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Dan Maxwell & His Band would like to announce the release of its first four-track EP. The tracks were recorded last summer when Maxwell, the band’s singer/lead guitarist, bassist Tom Galton and drummer Ben Lindeman, traveled north to Woodstock. There the trio teamed up with producer and industry veteran J.P. Bowersock (a member of Ryan Adams and the Cardinals). The end result of the grueling two-day session was four tracks that captured the band’s style of gritty rock. “We spent a lot of time rehearsing with J.P. so that he was comfortable with the songs and felt they were ready to hit the studio,” Maxwell said. “He genuinely wanted us to make the best record any of us could imagine.” Bowersock has since become a friend and mentor to the band. “He is a guy who knows music and loves music like no one else,” Maxwell said. “He comes out to our shows and gives us tips on various issues all the time.” The group hopes to team up with Bowersock again by year’s end to record a full-length CD. Over the years Maxwell has been exposed to a wide array of influences including old lions like Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, and more current artists such as Counting Crows, Ryan Adams, The Replacements, and the Old 97s. Maxwell has spent a number of years honing his chops on the North Jersey music scene. Maxwell assembled the band in 2005 to focus exclusively on his original songs. The group began playing the club circuit in Greenwich Village, improving its sound and a slowly finding an audience. Since recording the EP, the trio has expanded to a five-piece adding Peter Martin on guitar and Evan Taylor on piano.
(Written by Curtis Zimmerman) - None
Playing to a sizable crowd at The Knitting Factory on Leonard Street Friday night in New York City -- Madison’s own Dan Maxwell, along with his cohorts, Tom Galton, Ben Lindeman, and Peter Martin (affectionately known as “His Band”), played songs from their new self-titled CD EP. This December 1st show was their official record release performance and many of their fans made the trip to the club to show their support and enjoy the tunes.
They opened up their set with a rocking version of a song that is a favorite among their followers-- “Wouldn’t It Be Great.” Among the other songs they played were a few from the new release; many of the guys’ songs are rockers, but their song “XOXO” has a little bit of a country sound to it. They also played the fast and edgy numbers “Livin’ by the Dime” and “I Don’t Miss It”. The crowd is always mesmerized by the band’s unorthodox cover of Springsteen’s “Atlantic City”; and they closed their show with the live debut of one of the group’s new songs entitled “Bars,” an upbeat pop song with a country edge, describing characters found in a local bar. By the reaction of the crowd, the new song was an instant hit.
It’s been a successful month for Dan Maxwell & His Band. Besides a successful performance Friday night and the release of their self-titled CD, the band has been getting radio airplay at Montclair State University’s WMSC and the band’s song “I Don’t Miss It” was played alongside new tracks by Willie Nelson and Shooter Jennings on Big Kev’s Country Review on the New Jersey station WDVR, broadcast out of Delaware Township.
Dan Maxwell & His Band’s new self-titled CD is available for sale locally at all Scotti’s Record Shops. You can find out dates and locations for their upcoming shows, including information on their December 23rd Holiday Performance at the legendary Kenny’s Castaways in New York City, by logging on to the band’s website at www.myspace.com/danmaxwell.
- Madison Eagle
"Dan Maxwell & His Band was the second act to perform for the night. And, while they were a bit more subdued than Delta Falling, they are very talented performers. Despite being only a three-piece band, they had a strong sound and singer Dan Maxwell showed off his vocals while the guitarist and drummer accentuated his singing very well throughout the performance. According to their MySpace page, Dan Maxwell & His Band place more into the indie/rock/country genre combination, which is an interesting compilation, but suits them well as a band." - http://yousingiwrite.blogspot.com/
Discography
Dan Maxwell & His Band
Debut EP (2006)
Produced By JP Bowersock
Kansas
Two Song Single (2008)
Produced by Dan Maxwell & His Band
Live at Piano's
Reverb Nation Exclusive Fans Only EP (2008)
Produced by Dan Maxwell & His Band
Wasted Time
Second Official EP (2009)
Produced by Dan Maxwell & Tom Galton
Photos
Bio
Dan Maxwell & His Band are interested in simple pleasures: Fender Telecasters, cold beer and, most importantly, writing and playing music with good friends. In fact, the latter statement can also be seen as the band’s mission statement—and in a music industry that’s currently dominated with talk of record sales and marketing plans, it’s refreshing to find a group of four self-motivated guys who are serious about their music without taking the game too seriously. That said, with their latest batch of recordings Dan Maxwell & His Band are finally on the cusp of crossing over into the mainstream and proving once and for all that they just might be the best bar band in the world.
The group — which features frontman Dan Maxwell as well as vocalist/guitarist Drew Galton, bassist/vocalist Tom Galton and drummer Ben Lindeman — first bonded as adolescents playing hockey together and eventually started messing around playing covers. However it wasn’t until the band met J.P. Bowersock—a guitarist best known with his work with Ryan Adams and The Strokes—that things started to take off for the band. “He was working at the music store I went to when I was younger and I got in touch with him again later by literally running into him on the street in New York,” Maxwell explains, “I told him to come out to a show, and he did and he liked it,” he continues, “so he kind of kept an eye on us, and when he slowed down with Ryan Adams we went up to Woodstock to record with him.”
The result was the band’s debut four-song EP, which is currently available on iTunes, and was met with rave reviews. However that would prove to be only the beginning for the band, who trekked to Lawrence, Kansas late last year to record with legendary producer Ed Rose at Black Lodge Recording (The Get Up Kids, Coalesce). These sessions were not only galvanizing for the band themselves, but then Dan Maxwell & His Band started notice a tangible turning point with the number of people that were attending their shows as well. “I don’t know if it was because of what we were doing differently or whether it was because we had been playing long enough to have garnered a following, but people started coming back to shows and people started getting really excited at them,” Maxwell says, “and shows got more crowded than they had been before.”
This month sees the release of the band’s latest EP, which will undoubtedly solidify Dan Maxwell & His Band as one of the foremost alterative country acts in the nation. From the twangy, speakeasy anthem “Bars”, to the old country swagger of “Crow”, and proven old-time feel of “Storyteller,” the band’s new EP is a timeless collection of songs that embrace the group’s rock and country roots without sounding nostalgic or contrived. “In high school we were all into bands like the Get Up Kids and Sunny Day Real Estate, but then one day I heard Ryan Adams and the floodgates kind of opened,” Maxwell explains when asked about where the band draw their inspiration. In fact, although the band are often compared to acts like Whiskeytown and the Old 97’s, if you listen hard enough you can still hear the band’s punk and indie rock roots shining through.
That said, ultimately Dan Maxwell’s Band’s music is meant to be listened to, not analyzed, which is why Maxwell shies away from getting too academic about his songs. “I think they’re pretty self-explanatory,” he explains. “I just like to tell a story and hopefully I tell a good story, but that’s really up to the listener.” Whether you can relate to one of the downtrodden characters in these songs or are looking for a modern band, who are carrying the country tradition into the 21st century, these four songs are an accurate indication of both who Dan Maxwell & His Band are now and the direction they are heading in the future. Trust that it’s a journey you won’t want to miss.
In March of 2009 Ben Lindeman and Drew Galton left the band to pursue other projects. They were replaced by friends, Andrew Prolow and Matt Langner – of the band Hello Midnight - on guitar and drums respectively. In a statement on the bands website, Maxwell wrote “These were totally amicable splits. Ben has played with me for five years now and he is, hands down, my favorite drummer to play with. Drew was only with us for a short time but it certainly feels like he played with us for a lot longer than that…These guys are our brothers, so you haven certainly not heard the last of them. We wish them both the best”.
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