couple of years of touring, they have played shows with many great national acts such as Andrew WK, Fu Manchu, The Breeders, Vendetta Red, The Queers and Lou Barlow. They have also played shows with Texas greats like Hagfish, Burden Brothers, Baboon, The Riverboat Gamblers, Vallejo, The Feds, Fair to Midland, Kissinger and The Golden Falcons.
Max Cady’s debut album, Tonight Alive, was released on singer-guitarist Justin Moore’s own label, Sidearm Entertainment in August 2004. The national release date was January 11, 2005. Tonight Alive was recorded at Last Beat Studios in Dallas. TX, with engineer/producer Paul Williams. Paul has also tweaked knobs for Polyphonic Spree, Flickerstick and the Burden Brothers.
– PEGASUSNEWS.COM – December 2006
LOCAL SHOW REVIEWS
Max Cady – June 17, 2006 – Red Eyed Fly
Time to go back to Austin kiddos. It’s also time for me to get to see one of my favorite unsigned, Texas bands. I’m talking about Dallas’ own MAX CADY. Having not had the ability to see them for quite some time, I was quite elated that the stars aligned this time around. Let me tell you mi amigos, it was absolutely worth the wait. Opening with an awesome instrumental before launching into an equally impressive set, I was in rock-and-roll heaven. If you haven’t had the good fortune of catching these guys, I feel for you. This is not a band for lovers of slacker music or half-ass musicians. This is what rock-and roll was meant to be. They are unrelenting, not wasting any time in between songs. They do have a great album out, Tonight Alive, which they did play songs from such as “Wake Up” and the kick ass “The Problem’s End,” but the album does not do their stage show justice. It was also great to hear some new songs like “One Good Eye” and “Gravity,” but it was even better to hear their new drummer David Spearman. This man is intense and only makes a hot band even hotter. When they were done, I could honestly say they left me wanting to hear more. I can only hope that it’s not such a long wait before the next time I see them, and I also hope you get the chance. Visit them at max-cady.com for more info and do see them if you have the opportunity. You, like I was that night, will not be let down.
– Matt Maribella, EDGE MAGAZINE – July 2006
ALT MUSIC: AROUND HEAR
Tonight Alive – Max Cady
Nothing here but high energy rock ‘n’ roll, the kind of thing that blazes like Crazy Horse with an unstoppable erection, the kind of thing that squeals and squawks like AC/DC with a vaster imagination, the kind of thing that’s still not afraid to pull out a stop ‘n’ start break in the fashion of Jesus Lizard, etc. when the time is right. Guitarists Justin Moore and Jeff Biehler form a smoldering alliance that buoys tracks such as “The Problem End” and “I Don’t Know.” The Texas quartet doesn’t offer many songs here that will enter into the pantheon of great rock numbers but it’s all good times while it lasts and enough to spin you into a reverie for the days or old when there wasn’t anything wrong with plugging in a guitar and putting your head and heart into the wind.
– Jedd Beaudoin, F5: WICHITA’S ALT NEWS – May 11, 2006
SHOT IN TEXAS, SCREENED AT TRIBECA
MOVIES: Dallas, Waxahachie were backdrops for filmmakers’ debut projects
NEW YORK – They took different routes from Texas to Manhattan.
Amy Talkington is a former debutante from Dallas who’s been toiling in the industry for 10 years. Ash Christian is a 21-year-old gay man from Paris (Texas, not France), and a graduate of Rowlett High School.
Both were at the Tribeca Film Festival for the world premieres of their debut features. And both were excited to be there, even if they showed it in different ways.
Ms. Talkington, talked like a filmmaker who knew it wasn’t a question of if her first movie would get made, but when.
“I have my plate so full right now,” says Ms. Talkington, a tall, mid-30s blonde with fashionable eyeglasses, the day after her film, The Night of the White Pants, premiered at the festival. “But I’m thrilled. I hope we get a good distributor. That’s what it all comes down to.”
Mr. Christian, a pudgy guy who wears his excitement on his sleeve, is here with Fat Girls. He doesn’t try to act like Tribeca is no big deal.
“I’m just a kid from Paris, Texas,” he says. “I’m 21. Doing press, talking to MTV … it’s just overwhelming. Seeing a line around the corner for my movie made me feel like crying. It’s such an honor. I’m really excited.”
White Pants, shot in Dallas over 22 very hot days last summer, is a comedy about a Dallas rocker (Harlingen, Texas, native Nick Stahl) who spends a wild night on the town with his girlfriend’s father (Tom Wilkinson), an oil magnate in midlife free fall.
The film uses recognizable Dallas locations, including the Adolphus, Swiss Avenue (including the home of Ms. Talkington’s mom, Dallas preservationist Virginia McAlester), the Adam Hats building in Deep Ellum and the redneck-chic bar Double Wide. It also features music from a number of Dallas bands, including Max Cady and 25% Toby.
Ms. Talkington, who went to high school at Hockaday and graduate school at Columbia University, lived in New York until shortly after 9/11, when she moved to Los Angeles. She’s been working writing jobs to pay the bills, including ghostwriting a book for Britney Spears and her mom, while trying to get her own projects going.
Now her patience is paying off. The day she left for Tribeca, she delivered a script for another film.
It’s based on the soon-to-be-published novel The Devil in the Junior League.
And a third script, based on her debutante years, has received an enthusiastic response from David Friendly, who produced the Sundance hit Little Miss Sunshine.
She says she’s committed to shooting more films in Dallas.
“Why make another movie in LA?” she says. “How boring. I ran out of Dallas as early as I could, when I was 16 years old. But I have this incredible connection to it. It’s a really interesting city that hasn’t been captured that much on film. It’s the world I know.”
Mr. Christian hasn’t been angling for quite as long for his first shot at directing. He didn’t know he’d be directing Fat Girls until three days before he began shooting, when his director dropped out.
“I thought about getting somebody else, but I decided no one knows the movie better than me because I wrote it,” he says. “I just did it. I was on autopilot the whole time. It was the craziest, most tiring experience I’ve ever had.”
Fat Girls revolves around Rodney (Mr. Christian), a gay high school student getting by in the fictional small Texas town of Bloom (modeled after Paris). Rodney wants to make it on Broadway, but first he has to make it past the social ostracism of his own community.
“I had a fat best friend all through my high school years,” he says. “She was my girl. So I always felt like a fat girl. I walk down the street and I trip and I say, ‘There you go. A fat girl move.’ Something always seems to go wrong, but it always seems to work out, and it did for the film, too. Even though we had all these struggles, it all turned out for the best.”
Those struggles included a sudden boot from the East Texas town of Canton, where Mr. Christian and his crew were going to shoot. They arrived ready to go, only to be told they were no longer wanted. They ended up shooting in Waxahachie.
Mr. Christian claims Canton ejected Fat Girls because authorities found out the lead character is gay.
“We had everything lined up,” Mr. Christian says. “We had our hotel deposit down. We had our food lined up. Our locations, our sets, everything. The day before we were going to start shooting, they pulled the plug.”
Charles Fenner, city manager of Canton at the time and now city manager of Lucas, says Fat Girls had to leave because the film didn’t get the permit needed to shut down city streets for filming.
“As far as right of way, they needed to go through the same process that the cystic fibrosis people, the fire department association and everyone else has to go through,” says Mr. Fenner. “Whether you’re gay or not.”
Shot with no money and no name actors, the film plays like an early John Waters movie – Mr. Christian carries a book of Waters scripts in his knapsack – with a sweet side.
Mr. Christian, who, like Ms. Talkington, lives in LA, has done small parts for TV shows, including Cold Case and Over There. He also shot a pilot for ABC, an Alicia Silverstone workplace sitcom called Pink Collar.
Despite his Canton experience, he also shares Ms. Talkington’s passion for shooting in Texas.
“Shooing in Texas adds so much charm to your movie,” he says. “You don’t see it every day. They’re always shooting in LA and NY. It’s so interesting to see the lack of architecture sometimes, the great trailer homes we were shooting in. I always want to shoot in Texas. The crews are great, and they support me.”
– Chris Vognar, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS – May 5, 2006
NEW REVIEW FOR THE UNOBSERVER…
There is a move afoot to bring back good ‘ol rock ’em, sock ’em, roll over their fingertips, roller derby. Right off the bat I can think of two leagues, Dallas Derby Devils and Assassination City Derby. Both of whom have more in common with pro wrestling than old school roller derby which isn’t a knock at all. There’s more individuality in the characters and it’s definitely more in your face. It’s also very DIY grass roots and a natural extension of said ethic would be a partnership with the underground music scene and vice versa. It’s not uncommon to see a band in between matches and roller derby queens passing out flyers at a band’s show. It’s a great symbiosis.
The Assassination City Derby CD sports 21 bands, mostly punk/alterna/garage all hailing from the Assassination City Area (Dallas). Since it’s mostly a cd designed to familiarize the uninitiated to some new music rather than a theme compilation it’s best to just tell you what’s on it and let you decide for yourself.
2.Max Cady-Artillery- Former members of Vibrolux, Frill, and Crash Vinyl don’t try to re-invent the wheel so much as just try to spin it well. Good Driving music.
– Old Man Mike, XANGA.COM BLOG – April 14, 2006
BACKSTAGE PASS
Dallas rockers play the cantina
Describing a band as simply a “rock” band has not been something that has been acceptable in the past 20 years. There is always need for a modifier like punk, grunge, stoner, or whatever. But recently, the rock music scene has begun to drop all the subcategorizations and embrace bands that play rock music, plain and simple.
“In the beginning, we set out to play loud, fast rock-n-roll and that’s exactly what we are doing,” says singer guitarist Justin Moore of Dallas rock foursome Max Cady.
The band formed in 2003 from remnants of Vibrolux, Crash Vinyl, and Frill. Its philosophy was a simple one and the band has adhered to it closely. Texas rock bands in particular always have been off the beaten path in particular in one way or another. But, Max Cady, named after Robert DeNiro’s character in the 1991 movie “Cape Fear”, is as linear as a rock band can be.
“Tonight Alive”, the debut effort of the group, which also includes guitarist Jeff Biehler, Bassist Pablo Xiques, and drummer Rob Grijalva, offers gravely, roughly hewn power chords backed by powerhouse drumming and vocals that beg for a tonsillectomy.
The group plays Saturday, April 8, at the Atomic Cantina. Also on the bill are Big Lips and the Skinny, Cantina Flys, and Morning Wood. The big rock show starts at 10 pm, no cover. Don’t miss this one.
– Kevin Hopper, ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL – April, 8 2006
UNFAIR PARK
Skin Like a Doll
The crowd at Saturday’s Greenville Ave. St. Patrick’s Day Parade concert bided its time. As long lines filed into the blocked-off Yale Boulevard party zone, Dallas’ Baboon unleashed some amazing hard rock songs, including the new ones I’ve raved about, to a passive crowd. Hey, the green-clad crowd had priorities, and beer was served far from the stage, so, like, whatever. San Clemente, CA’s, generic Bril (who landed their slot because they’re labelmates of Vaden Todd Lewis’ post-Toadies band the Burden Brothers) followed with a captive audience of about 20 people, who the band bored to tears. “We have to listen to this while holding our front row spots for the Toadies’ set? Can’t someone just play a Bush CD instead?”
After those two, the masses filed out of the neighboring bars and filled the stage area for a respectable set of hard rock by Dallas’ Max Cady. I was glad to see an up-and-coming local band that didn’t cater to 102.1 The Edge’s formula land the big-time opening slot, but in all honesty, Denton’s Hogpig is better at that kind of tongue-in-cheek, hootin’ and hollerin’ southern rock. Still, the crowd was plenty happy with Max Cady; their cheers were loud yet polite, indicating that maybe, just maybe, this Toadies reunion crowd wouldn’t soon lose its minds and act like a bunch of drunk, hyperactive mental ward patients.
Fat chance. After previewing a boring, pre-recorded track from the Burden Brothers’ upcoming album Mercy, pumped full of the ‘70s arena rock overtones that the Toadies always ignored, the guys took the stage and ripped right into “I Come From the Water.” Apparently, everyone came from the water, as thousands shouted the phrase back at the band whilst going bonkers. I remember attending Toadies shows in my teens and being smashed by moshing meatheads, but from my safe vantage point, I didn’t remember Toadies concerts getting this crazy. Loads of drunk, shirtless guys pushed and shoved the crowd forward as much as possible, sending the unprepared frontrowvians into a panic. During the first four songs, dozens hopped the protective gates (or were dragged and carried after passing out) to escape the insanity; one girl was being pulled toward a backstage medical zone, but the man carrying her slipped and she landed on the concrete, WHAMMO, on her face. In other bloody news, Dallas Observer employee Candy Lancaster was whacked in the head at the show’s outset with an empty pitcher (one of about 5,000 blunt objects chunked into the crowd) and had to get staples in her head to stop the bleeding. Thanks for the memories, Toadies fans!
The band stuck to album cuts, along with two covers–David Bowie’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” and Rod Stewart’s “Hot Legs”–which the crowd wasn’t very vocal about. They came for the hits, proven by the huge pop for “Possum Kingdom” and show closer “Tyler,” and while the show went without a hitch, it also went without much special. Lewis wasn’t chatty with the crowd, sticking to repeated “How’re y’all doin’?” questions, and even though his voice was in fine, shrieking form, the band’s performance came off a little too clockwork for a balls-out rock band like the Toadies. When people all around me kept saying, “Well, they haven’t played a show for five years,” I realized my pessimism wasn’t crazy–if fans make excuses for a platinum-selling band, something’s up.
– Sam Machkovech, DALLASOBSERVER.COM – March 13, 2006
ASSASSINATION CITY DERBY AND CROW RECORDS PRESENTS…
DALLAS – PRESS RELEASE – You might not have lived in Dealey Plaza or worked in the School Book Depository, but what occurred there in 1963 affected the entire country. These events also permanently reshaped the landscape of Dallas, forever naming it the Assassination City. Now in 2006, the Assassination City Derby will forever change the Dallas music scene with Watch Your Head Vol. 1. This compilation of local talent could be considered the soundtrack of the Assassination City, for both the derby and Dallas as a whole.
Just like the girls of ACD, this comp will hit you with the force of a sixth floor bullet.
From the opening notes of Hogpig to Darlington’s proclamation of “Shut Up and Skate.” Watch Your Head Vol.1 takes the listener through a tour of the Dallas music scene. There is the hard rock of the Mad Mexicans, the psychobilly sound of the Phantom Rockers, the country styling of Spitfire Tumbleweeds and even a heavy metal cover of the Jim Croche classic “Roller Derby Queen” performed by Dallas rockers Mitra. The fans of Dallas indie rock aren’t left-out with contributions by the Tah-Dahs and the 60’s garage sound of the Ravens.
Highlights of the compilation include the unreleased “Artillery” by Max Cady and a sneak peek of “Set the Speed” from Dixie Witch’s upcoming new album. The comp takes a mellow turn with Ex-Squirrel Nut Zippers front man Jimbo Mathus’ soulful “Skateland Baby” and the sideshow-jazz sound of “Dead Man in a Motel Room” by Shanghai 5. Although not local, regular Dallas visitors the Flametrick Subs get the crowd going with their version of classic “The Crusher.”
From Deep Ellum to Fry Street and from heavy-metal to Mississippi Blues, Watch Your Head Vol. 1 skates to all sides of Dallas music, giving an elbow in the face to the local music scene in a time when it needs it the most. As Hogpig states in the opening track, this compilation is a call to arms for everyone to “Come on down to Assassination City!”
The release party for the album is scheduled on Saturday, March 4 at Doublewide (3510 Commerce) featuring Mitra, Kansas City Faggots and Wo Fat. The street date for stores is April 11, 2006 and will be distributed through Crystal Clear Distribution. The comp is also available on both the ACD and Crow Records websites.
For more info please go to www.assassinationcityderby.com or www.crowrecords.com.
– Cindy Chaffin, TEXASGIGS.COM – February 22, 2006
MAX CADY ROCKS THE HOUSE
Hard Rock – Anti-emo poster children? Look no further than Max Cady
Max Cady’s first local gig was back in 2003 at the Bar of Soap, Expo Park’s venerable alternative music washateria. Sometime into their set, the music was semicoloned by a blackout in the venue, and further punctuated by nearby gunfire and the arrival of Dallas’ thin blue line; several revelers were questioned before the night haltingly returned to “normal.” Such were the proceedings that inaugurated Max Cady’s career in auspicious, or inauspicious, depending on your perspective, high style. Justin Moore, the band’s singer/guitarist/frontman wouldn’t have it any other way. “I think it was a pretty good omen for the band,” he suggests with a grin.
Cinephiles may recognize the name Max Cady as a revenge-obsessed villain in both versions of Cape Fear; in 1962 he was brought to life by Robert Mitchum, in 1991 by Robert Deniro. “I tend to be inspired after I see a good movie more than any other time. I liked the names ‘Max’ and ‘Cady,’ the masculine and feminine both, and the ‘x’ and ‘y’ for the x and y chromosomes; for a lot of reasons ‘Max Cady’ worked. And I really loved Deniro’s work up to that point, so I kinda wanted to pay respect to him.” What any of this has to do with the band’s balls-out Marshall driven angst is open to speculation, but Max Cady, the band, is definitely not taking any prisoners.
Moore assembled Max Cady with veterans of the area’s finest: bassist Pablo Xiques from Vibrolux, guitarist Jeff Biehler from Crash Vinyl, and Tango 9 drummer Rob Grijalva. Recovering from several years in Frill, Moore was looking for more fun, more accessibility, and no frills. Raised on an ever-evolving music diet of hair metal, punk, early hip hop and Brit-pop, Moore recalls his discovery of Motley Crue’s Shout at The Devil as a defining moment. “It was just big, dumb rock, like what were doing now,” he claims, “that larger than life rock n roll thing.” With Tonight Alive, the band’s debut CD, Moore and co-producer Paul Williams shared a determination to make a “big dumb rock record,” and the results come as close as possible to harnessing the raw energy of the beast itself. “I think if you turn it up loud enough, you get the idea of what we’re doing,” he laughs.
Compositionally, most of the band’s songs are riffed derived, with arrangements fleshed out in rehearsal. Moore and Jeff Biehler, the soloing guitarist, are both devotees of the Gibson solid bodies crunching through Marshall half-stacks, devoid of effects. With consistent airplay of Tonight Alive on the Edge’s Local Show and hundreds of gigs behind them, Max Cady is in the ascendancy. A two-song instrumental is underway, as is a full length follow up. “I think maybe a Max Cady fan is somebody who’s sick of emo bands,” Moore theorizes. “They don’t want whiney, boring bullshit – they want to go to a show and be entertained. I just want to play, and hope some people like it. Pretty Simple.”
– Steve Carter, DALLAS MODERN LUXURY – December 2005
CD REVIEW
MAX CADY – Tonight Alive
After the band was formed in March, 2003, Max Cady fans had to wait a year and a half for the band’s first full length CD, Tonight Alive , to be released. It was well worth the wait. Made up of members of former Dallas bands, singer/guitarist Justin Moore, guitarist Jeff Biehler, bassist Pablo Xiques, and drummer Rob Grijalva, Max Cady is nothing but rock. The 12-song Tonight Alive demonstrates this perfectly, as throughout the CD Xiques and Grijalva lay down a hard, fast beat that backs up the growling guitar riffs of Biehler and Moore, and sets up Moore’s gritty, in-your-face vocals. Each song is different enough that you don’t feel like you’re listening to the same song over and over again, but yet after just a few seconds of each song you already know that you’re in for four minutes of rock as it was meant to be played. As Justin Moore says, “In the beginning, we set out to play loud, fast rock-n-roll and that’s exactly what we’re doing…and will continue to do.” For more information about the band, upcoming shows, or merchandise, check out their website at www.max-cady.com
– Ben Hudson, FORTWORTHMUSIC.COM – September 2005
CADY DID GOOD ON ‘TONIGHT ALIVE’
NEXT rating: B-
Back in the day, it was all about playing loud, solid rock on expensive car stereos.
Old school hard-core jams like Nazareth’s “Hair of the Dog,” Aerosmith’s “Rocks” and “Toys in the Attic,” Kiss’ “Alive” and Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti” were standard.
Things haven’t really changed that much. Listen to the better bands playing the Brickhouse, an area club. Kids are still rocking seriously, but now the music mixes the energy of punk and the bash of hardcore metal.
One of the more hard rocking bands I’ve seen lately, Max Cady, recently played the Iron Horse Pub. The band should have probably been playing the Brickhouse, but it’s good to see a high-energy act spread the wealth.
The Dallas-based quartet was actually asked to turn down several times because they were too loud for the venue. But loud was the perfect way to hear Max Cady’s music: a melding of the better driving old-school rock and the punkish metal of today.
It’s a great mix, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable show. Until Max Cady returns to the Falls, area listeners should check out the band’s new record, “Tonight Alive.” While hard rock bands are always better live, the CD is a good facsimile of the group’s take-no-prisoners attitude.
“Tonight Alive” sounds like it was recorded in a decent enough, but not-too-clean sounding, studio. The album conveys enough of the band’s loud brashness and great wall of Marshall sound to make the CD worth some time on a powerful home stereo or an overwhelming club PA.
It’s especially good for firing up the old Craig Powerplay car stereo and doing a few laps. Its probably won’t sound nearly as good on an iPod while jogging down the street.
Max Cady was named after the totally reprehensible criminal character from the movie “Cape Fear.” Cady was played brilliantly in the original movie by the suggestively dark Robert Mitchum and in the remake by Robert DeNiro.
Aptly named, there’s nothing much wholesome about the band’s sound. Two very loud distorted guitars, a thrashing drummer who literally pounds his set and a solid bass player.
The 12 songs on the album often open with a pulse-raising rhythm guitar intro by vocalist Justin Moore followed by almost a manic barrage of drums. By the time the vocals hit, the other guitarist, Jeff Biehler, has accented the melody line about 14 different ways and fired up some solid leads.
What I really enjoy about Biehler is how he and Moore weave together their guitar lines. Biehler never plays a solo that calls attention to itself. The parts all serve the song and don’t sound like they were overdubbed six months later and don’t fit.
The songs and drive on “Tonight Alive” are “phat,” have good follow-able electric melody lines and never let up. And that, to me, is what a rock album should do.
Max Cady, like two of my other favorite Dallas bands, The Feds and Space Cadet, are probably never going to become famous. But they did just play Austin’s South by Southwest music festival and are slowly becoming one of Dallas’ more popular and solid hard-rocking “underground” acts.
And that’s simply on the strength of their material and playing.
The band is hell live, and its CD is more than good enough to rock out to in a club or on a car stereo. Check it out.
CD loaned for review purposes by Hastings Entertainment on Southwest Parkway and Kemp Boulevard. (940) 696-8029.
– Richard Carter, TIMES RECORD NEWS – August 12, 2005
NEXT
Rock Band on Max-imum Overdrive
Lay it down mean – snarling mean.
When it comes to rock, that’s just the way it is with Dallas-based band Max Cady, and you wouldn’t expect anything less from a band named after Robert DeNiro’s character in “Cape Fear” (and Robert Mitchum’s character in the original).
Lead singer Justin Moore said the group wanted a name that evoked a little bit of something evil.
The guys – that’s Moore, Pablo Xiques, Jeff Biehler and Rob Grijalva – call what they do rock. And it’s a kind of base, raw, gut-wrenching rock that reaches back and slaps you right in the spine.
The band is living off the alternate power from its debut album, “Tonight Alive,” released on vocalist Moore’s Sidearm Entertainment last year.
Twelve-track “Tonight Alive” was recorded at Last Beat Studios in Dallas with engineer/co-producer Paul Williams, who has worked with Polyphonic Spree, Reverend Horton Heat, Flickerstick and the Burden Brothers.
Moore said, in his songwriting capacity, he’s inspired by movies as much as he embraces the sound of Led Zeppelin and Nirvana.
The group took home the Battle of the Bands honor organized by Dallas radio station KTCK-AM 1310, and because of it, ended up scoring an appearance at Austin’s much ballyhooed South by Southwest music and film conference. They landed a gig at the appropriate venue: The Hard Rock Cafe.
And as skill would have it, the guys have also shared the stage with Andrew WK, Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Hagfish and the Burden Brothers.
The group formed in March 2003 after its members served their time in a number of prominent Dallas bands, like Vibrolux, Crash Vinyl, Frill and Tango 9.
With a South by Southwest appearance to vault them to loftier heights, and a Battle of the Bands win behind them, expect brighter things for this group, even if it is named after that rather vengeful, evil character from “Cape Fear.”
Catch the guys in concert Saturday night. They’ll be performing with Vallejo at the Iron Horse Pub.
– Lana Sweeten-Shults, TIMES RECORD NEWS – July 22, 2005
MAX CADY
A Glacier of Cool Rock
It takes a long time for a band to have success and recognition in the music industry. The truth is, most bands will never have a lot of fame or even make a lot of money. There are a few that want to take the risk, but for fear of failing, don’t try. The driving force behind Dallas band, Max Cady, whom you may recall was also the name of the cynical character depicted in the movie Cape Fear, is jamming out all fears. These rock-n-roll junkies have it all figured it out. Embracing fear makes them virtually unstoppable and extremely focused on that they love. Performing in front of any audience, at anyplace, that will listen to real rock with a gripping twist of originality. They’re like a glacier of cool rock.
The road has been good to these confident, mind-infesting, rock extremists. It’s been a little over 2 years since the band’s inception, but don’t be fooled, these guys are not by any stretch of the imagination amateurs. The band was born from former members that have played with prominent bands like Frill, Vibrolux, Crash Vinyl and Tango 9, all from the Dallas area. Touring with national acts like Fu Manchu, The Breeders, Supagroup, RPG and Darediablo, just to name a few has enabled the band to introduce the nation to their music.
In December, Max Cady rock ambassadors, Justin Moore, lead messenger-guitarist, Jeff Biehler, bassist, Pablo Xiques, and drummer, Rob Grijalva have spanked the Dallas band scene and were officially recognized as the winners of the “Ticket” Battle of the Bands. In addition, last month they performed with around 1200 other bands at SXSW, a weeklong festival held annually in Austin that was originally intended for promoting talent in the Southwest. SXSW has evolved into a very big ordeal for experienced, new unsigned artists from around the world interested in taking the next step in their film and music careers. This was the band’s first time performing at the event so they were totally pumped about the opportunity for Max Cady to have the exposure. Their performance was held at the Hard Rock Café, an ideal participating location for showing off their extreme talent.
The Bar of Soap, a local Dallas pub, is a popular hang out for Max Cady fans. By performing at different venues, away from Dallas, these guys keep it real. At one Austin show Justin Moore invited an inebriated heckler to perform onstage. Moore mentioned the song was going to be played in the key of E. The heckler didn’t have a clue. Moore casually took the microphone away and performed the rest of the song in the guys face. In one word it must have been priceless. Max Cady’s website has many photos of the band and their fans. One photo stood out from the rest. The photo is that of a fan holding an autographed urine specimen. These guys are committed to obliging their fans and foes with style and a sense of humor.
On the local circuit they have performed at Whiskey River, a great place with lots of room to shake and rattle the workaholic out of anybody. Owners of the pub, Hurk and James, have invited Max Cady back. The bands success will have them performing there on April 22nd and April 23rd. You won’t want to miss their head banging, heart racing, full throttle performance.
Sidearm Entertainment became Max Cady’s record label in August 2004. Since then, they have successfully completed their first CD entitled Tonight Alive, released January 11, 2005. With influences such as Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, and scary movies, you will feel a jolt of anticipation after every electrifying soul consuming tune. These guys make the word song, sound like a sissy lullaby. Their hard-core jams will keep you on the edge of your seat until you’ve heard every last word spoken from the wrath of Max Cady. For more information go to Max Cady’s official website, max-cady.com.
– Daisy Lara, EDGE MONTHLY – April, 2005
BANDWIDTH 29
With The Band
Is this the first time you’ve played SXSW? This is our first time playing.
What do you hope to accomplish by playing SXSW? We’re approaching it like we approach any other show. We’re going to show up and play and hope to turn a few people onto the band.
What do you plan on doing in Austin while you aren’t performing? We plan on seeing others’ shows, and drinking with our friends.
– Bridgette Williams, DALLASNEWS.COM – March 12, 2005
GET OUT
To The Max – Lead Singer Of Max Cady More Inspired By Film
Justin Moore likes to confound people. As the lead singer of Dallas rock band Max Cady, you might think that listening to music provides strong influences in his life. You’d be just as wrong if you’d called him Max. The hard-driving rock band was named in honor of the villain from “Cape Fear,” Moore explained. “I just wanted something that was evil. I also like the idea of using somebody’s name. It tends to confuse people,” Moore said. So might his attitude on inspiration. “I tend to be more inspired by film than I am by other music,” Moore said. “… I’ve typically been watching bigger independent films that are more dramatic in nature – anything where anybody’s learning a lesson. “… Maybe I tend to draw from that because I don’t want to be too heavily influenced by other bands. It’s too easy to be obsessing about another band, and the next thing you know, consciously or unconsciously, you start sounding like them,” he said. Obviously, though, Moore and his fellow bandmates have influences, though they might not always be apparent when listening to the band’s pounding tunes. “I don’t think there’s one specific genre that’s influenced us or one three-year span of bands that has influenced us. We all kind of have different roots,” Moore said. “I guess this music kind of has been influenced by anything like hard-core skate punk – bands like Minor Threat – and even class rock with Led Zeppelin. Even a bit of grunge with Nirvana.” Part of the difficulty to pin down Max Cady’s music might come from the creative process. “I write the chord structures, melody and lyrics, and I use the term ‘melody’ very loosely. … Everybody plays what they want. Obviously, they want to serve the song the best that they can, but everybody plays what they want,” Moore said. The approach seems to be paying off. The Dallas Morning News called Max Cady’s music “fast, raucous rock,” and the band recently won Dallas radio station KTCK-AM’s Battle of the Bands, scoring a gig at the South by Southwest music festival in the process. “It feels like every time something happens, it’s something bigger than the time before. We’ve done some really cool things in the last two years,” Moore said. “… I think something is going to fall in line soon. There seems to be a good buzz going.”
– Chip Chandler, AMARILLO GLOBE NEWS – March 4, 2005
SOUNDBITES ON THE BANDWAGON
Dallas’ Max Cady return to town to promote their 2004 release, Tonight Alive (Sidearm), a highly enjoyable affair that successfully splits the difference between sleazy punk and ’70s-style cock rock. They’ll be at Vaudeville Cabaret, 110 E. Congress St., on Sunday, March 6. That number again is 622-3535.
– Stephen Seigel, TUCSON WEEKLY – March 3, 2005
MAX CADY, THIS DAMN TOWN, TEXAS ROLLERGIRLS
Sunday, February 27, at What’s Hot Fun World
In case you didn’t know, roller derby is back. All-girl teams have started popping up around the D-FW area (see City on page 16), and last Sunday, four groups from the Austin-based Texas Rollergirls took the rink to show the newbies how it’s done. These wise ones came with kneepads and leather minis, with such names as Sedonya Face, Slim Kickins, Bloody Mary and Kitty Kitty Bang Bang. Between sets, entertainment came in the form of local bands Max Cady and This Damn Town, making for perhaps one of the strangest music shows to hit Dallas in some time. This was a family affair, with spectators ranging from toddlers to octogenarians, all absorbed by the multimedia assault of sport, rock and rumble. OK, so the bands’ sound wasn’t great; this was a skating rink, after all. The echo of the cavernous rink made it almost impossible to make out any lyrics to Max Cady’s songs, but the rock band still tore through a set including “Tonight Alive” from the group’s fierce album of the same name. Despite the sound issues, singer Justin Moore captivated the eclectic audience with his focused tenor/baritone rock-out, making it all the more unbelievable that he was ever part of the ethereal, now-defunct Frill. The bands were a perfect fit to the evening’s catfight exhibitions–mixing a dash of rousing drunkenness with brawling guitar riffs from both Max Cady’s Jeff Biehler and This Damn Town’s Jeremy Diaz. Hell, the Brian Setzer snarl of TDT’s Alex Cuervo and spot-on bass of Omar YeeFoon (not to mention the pompadour) made me long for an on-the-spot jam session with Johnny Reno. After their sets, members of both bands joined fans and local derby teams at the rink’s perimeter to throw up some devil horns, chug some beers and cheer on Austin’s roller chicks to kick serious tail.
– Merritt Martin, DALLAS OBSERVER – March 3, 2005
100 ACTS OF SUPPORT – THE CONCERTS FOR TSUNAMI RELIEF
MAX CADY at Virgin Records Mockingbird Station
Max Cady was the surprising star of the night, and the darlings of the Virgin staff. Maybe it was because half the full rack of “Tonight Alive” albums were gone after their set. “The record just hit the stores last week and there’s no better way to promote the record and to support the cause at the same time,” said lanky lead Justin Moore. They were officially declared “Sick!”
-Kate Mackley, DALLASMUSICGUIDE.COM – January 20, 2005
DALLAS’ KICK ASS ACTS OF SUPPORT
You know, there’s nothing like that good ole Texas spirit when you need it. Dallas bands The Burden Brothers, Zayra Alvarez, Max Cady, The Vanished, Greatness in Tragedy, and Heather Knox, will all join English-born and Texas-raised country singing sensation Brittany Wells at the Dallas Mockingbird Station Megastore to perform for Virgin’s “100 Acts of Support – The Concerts for Tsunami Relief!” on Thursday, January 20.
Talented, determined country newcomer Brittany Wells will bring a fresh start to the day’s event. As a former Miss Teen Texas, the young singer also enjoys national ranking by the United States Tennis Association for her athletic skills. But on January 20, she will score points by helping those less fortunate than she is at this important benefit concert.
Wells’ performance will be followed by an acoustic set by newcomers on the scene, Greatness in Tragedy, who is a band fast-becoming known for their heartfelt, dangerous sound. See The Vanished, with their fiery blend of melodic rock that’s getting lots of national airplay these days, Puerto Rican singer, Zayra Alvarez, a hot shot in the rock en espanol scene, and Max Cady, a favorite Southwest touring band (imagine Fu Manchu with a Texas twist). Also see local artist Heather Knox perform.
The Burden Brothers will end the evening with a kick-ass set of their arena rock fronted by former Toadies singer and backed by the former drummer of Reverend Horton Heat. This band should not be missed.
Virgin’s “100 Acts of Support – The Concerts for Tsunami Relief” event will also feature commemorative wristbands (for donations starting at $2), an exciting auction of music and movie collectables, and so much more. Please join the music community for this significant benefit where 1% of all sales at all 20 Virgin Megastore for the entire day will be donated to Music For Relief in support of the Red Cross (for tsunami victims).
– VIRGINMEGAMAGAZINE.COM – January 14, 2005
THROW RAG’S SAILOR ROCK PERKS UP PUNK
…The title song of Max Cady’s latest record, Tonight Alive, had a sharp, guitar-heavy chorus perfect for rock radio…
– Crayton Harrison, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS – January 15, 2005
MAX CADY LAYS DOWN THE LAW
Band’s frontman talks preshow rituals, do’s and don’ts of rock
The fast, raucous rock of Dallas’ Max Cady helped it win last month’s battle-of-the-bands competition hosted by The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310), and scored it an invitation to play at this year’s South by Southwest music festival.
Tonight Alive – the self-released full-length CD by band members Justin Moore, Pablo Xiques, Jeff Biehler and Rob Grijalva – has been available locally since August, but this week it was shipped to stores in several other U.S. cities. The guys will play in Dallas tonight and Fort Worth on Friday.
Here’s more from Mr. Moore, Max Cady’s lead singer:
Question: Can you describe your music in five words or less?
Answer: Loud, riff-oriented rock.
Question: If your band had to write the three rules of rock, what would they be?
Answer: (1) When and if you get the chance to shoot a music video, do not, by any means, use a scenic landscape [such as a mountaintop] to convey the dramatic nature of your tune. (2) Quit wasting time with all those effects pedals and play the song. (3) Play loud.
Question: If you could put together a dream lineup of bands (dead or alive) to play a show with, who would you pick and why?
Answer: Led Zeppelin, because in their prime, they were the best rock ‘n’ roll band of all time. Minor Threat, because they were young-as-hell, influential, [expletive] pioneers of hardcore punk. Nirvana: It’d be in Dallas, so maybe Kurt Cobain and Turner [Scott Van Blarcum] could have another go at it. Me Ax Room, because artists always mention bands nobody has ever heard of.
Question: What’s the strangest song request you’ve gotten from an audience member?
Answer: Track Seven on our record, “Stones.” We’re sick of it, so we expect everyone else to be as well.
Question: Does the band have a preshow ritual?
Answer: We drink, sometimes too much. Ask Pablo … and me for that matter, and Jeff, and Rob, too.
– Hunter Hauk, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS – January 13, 2005
THE TICKET’S BATTLE OF THE BANDS
Congratulations to Max Cady, the winner of our Battle of the Bands. They beat out Dot Matrix in a hotly contested final. We would also like to thank LOTUS, Neverset, Vega and Greyskull for playing. Thank you to all the really talented bands that entered our little contest. Be sure to come to Ticketstock this year to see Max Cady play before the Ticket Timewasters take the stage.
– SPORTSRADIO 1310 THE TICKET – December 17, 2004
LIVE REVIEW
MAX CADY at Red River Rock Out at Red Eyed Fly, 10/09/04
Max Cady was my favorite band of the evening because they really made the metal style their own, rather than sounding like a mixture of random 80’s bands. They had a lot of one-note guitar riffs that gave them a grunge flavor. That is why they sounded so fresh and current compared to the previous sets. They feature one of the coolest drummers in town. Go see them.
-Saint Teresa, RANK AND REVUE – November 13, 2004
CD REVIEW
MAX CADY – Tonight Alive
It should be no surprise that Max Cady’s debut album is hot, heavy and truly amazing. Anyone who’s seen the band’s live show already knew to expect brute force and powerhouse rock that doesn’t let up.
Tonight Alive’s twelve tracks are filled with a brutish 70’s sound that’s equal parts garage rock, old-school metal and thunderous arena rock. The quartet – Justin Moore (vocals), Jeff Biehler (lead guitar), Pablo Xiques (bass) and Rob Grijalva (drums) – has mastered this dirty, loud, vibrant sound, as every song kicks it into overdrive. Highlights include the title track, Clear and The Change.
The album doesn’t have as much power as Max Cady’s live show, but it’s nearly impossible to faithfully record such a wild performance in the studio. However, this retro garage rock album still packs the kind of punch that most bands can only dream about.
– Jason Janik, HARDER BEAT – October 2004
CD REVIEW
MAX CADY – Tonight Alive
Buy Max Cady’s new CD, Tonight Alive, it definitely rocks and just below the surface lies an evil just waiting to spring. The Dallas band, that shares its name with the vengeful character from the movie Cape Fear, is a blend of pop rock and just enough punk for the masses. The CDs is twelve songs long at a total time of thirty-nine minutes and twenty-four seconds. By the time each song gets rolling, the beat per minute never disappoints the hard and heavy music disciples. As Max would say, “Mmm mmm, hot as a fire cracker on the fourth of July.”
Still with me? In the movie Mr. Cady was the darkness that’s hidden in most of us, unleashed and quite furious at Nick Nolte, his kinky wife and hot little daughter; quite dangerous. The band, Max Cady isn’t so scary. They sound great; my head starts nodding uncontrollably but beneath the surface, a tame kitty and there is nothing very dangerous about that. No song stands out from one another because of this. This Max Cady should go back to prison because he needs more time to simmer. “Every man… every man has to go through hell to reach paradise.”
– Timothy Newell, VENUES MAGAZINE – September 2004
MAX CADY
Dallas rockers Max Cady have a sound that will grab you and not let go until the last chord has pummeled your cochlea. Singer/guitarist Justin Moore delivers his lines like an apolitical Henry Rollins, and their loud and fast approach to rocking out has in a mere 18 months seen them onto the bill with the likes of Vaux, Baboon, Hagfish, Speedealer, The Breeders, Supagroup and the Flametrick Subs.
Max Cady’s debut album, Tonight Alive maintains a relentless intensity throughout all 12 tracks. In support of this release, the foursome is retracing last year’s southwest tour, which took them through various cities in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. I recently talked on the phone with Moore about hecklers, previous Denton shows and chasers.
At a recent Austin show, one of the locals yelled, “You guys suck-you must be from Abilene!” So Moore invited the inebriated heckler up to do the next song. The guy accepted the invitation and joined the band onstage. Moore handed over the mic and mentioned that the number was in E.
After determining that the would-be guest vocalist couldn’t find the key, Moore took the mic away and sang the rest of the song in the confused man’s face. The heckler wasn’t the only one without a clue, however. Drummer Rob Grijalva thought Moore used to play with the guy in another band, and so had no idea why he kept yelling ‘fuck you’ while Moore continued to sing.
Denton has been kinder to Max Cady, who have played at Rubber Gloves and at Andy’s. Moore commented on the latter, saying,
“Andy’s has charm. I used to work in a place when I was in college that Andy’s reminds me of. The sound’s really good.”
Somehow we got on the topic of hangovers, and I mentioned the new precaution, an over-the-counter concoction to be taken before drinking. We pondered a bit over how many people would actually admit ahead of time that they were planning to drink to excess (and plan accordingly). Moore opined that that way of thinking illustrated how Americans approach things in general:
“We don’t want to take responsibility for any of our actions, but we want a solution when [things get rough].”
I tried to get him to talk about some of the band’s better shows, but he emphasized that the variables don’t matter all that much. He mentioned a couple of times on their last tour when the ‘opening’ act (i.e. Max Cady) had to play last and therefore to an emptied room, but insisted,
“We don’t really care, it’s more about getting up there and going after it.”
Max Cady are out to rock, regardless of the room, and their September 23 show with Kobra III (who Moore described as “noisy, in-yer-face, balls-out garage rock”) at Cool Bean’s should be no exception. “Could you be there?”
– Renee V. Hayes, VENUES MAGAZINE – September 2004
MUSIC TO YOUR EARS
This past spring, Dallas based garage quartet Max Cady played at Atomic, and they’re back on Monday September 20, this time touring on the enormous strength of their debut album, Tonight Alive (Sidearm), released just last month. In case you need a reminder, think Detroit’s Supagroup-meets-the motor city madman.
– Michael Hennigsen, ALIBI – September 16, 2004
http://www.alibi.com
SOUNDBITES
GOT YER MOTOR CITY RIGHT HERE
On their brand-new debut album, Tonight Alive (Sidearm), Dallas’ Max Cady remember what a lot of other current Detroit-influenced garage rockers seem to have forgotten: Yes, the Stooges and the MC5 were from Detroit, but so was Ted Nugent (they don’t call him the Motor City Madman for nothin’). The band’s combination of sleazy punk and cock-rock riffs is more engaging than it should be.
– Stephen Seigel, TUCSON WEEKLY – September 16, 2004
NIGHT AFTER NIGHT
MAX CADY
A band, not a guy, Max Cady is a quartet from Dallas that plays a no-frills brand of rock-n-roll powered nicely by stinging guitar and relentless rhythm. It’s rock the way it’s supposed to be. For proof give a listen to the band’s debut CD “Tonight Alive.”
– Jim Beal Jr. & John Goodspeed, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS – September 10, 2004
click here
SOUND AND THE FURY
VIVA MAX
Dallas band Max Cady straddles the fence between traditional hard rock, contemporary alt-rock and the recent garage rock revival. On their recently released debut CD, Tonight Alive, the quartet betrays the influence of both Weezer and Urge Overkill, two post-modern outfits with a knack for heavy riffs, memorable hooks and a barely perceptible sense of fashionable irony. If your looking for proof that the members of Max Cady are perverse pop-culture obsessives, consider that they pinched their name from the murderous villain in Cape Fear.
Max Cady emerged early last year from the ashes of such North Texas bands as Vibrolux and Crash Vinyl, and they’ve supported Andrew WK, Lou Barlow, Har Mar Superstar, and the Queers, among others. They’re set to perform at Taco Land, 103 W. Grayson, on Saturday, September 11.
– Gilbert Garcia, SAN ANTONIO CURRENT – September 9, 2004
CD REVIEW
MAX CADY – Tonight Alive
Max Cady is a rock band. It’s not punk, glam or emo. There are no prefixes here. It’s just rock-n-roll. It takes the standard rock format – one singer, two guitarists, one bass player and one drummer – and makes the kind of straightforward music that, these days, would be considered a revival. But that’s not to say it’s uninspired. When everybody’s gotta have a gimmick, it’s refreshing when a band does it the old fashion way, meaning the way of AC/DC, Cheap Trick and KISS. Max Cady’s live shows are energetic and intense, with ripping guitar solos, screaming vocals and rock posturing – singer/guitarist Justin Moore standing hips forward, shoulders hunched, hair over his face as his fingers run up and down the neck furiously. On Tonight Alive, the debut record for the Dallas quartet (which also includes guitarist Jeff Biehler, bassist Pablo Xiques and drummer Rob Grijalva), they’re a little toned down, the energy depleted. But, for once, every lyric can be heard. They’re abstract and repetitive with choruses made up of short phrases to be yelled while the rest of the band emphasizes with stops and starts. Tonight Alive is not a diverse record; it’s all rawk. But who wants another “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” anyway?
– Shannon Sutlief, DALLAS OBSERVER – September 9, 2004
LIVE REVIEW
MAX CADY at Double Wide First Anniversary Party, 06/27/04
…Max Cady, with its ballsy rock and nimble guitar solos, brought the stragglers indoors to finish off the night…
– Shannon Sutlief, DALLAS OBSERVER – July 1, 2004
GARAGEBAND.COM
MAX CADY – “The Hours”
– Members of Garageband.com review “The Hours”. Click here to read the reviews.
http://www.garageband.com/artist/maxcady
LUCKY 7
Alibi’s Best Picks for This Week
Tonight, The Atomic Cantina welcomes Dallas band MAX CADY – the latest players in the Lone Star State’s version of the current Motor City garage uprising. They sound a lot like Supagroup, only with bigger nods to the Nuge than to AC/DC. If you’re into gritty rock ‘n’ roll that was once a radio staple, this is your band.
– Michael Henningsen, ALIBI – April 1-7, 2004
LIVE REVIEW
MAX CADY at Double Wide, 11/21/03
Few bands play old-school rock as well as these boys, and this show left fans begging for more. Everyone seemed transfixed on this raw, high-powered explosion.
Justin Moore, whose vocals are commanding and confident, fronts the band. Guitar work was just as strong, with heavy chugging, ‘70’s-style hard–rock power chords and Jeff Biehler’s mean lead guitar riffs. The drums and bass were a little overpowering for the tiny club, but it’s better to have too much than too little when it comes to garage rock. All four members looked every bit the part, filled with enough energy to power the whole city. Though every song rocked, the evening’s highlight was the addictive “Tonight Alive.”
The club was packed with an audience excited to see Max Cady. If every show is as raw and powerful as this, music fans will continue filling clubs every time they play.
– Jason Janik, HARDER BEAT – February 2004
LIVE REVIEW
MAX CADY at Bar of Soap, 01/10/04
The Bar of Soap is a very cool hidden venue in the fair park part of Dallas. This long standing local hangout is comfort food for the soul and ears. The bar tenders are friendly and very fun to hang with. Not to mention if you are looking for a place to get away from the corporate bull of Deep Ellum this just might be the place you have been looking for! On this night I came out to check out the all star band Max Cady. That’s right this rock band is comprised of former members of other well known bands ,and when you add them all up the sum total is kick ass hard down to earth rock. On this night the opening band provided the sound system which was so bad we could not understand any of the vocals of the opening band ,not even their name, sorry guy’s. To my surprise Max Cady used the same sound system, thus some of the same problems with the vocals. But there was one difference when Max Cady took the floor, the bar became so packed we could not move! These guys took command and had the crowd in the palm of their hand laying down some great rock, tune after tune. The sound got a little better as the show went on, but it really did not matter because the energy was so high that the band marched on and gave a great performance! Max Cady is giving Dallas a lesson in real Rock!
– DWakeley, DALLASMUSIC.COM
CD REVIEW
MAX CADY (DEMO)
Formed in March 2003 after splintering off from other prominent Dallas bands (frill, vibrolux, crash vinyl, and tango 9) MAX. CADY has come to rock. The band is made of members, singer guitarist, Justin More; bassist, Pablo “X” Xiques; guitarist, Jeff Biehler; and drummer, Rob Grijalva. This 8 song CD is pure Dallas rock. The band has reached back to a place in music where most Dallas bands don’t even visit. Beyond punk and not metal, no unintelligible screaming here just old good time hard rock! Their sound has a solid back beat and really great hooks. The tunes just drag you right in .I have been watching this band for about a year now and Max Cady is going to teach Dallas bands the meaning of rock.
– DWakeley, DALLASMUSIC.COM
