Buffalo Rising Online

Sep 30th, 11:09am By Bass Reeves

I was at the Viking Restaurant in the Blackrock section of town when the owner says, "Hey, I have this CD of a kid of one of my customers. Would you like to take a listen?"

"Suuuure," I cringed. "Whose kid is it?" He mentions the name, and to my extra delight (sarcasm), I happen to know the guy. Great, I say to myself.

But I listened, and the kid was more than all right; he was just terrific (whew). I took the CD to some friends so they could listen—Robbie Konikoff at Audio Magic Studios in Blackrock, and Buffalonian Gary Mallaber (a Who's Who of Rock and Roll), who has worked with greats like Van Morrison, Steve Miller and Bruce Springsteen. Both stalwarts agreed with my thoughts. The kid has a future in music.

The musical talent incubated here in Buffalo has always amazed me. Everywhere I travel I find great players from Buffalo. I don't know if it's the water or the weather or the pizza! But it's something—musicianship has a fountainhead here, and it gushes eternal.

But this is not about the past, it’s about now and the future and what’s bubbling and brewing in the depths of the molten pot that will erupt, creating the new landscape. It's about the new sounds that are being—and about to be—created.

Okay, so who’s this kid? His name is Maxx Davis, and he's a multi-instrumentalist.

Maxx is a mere 16 years, but he started his way into a life of music when he began studying piano in kindergarten. In 7th grade, he and some friends were coming home from a football game, when the conversation turned to starting a band. Maxx decided he wanted to try the drums, so he did. His parents supported the idea and purchased a set for him, and the band began to practice. After a few personnel and name changes, like No Peace, Victim, In Your Head, the band began to play some dates.

There have been a number of bands since, but most significantly, The Black Napkins, in which Maxx played Guitar.

Maxx's answer about the addition of guitar to his lineup of instruments intrigued me. He said that what most attracted him to the instrument was its neck and the way a guitar lends itself to creating so much in such a limited space. I can say, as a guitar player myself for almost 50 years, he is doing quite well utilizing that limited space!

Maxx says that Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan influenced him most, but that he also listens to players such a Joe Pass and many others. The one characteristic he is drawn to most is passion. “There are lots of great technical players, but only some can make you feel what they are playing,” Maxx says.

Maxx states that he knew quite early on in his life that music would be his future. “During the first years of playing piano I just took everything in," he explains. "I learned everything I could about the different aspects of the instrument and music in general. I loved the percussive aspect of the keyboard.”

Presently, Maxx has added bass guitar and song writing to his daily work routine, which consists of 2 hours of practice on guitar, 1 hour on drums and 3 to 4 hours on bass and piano, with some songwriting thrown in (both music and lyrics). Topics for songs are “generally about girls and parties,” he said smiling suspiciously.

Currently, Maxx is playing in a number of different bands, including a jazz trio at high school. He hopes to continue his musical education somewhere like The Eastman School of Music.

I asked Maxx who his favorite band of all time is and his answer surprised me. He said Pink Floyd. “They make me contemplate life,” he answered.

I also asked him about the current state of the music business and what he thought of the current state of popular music. I asked him what he thought of the big hit of this summer: “I kissed a Girl”.

Maxx answered, “Yikes! Garbage!”

There is hope, I think. We have Maxx Davis.