Free At Last?
or
A Man, a Mic, and a Frumpy Brown Loveseat

A look at Kevin Max and his solo ventures
by Josh Lewis!

"The wonderful thing about being off the road with dc Talk is the fact that I can say or do whatever I want now." An audience member shouts "That's the way we like it!" to which Kevin Max responds, "That's the way I like it too. Thank you, man." He continues, "You know, I've always been a Sinatra kind of guy… I've got a little bit of a control problem, you know? When I've got two other guys to contend with, it's like 'I'll have my people talk to your people and we'll try to get it worked out.' It's really difficult though, when you've got two brothers on stage with you that feel like that. They've got just as much say as you do. In fact, sometimes think they feel like they've got more. So I feel like the young kid that's been kicked out of the family for a little bit and been able to do what he wants to do: throw his tantrum and explode and digress and throw up all over you. But we'll try to keep it sane, positive and uplifting tonight. Because the truth is I'm amazed everyday at the love of my Savior, Jesus Christ."

So begins another night on the Caffeinated Café Tour (so dubbed for at least this performance) with dc Talk's Kevin Max. A conglomeration of poetry, cover tunes, original songs by Max, and the familiar dc Talk favorites filled the evening. Personally, I found the prose to be the most vivid part of the night. It's hard to put a finger on the man many consider to be Christian music's most enigmatic performer. He's been seen in public wearing silver body paint and angel's wings, and known to throw out pithy lines like "This bird's for you," upon winning a Dove Award. But is he Christian music's original prodigal child? Or only an admirer of ancient Israel's famous shepherd-turned-king?

I feel sorry for anyone who missed the Caffeinated Café tour. Kevin exposed things about himself that would have been impossible or otherwise inappropriate at the average whoops-we-blew-the-doors-off dc Talk show. Kevin seemed to revel in the fact that he could interrupt his own songs, change the lyrics at will, and call his birth father on stage to play the tambourine at the wink of an eye. Yes, all three happened. Besides that, I doubt you'd hear spliced covers of the Beatles' "All Across the Universe" or Radiohead's "Airbag" at a dc Talk concert.

I was fortunate enough to be able to chat with Kevin for a little while. When I asked him why he was doing the tour, he said that it was an idea of his that he didn't realize was actually going to happen. He had originally meant to sing in churches during their services, but many churches weren't too sure about a rock n' roll star doing special music on Sunday morning. The tour developed out of his desire to go back to the grass roots level where he began. I must admit that it was somewhat surreal to see the same Kevin Max--usually surrounded by hundreds or even thousands of fans, a ten-piece band, and two other lead vocalists--suddenly stripped down to minimal lighting, a frumpy brown love seat, one guitarist (Matt Beckler) and a tambourine. Surreal, but refreshing.

The show itself was great although it took awhile for me to get used to Kevin's vibrating vocals without the powerhouse dc Talk band backing it up. The original songs Kevin wrote definitely impressed me. One of them still sticks in my head. It may have been titled "Allelujah" though the title was never announced. The song was introduced as being about King David, "a wayward soul and a poet. He was a little guy that beat up on big guys." Sounds familiar, Kevin.

Although he is a man after God's own heart, one problem I have encountered during Kevin's latest excursions is an unattractive bit of… backtalk, for lack of a better word. As demonstrated in the opening paragraph, when Kevin talks about dc Talk his tone comes across like the voice of a teenage boy who has just said, "Yeah, my old man thinks I'm at the library! Ha ha!" In all honesty, that's one thing a person might do without when trying to compliment and respect his friends.

So, besides his Caffeinated Café tour, what else is Kevin up to these days? He has a solo album in the works and is also coming out with his second book of poetry entitled "The London Cowboy Chronicles." In February, production will begin on a film about the dangers of corruption in media in which he has a starring role. He also tried out for another movie, a production of New Line Cinema and ThreeFootSix based on J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, but alas, he didn't make it. And he would have been such a good Frodo.

So why is Kevin gallivanting across the country making a show of himself? You may as well ask why he is about to release his second book of poetry or why he will be starring in an upcoming film. He's stretching himself, and I say let him do it. Max has come under heavy criticism and become the subject of many rumors since making it widely known that his individualism resides outside the circle of dc Talk. But it is the individuals that make dc Talk great. If the members of that now-famous band had not been able to grow in the same way that Kevin is now--for at least the second time--dc Talk may never have reached and dazzled your ears in the first place. Such is the life of an artist. Constant self-discovery. Constant re-invention. Art becomes formulaic and stuffy without it. The Beatles went through several major world religions before they broke up. Comparatively, Kevin is barely crossing the street. Let go of his hand, he can do that by himself.