max cady

Tonight, The Atomic Cantina welcomes Dallas band MAX CADY - the latest players in the Lone Star State's version of the current Motor City garage uprising. They sound a lot like Supagroup, only with bigger nods to the Nuge than to AC/DC. If you're into gritty rock 'n' roll that was once a radio staple, this is your band. - Weekly Alibi

Few bands play old-school rock as well as these boys, and this show left fans begging for more. Everyone seemed transfixed on this raw, high-powered explosion.

Justin Moore, whose vocals are commanding and confident, fronts the band. Guitar work was just as strong, with heavy chugging, ‘70’s-style hard–rock power chords and Jeff Biehler’s mean lead guitar riffs. The drums and bass were a little overpowering for the tiny club, but it’s better to have too much than too little when it comes to garage rock. All four members looked every bit the part, filled with enough energy to power the whole city. Though every song rocked, the evening’s highlight was the addictive “Tonight Alive.”

The club was packed with an audience excited to see Max Cady. If every show is as raw and powerful as this, music fans will continue filling clubs every time they play. - Harder Beat

Max Cady’s first local gig was back in 2003 at the Bar of Soap, Expo Park’s venerable alternative music washateria. Sometime into their set, the music was semicoloned by a blackout in the venue, and further punctuated by nearby gunfire and the arrival of Dallas’ thin blue line; several revelers were questioned before the night haltingly returned to “normal.” Such were the proceedings that inaugurated Max Cady’s career in auspicious, or inauspicious, depending on your perspective, high style. Justin Moore, the band’s singer/guitarist/frontman wouldn’t have it any other way. “I think it was a pretty good omen for the band,” he suggests with a grin.

Cinephiles may recognize the name Max Cady as a revenge-obsessed villain in both versions of Cape Fear; in 1962 he was brought to life by Robert Mitchum, in 1991 by Robert Deniro. “I tend to be inspired after I see a good movie more than any other time. I liked the names ‘Max’ and ‘Cady,’ the masculine and feminine both, and the ‘x’ and ‘y’ for the x and y chromosomes; for a lot of reasons ‘Max Cady’ worked. And I really loved Deniro’s work up to that point, so I kinda wanted to pay respect to him.” What any of this has to do with the band’s balls-out Marshall driven angst is open to speculation, but Max Cady, the band, is definitely not taking any prisoners.

Moore assembled Max Cady with veterans of the area’s finest: bassist Pablo Xiques from Vibrolux, guitarist Jeff Biehler from Crash Vinyl, and Tango 9 drummer Rob Grijalva. Recovering from several years in Frill, Moore was looking for more fun, more accessibility, and no frills. Raised on an ever-evolving music diet of hair metal, punk, early hip hop and Brit-pop, Moore recalls his discovery of Motley Crue’s Shout at The Devil as a defining moment. “It was just big, dumb rock, like what were doing now,” he claims, “that larger than life rock n roll thing.” With Tonight Alive, the band’s debut CD, Moore and co-producer Paul Williams shared a determination to make a “big dumb rock record,” and the results come as close as possible to harnessing the raw energy of the beast itself. “I think if you turn it up loud enough, you get the idea of what we’re doing,” he laughs.

Compositionally, most of the band’s songs are riffed derived, with arrangements fleshed out in rehearsal. Moore and Jeff Biehler, the soloing guitarist, are both devotees of the Gibson solid bodies crunching through Marshall half-stacks, devoid of effects. With consistent airplay of Tonight Alive on the Edge’s Local Show and hundreds of gigs behind them, Max Cady is in the ascendancy. A two-song instrumental is underway, as is a full length follow up. “I think maybe a Max Cady fan is somebody who’s sick of emo bands,” Moore theorizes. “They don’t want whiney, boring bullshit – they want to go to a show and be entertained. I just want to play, and hope some people like it. Pretty Simple.”
- DALLAS MODERN LUXURY

Lay it down mean - snarling mean.
When it comes to rock, that's just the way it is with Dallas-based band Max Cady, and you wouldn't expect anything less from a band named after Robert DeNiro's character in "Cape Fear" (and Robert Mitchum's character in the original).

Lead singer Justin Moore said the group wanted a name that evoked a little bit of something evil.

The guys - that's Moore, Pablo Xiques, Jeff Biehler and Rob Grijalva - call what they do rock. And it's a kind of base, raw, gut-wrenching rock that reaches back and slaps you right in the spine.

The band is living off the alternate power from its debut album, "Tonight Alive," released on vocalist Moore's Sidearm Entertainment last year.

Twelve-track "Tonight Alive" was recorded at Last Beat Studios in Dallas with engineer/co-producer Paul Williams, who has worked with Polyphonic Spree, Reverend Horton Heat, Flickerstick and the Burden Brothers.

Moore said, in his songwriting capacity, he's inspired by movies as much as he embraces the sound of Led Zeppelin and Nirvana.

The group took home the Battle of the Bands honor organized by Dallas radio station KTCK-AM 1310, and because of it, ended up scoring an appearance at Austin's much ballyhooed South by Southwest music and film conference. They landed a gig at the appropriate venue: The Hard Rock Cafe.

And as skill would have it, the guys have also shared the stage with Andrew WK, Karen O (of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Hagfish and the Burden Brothers.

The group formed in March 2003 after its members served their time in a number of prominent Dallas bands, like Vibrolux, Crash Vinyl, Frill and Tango 9.

With a South by Southwest appearance to vault them to loftier heights, and a Battle of the Bands win behind them, expect brighter things for this group, even if it is named after that rather vengeful, evil character from "Cape Fear."

Catch the guys in concert Saturday night. They'll be performing with Vallejo at the Iron Horse Pub. - TIMES RECORD NEWS

The fast, raucous rock of Dallas' Max Cady helped it win last month's battle-of-the-bands competition hosted by The Ticket (KTCK-AM 1310), and scored it an invitation to play at this year's South by Southwest music festival.

Tonight Alive – the self-released full-length CD by band members Justin Moore, Pablo Xiques, Jeff Biehler and Rob Grijalva – has been available locally since August, but this week it was shipped to stores in several other U.S. cities. The guys will play in Dallas tonight and Fort Worth on Friday.

Here's more from Mr. Moore, Max Cady's lead singer:

Question: Can you describe your music in five words or less?

Answer: Loud, riff-oriented rock.

Question: If your band had to write the three rules of rock, what would they be?

Answer: (1) When and if you get the chance to shoot a music video, do not, by any means, use a scenic landscape [such as a mountaintop] to convey the dramatic nature of your tune. (2) Quit wasting time with all those effects pedals and play the song. (3) Play loud.

Question: If you could put together a dream lineup of bands (dead or alive) to play a show with, who would you pick and why?

Answer: Led Zeppelin, because in their prime, they were the best rock 'n' roll band of all time. Minor Threat, because they were young-as-hell, influential, [expletive] pioneers of hardcore punk. Nirvana: It'd be in Dallas, so maybe Kurt Cobain and Turner [Scott Van Blarcum] could have another go at it. Me Ax Room, because artists always mention bands nobody has ever heard of.

Question: What's the strangest song request you've gotten from an audience member?

Answer: Track Seven on our record, "Stones." We're sick of it, so we expect everyone else to be as well.

Question: Does the band have a preshow ritual?

Answer: We drink, sometimes too much. Ask Pablo ... and me for that matter, and Jeff, and Rob, too. - THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS

It should be no surprise that Max Cady’s debut album is hot, heavy and truly amazing. Anyone who’s seen the band’s live show already knew to expect brute force and powerhouse rock that doesn’t let up.

Tonight Alive’s twelve tracks are filled with a brutish 70’s sound that’s equal parts garage rock, old-school metal and thunderous arena rock. The quartet – Justin Moore (vocals), Jeff Biehler (lead guitar), Pablo Xiques (bass) and Rob Grijalva (drums) – has mastered this dirty, loud, vibrant sound, as every song kicks it into overdrive. Highlights include the title track, Clear and The Change.

The album doesn’t have as much power as Max Cady’s live show, but it’s nearly impossible to faithfully record such a wild performance in the studio. However, this retro garage rock album still packs the kind of punch that most bands can only dream about. - Harder Beat

Dallas rockers Max Cady have a sound that will grab you and not let go until the last chord has pummeled your cochlea. Singer/guitarist Justin Moore delivers his lines like an apolitical Henry Rollins, and their loud and fast approach to rocking out has in a mere 18 months seen them onto the bill with the likes of Vaux, Baboon, Hagfish, Speedealer, The Breeders, Supagroup and the Flametrick Subs.

Max Cady’s debut album, Tonight Alive maintains a relentless intensity throughout all 12 tracks. In support of this release, the foursome is retracing last year’s southwest tour, which took them through various cities in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. I recently talked on the phone with Moore about hecklers, previous Denton shows and chasers.

At a recent Austin show, one of the locals yelled, “You guys suck-you must be from Abilene!” So Moore invited the inebriated heckler up to do the next song. The guy accepted the invitation and joined the band onstage. Moore handed over the mic and mentioned that the number was in E.

After determining that the would-be guest vocalist couldn’t find the key, Moore took the mic away and sang the rest of the song in the confused man’s face. The heckler wasn’t the only one without a clue, however. Drummer Rob Grijalva thought Moore used to play with the guy in another band, and so had no idea why he kept yelling ‘fuck you’ while Moore continued to sing.

Denton has been kinder to Max Cady, who have played at Rubber Gloves and at Andy’s. Moore commented on the latter, saying,
“Andy’s has charm. I used to work in a place when I was in college that Andy’s reminds me of. The sound’s really good."

Somehow we got on the topic of hangovers, and I mentioned the new precaution, an over-the-counter concoction to be taken before drinking. We pondered a bit over how many people would actually admit ahead of time that they were planning to drink to excess (and plan accordingly). Moore opined that that way of thinking illustrated how Americans approach things in general:
“We don’t want to take responsibility for any of our actions, but we want a solution when [things get rough].”

I tried to get him to talk about some of the band’s better shows, but he emphasized that the variables don’t matter all that much. He mentioned a couple of times on their last tour when the ‘opening’ act (i.e. Max Cady) had to play last and therefore to an emptied room, but insisted,
“We don’t really care, it’s more about getting up there and going after it.”

Max Cady are out to rock, regardless of the room, and their September 23 show with Kobra III (who Moore described as “noisy, in-yer-face, balls-out garage rock”) at Cool Bean's should be no exception. “Could you be there?” - Venues Magazine

On their brand-new debut album, Tonight Alive (Sidearm), Dallas' Max Cady remember what a lot of other current Detroit-influenced garage rockers seem to have forgotten: Yes, the Stooges and the MC5 were from Detroit, but so was Ted Nugent (they don't call him the Motor City Madman for nothin'). The band's combination of sleazy punk and cock-rock riffs is more engaging than it should be. - TUCSON WEEKLY

Dallas band Max Cady straddles the fence between traditional hard rock, contemporary alt-rock and the recent garage rock revival. On their recently released debut CD, Tonight Alive, the quartet betrays the influence of both Weezer and Urge Overkill, two post-modern outfits with a knack for heavy riffs, memorable hooks and a barely perceptible sense of fashionable irony. If your looking for proof that the members of Max Cady are perverse pop-culture obsessives, consider that they pinched their name from the murderous villain in Cape Fear.

Max Cady emerged early last year from the ashes of such North Texas bands as Vibrolux and Crash Vinyl, and they've supported Andrew WK, Lou Barlow, Har Mar Superstar, and the Queers, among others. They're set to perform at Taco Land, 103 W. Grayson, on Saturday, September 11. - SAN ANTONIO CURRENT

Max Cady is a rock band. It's not punk, glam or emo. There are no prefixes here. It's just rock-n-roll. It takes the standard rock format - one singer, two guitarists, one bass player and one drummer - and makes the kind of straightforward music that, these days, would be considered a revival. But that's not to say it's uninspired. When everybody's gotta have a gimmick, it's refreshing when a band does it the old fashion way, meaning the way of AC/DC, Cheap Trick and KISS. Max Cady's live shows are energetic and intense, with ripping guitar solos, screaming vocals and rock posturing - singer/guitarist Justin Moore standing hips forward, shoulders hunched, hair over his face as his fingers run up and down the neck furiously. On Tonight Alive, the debut record for the Dallas quartet (which also includes guitarist Jeff Biehler, bassist Pablo Xiques and drummer Rob Grijalva), they're a little toned down, the energy depleted. But, for once, every lyric can be heard. They're abstract and repetitive with choruses made up of short phrases to be yelled while the rest of the band emphasizes with stops and starts. Tonight Alive is not a diverse record; it's all rawk. But who wants another "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" anyway? - Dallas Observer