When dc Talk — which the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music called "the most popular overtly Christian act of all time" — broke up 12 years ago, fans wondered what would become of each of the three founding members as they embarked on solo careers.
Toby McKeehan, better known today as tobyMac, has been by far the most successful, receiving seven Grammy nominations while selling millions of records. His latest, Eye on It, recently made history as the No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart — the first Christian album in 15 years to do so.
Michael Tait and Kevin Max, meanwhile, mostly fell into relatively obscurity, Tait releasing a few albums with his self-titled band, Max a few solo projects, but none really took off. But Tait's career received a huge boost in March 2009 when he became lead singer of Newsboys, a gig he says "couldn't be better."
And now it appears that Max is getting a possible career-turning boost of his own, named the new lead singer of the just revived Audio Adrenaline, which had called it a day in 2006 when frontman Mark Stuart had to bow out with vocal problems.
Max told Billboard that he is "really super excited" and that the move was "a no-brainer for me. Stuart, who will remain with Audio A in writing and production, said that the new music "is going to sound a little different. Kevin is going to sound a lot different than me, a lot better than me." Stuart had a classic, growling rock-and-roll voice, while Max's is more versatile, even a little operatic — think Freddie Mercury of Queen.
It's not the first time Max and Audio Adrenaline have worked together. They were longtime labelmates at ForeFront Records, and they frequently toured together. Friendships run long and deep. But it's a different Audio Adrenaline than the one that became a staple of youth groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Not only the change in vocalists, but longtime members Tyler Burkum and Ben Cissell have also moved on to other projects. The new lineup includes Max, bassist Will McGinniss, guitarist Dave Ghazarian (formerly of Superchick), drummer Jared Byers, and keyboardist Jason Walker.
The new Audio Adrenaline has signed with Fair Trade Services and is working on an album due next spring. Their first single, "Kings and Queens," will release to radio in November.
