1 of 4

He's best remembered as the most eccentric member of Christian music supergroup dc Talk, but Kevin Max has mellowed out a bit in recent years. After taking up residency in Los Angeles, doing some off-Broadway work, and mingling with "the least of these," the oft misunderstood singer is back in Nashville … with a mortgage. Remarriage and fatherhood have done him good, shifting his priorities from the pursuit of fame to the pursuit of happiness for his wife and two kids at home. The new focus could explain why The Blood, Kevin Max's fourth full-length effort, is not so much about himself as it is about his faith, singing his convictions more openly than ever before.

Since our last chat, you've remarried, moved from Los Angeles back to Nashville, and seen some big changes in your personal life. What has it been like to get adjusted to this new change of pace?

Kevin Max Well, to be totally honest, when you say "personal life," I'm not sure what that is. Everybody in the entertainment industry in some way has to live their life out in the open. But as far as letting people know what my life has been like, I've been really open about the things I've been through in the last couple of years. It's been a wonderful journey. After leaving Nashville about 5 years ago, I moved to L.A. after leaving ForeFront Records (or really, after being dumped by ForeFront Records).

Then what?

Max I worked to get outside of what was familiar to me—something I needed to do personally. I continued creating music and performing live, while having an amazing time in L.A. meeting all sorts of great characters. Of course, while I was there, I finished another project called The Imposter and my Christmas record O Holy Night, so I was busy.

Then yes, I fell in love with Amanda McDonald, we got married, and right now we have two very healthy, wonderful children. I get to be a father and learn on a day-to-day basis what it's like to be a parent. It's a great time for me.

So how would you say life is different from five years ago?

Max As a 40-year-old, I think it's a time for me to mellow. The kids keep me on my toes, but I'm really more of a family guy as opposed to a guy who's always wanting to go out on the town and trying to see what the [newest thing] might be. I enjoy being home now.

So … more of a mowing-the-lawn, home-improvement type of guy?

Max Absolutely, to a degree, yeah. Because if I don't do it, nobody else is going to! My wife isn't really one to get out and mow the lawn. I actually kind of like gardening and things like that—digging holes and planting trees. It's a little bit like being a hobbit.

That's a far cry from a few years ago—playing regularly at the Viper Room in L.A. or your off-Broadway stint. Was it hard to adapt to home life after living in the music scene for so long?

Max We go through stages of wanting to explore and stages of hibernation. I would kind of think that right now I'm more in a hibernation state. With two young kids now, you want to spend as much time with them as possible. But I'm getting ready to get out there and explore again. 2008 is going to be very busy for me. In the beginning of the year, I'm going to be filming for a straight month in a movie called The Imposter. And then after that I'm going right out into a radio tour. I can't say I'm [going to be] staying at home as much as I'd like to be.

next page... |  1 of 4

				Try 3 Issues of Christianity Today Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address Subscribe to Christianity Today and get 3 free trial issues. No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The three trial issues are yours to keep, regardless.

FREE Newsletter Sign up now for the Christian Music Today weekly newsletter:    RSS Feed   RSS Help