THE VAULT: MUSIC

Kevin Max: Well, I’m sure that I would want them both to think that Daddy is a kind, generous, caring man. I mean, I could say that I’d want them to think that I was successful, or intellectual, or spiritual, whatever. But the one thing that sticks out in my mind about my father is that he was always generous and always caring. I think I want them to feel the same about me.

One of my characteristics is that I’m always quite generous in the things that I do. It’s something I’ve always been able to fall back on with my dad, which I’m sure sometimes he wishes wasn’t the case because I fall back on his help at times.

I’m like, “Well, can you hook me up with this international flight? Dad, I don’t have time to book it. Can you go book it?” And he’ll do it for me. That’s the wonderful thing about my father. Even though he’s so busy today, as an accountant for several different companies, he still wants to help me out when he can. So that’s what I want my kids to know and be able to fall back on. Even as young adults, they can always go to Dad for help.

Jen G: What are some of the things you have learned from your father that you’ve practiced throughout your life, from your childhood on, that helped shape you as a man? Morals, values, and that sort of thing.

“…my father constantly instilled in us the idea that putting others before yourself is important…”

Kevin Max: These are really deep questions, Jen. You’re hitting me with, like, Dr. Phil questions at 9:30 in the morning. (Laughs.)

Well, listen, I mean, there are so many. I think the most obvious is the fact that my father constantly instilled in us the idea that putting others before yourself is important. I could easily say my dad being a generous man—and his honesty probably being his best characteristic—is a very Christ-like quality. Even when it was uncomfortable for him to help people out, he would help them out.

To me, it’s one of the most endearing qualities of Christ—that He was constantly serving and not just out there for Himself. It’s a very difficult thing for anyone to learn, really…being a philanthropist, you know? (Laughs.)

Kevin Max on meeting his birth parents…

Jen G: How did you feel after you found your birth parents?

Kevin Max: Well, I got in contact with my birth mother first, and that’s how they do it through an adoption agency. They have you write your mother, and then if she wants to get in touch, she’ll write back.

That process went pretty quickly for me and my birth mother, Reny. About a week later, I got a letter back from her, and we had her over to my house probably a month and a half after that. It was amazing to meet her, to just sit down and find out about her—what her aspirations in life were at the time, what she thought about the past, and what her feelings were at the time of giving birth to me.

So it was very intense. It was an intense meeting because it wasn’t that I had some kind of void in my life to fill by knowing who she was or who my birth father was, but more out of general curiosity.

“I’m very happy and very fortunate to have the parents that I have. Max and Elaine Smith have not only done their job, but they’ve gone beyond.”

So, for me, it was a great process. She ended up finding Michael Flarity, who is my birth father. We met with him as well. They weren’t together. They had only met briefly. It was the ’60s, and he was a rock star. So, I mean, it’s kind of just the way things go, I guess.

I’m very happy and very fortunate to have the parents that I have. Max and Elaine Smith have not only done their job, but they’ve gone beyond. I tend to look at my parents as providence, and it was the best thing for me.

“Fatherhood is probably the closest thing to one of the main characteristics of God that we can get as humans.”

Jen G: What does fatherhood mean to you?

Kevin Max: Well, my mother—my adopted mother—couldn’t have children, and that’s why they adopted. So, to be able to have children kind of so effortlessly, I felt, was a blessing in itself.

I mean, we’ve decided that two is probably enough for us right now. We haven’t totally made that decision yet, but I think it’s one we’ll probably make because, in modern times, it’s not as easy to raise a bunch of kids.

We take the job seriously, I guess, if that’s what you’re asking. Fatherhood is probably the closest thing to one of the main characteristics of God that we can get as humans. Being a father to a child, you immediately understand what God feels toward us. I mean, that’s an amazing thing in itself.

Jen G: After being in the music industry for so long, if your kids wanted to pursue music, what would you tell them?

KEVIN MAX: THE BLOOD AND BEYOND — Page 3