MAX WEBSTER: A STUDY IN TENSE

PAST: "Just The Max Facts, Ma'am."

MAX WEBSTER was born seven years ago, a starry eyed quartet that played the hits and quickly decided that musical familiarity breeds contempt. Despite the law of averages and the music biz pressures to be ordinary, the foursome molded an identity that was/is uniquely MAX WEBSTER. Raised in the depressing little industrial city of Sarnia, Ontario, these lads discovered early in the day that the only sure cure for the all-pervasive doldrums of Sarnia life was to PARTY! Not just have a good time, mind you; but PARTY like your life depends on it. Because in Sarnia it does.

Even in those early days, MAX WEBSTER was clearly a sensational live band... they had to be to win the support of the Sarnia citizenry. Peculiar clothes, peculiar music and peculiar lyrics were all combined to make a MAX WEBSTER show an event, an open invitation to spontaneous combustion. Singer/guitarist Kim Mitchell wears whatever seems to suit him on that particular day with no nods to current fashion. His deep rooted eyes make him both intriguing and suspicious as he spits morse code lyrics into the microphone, moving around like a broken Slinky toy. Terry Watkinson alternately pounds and caresses the keyboards, his jerky puppet moves forcing onlookers to search for the invisible strings. Gary McCracken's percussion is muscular and relentless, slipping in and out of standard rock rhythms with ease to accent here and punctuate there. Bassist Dave Myles peppers the mix with some solid but agile runs up the frets. He imparts an air of inscrutibility. It's a potent quartet live, one that leaves a first-time viewer awe-struck and slackjawed. MAX WEBSTER gives its audience a sense of anticipation, the feeling that anything could happen. And, in true party fashion, you never know who's going to end up wearing the lamp shade.

PRESENT: The Quest For More Electric Fists....

In their native Canada, MAX WEBSTER have released four albums, all certified either gold or platinum. With the help of lyricist Pye Dubois, the band painstakingly constructed four distinct episodes in an ongoing special. Episode number five is "Live Magnetic Air", which will spread the MAX WEBSTER phenomenon to other parts of the world. After one special questing tour of England, the band has already been invited back for a headline tour. "Live Magnetic Air" captures MAX WEBSTER in concert, at their volitile best. For those who have supported the band from the beginning, "Live Magnetic Air" is a compilation of much of Max's strongest material. For the uninitiated, the album is like a Reader's Digest condensed version of the plot so far. It serves both purposes well and will do much to make MAX WEBSTER a household word around the world, which is the current goal and Kim Mitchell's vision of glory: "When I stand at the front of the stage, all I can see is this sea of electric fists, punching holes in the smoke. I want to see more electric fists. Many more."

FUTURE: The Max Factor

What of the future? The boys in the band have a clear, common view. "We know we're going to keep the fans we've got," maintains Kim, "because it's very hard to stop being a MAX WEBSTER fan, giving us a good foundation upon which to build." Pye Dubois agrees. "It's like fire spreading under the moss on a forest floor...you don't see the smoke or fire, no warning until WHAM!...then it erupts everywhere all at once. One day the world will simply wake up to find it's been MAX WEBSTER-ized."

MAX WEBSTER has been different from the start, in a world where being different is only now fashionable. "We were always always told by some people that we were weird. Which we weren't...otherwise we wouldn't have stirred so strong a buzz with so many kids in Canada. It's just taken some people an extra generation to get hip," smiles Mitchell. "That's all."