Who or what inspires your playing and writing style(s)? What motivated to pursue this journey known as music?

I grew up in a very musical family and have always had an interest in singing and playing instruments. I began with the drums back when I was in elementary school, but my love for music really took off when I got my first guitar, a Japanese made Fender Acoustic-Electric Telecaster. I remember learning the first couple cover tunes and from there I was already trying to write my own music. It was pretty humbling to find out how hard it was to really compose a melody or a solid chord progression. Artistically my influences stem from growing up listening to my parents spinning vinyl records and me dancing around in our living room and kitchen to Bob Dylan, John Prine, Willie Nelson, The Band, Janis Joplin, John Gorka and other great songwriters. When I was in my early teens I got into bands like Nirvana and even hip hop artists like NWA and I think there’s definitely and element of all those influences in my music. Currently I’m really enjoying the work that Brett Dennen is doing and also Dan Bern has always been a favorite songwriter of mine.

What should listeners expect when they push play on the Maxwell LP?

If you like acoustic music I think you’re really going to enjoy MaxwelLP. It’s my debut EP and is five tracks of all acoustic music. I wrote, recorded and performed all five of the tracks with a single condenser mic so the sound is pretty raw. That being said I think it really captures the true sound of one of my live shows and the barebones strength of the song writing.

Where are you performing next? Where can we see you live? Any tours coming up in the future?

I’ve got some exciting shows coming up regionally around KC and Denver with more bookings being announced soon. I’d really like to get more into the summer festival circuit but we’ll just have to see. I’m really excited about the three shows I have coming up in Denver and am looking to maybe add a few more dates. My current dates are:

• 2/27 8:30 PM The Gaslight – Lawrence, KS
  2/28 9:00 PM Westport Saloon – Kansas City, MO
  3/4 7:00 PM Coda Bar & Grill – Kansas City, MO
  3/6 5:30 PM J&J Gallery – Topeka, KS
  3/21 9:00 PM Quixote’s True Blue Cafe – Denver, CO
  3/27 9:00 PM Fiction Beer CO – Denver, CO
  3/28 9:00 PM Quixote’s True Blue Cafe – Denver, CO
  4/3 9:00 PM Stonehouse East Pine Pub – Warrensburg, MO
  4/5 7:00 PM Carrollton Amphitheater – Carrollton, MO
  4/6 8:00 PM Vandals Punk Rock Club – Kansas City, MO
  4/10 9:00 PM Blackthorn Pizza & Pub – Joplin, MO
  4/25 TBD Dawg Daze Spring Thing – Leavenworth, KS
  5/1 5:30 PM J&J Gallery – Topeka, KS
  5/15 9:00 PM Frank’s North Star Tavern – Lawrence, KS

Where can we connect with you online? Stream your tunes?

My website is a great place to start, also Facebook  & Twitter

Also I’ve got a myriad of places to listen to my music and interact:

• Official website
  MaxwelLP Bandcamp Streaming
  Max Fred on iTunes
  Max Fred EPK
  ReverbNation
  Soundcloud
  Youtube

Any last thoughts? Shout outs?

I just want to thank everyone for listening to my music and inspiring me to write more and play more shows. I also want to thank Chris Stone from Stonecraft Audio who did the mixing & mastering on my EP. Also I wanna thank my wife for supporting my music and being the love of my life.