AWOE Magazine

A little over a month ago, I had the amazing opportunity to speak with Kevin Max on the phone. Needless to say, it was an awe-inspiring experience.

As many of you know, no introduction is necessary because Kevin Max is widely known for being part of one of the most legendary groups ever, DC Talk, which began an ongoing intermission in 2000. Since then, Kevin Max has gone on to compose the next chapter of his life as an incandescent poetic soul, producing phenomenal solo albums such as Stereotype Be, The Imposter, Holy Night, my favorite EP, Between the Fence & the Universe, and now his upcoming album, The Blood, due to be released in January 2008—a much-anticipated project for anyone who loves his music!

Beyond Kevin’s musically artistic nature, he has a blessed and beautiful wife named Amanda, who has blessed him with a daughter, London, and a brand-new son, Wilder Liam. To me, Kevin Max is truly an honest soul and a passionate family man who treasures the essence of God’s presence each day. I know you will enjoy this opportunity over the next several Sundays to experience Kevin Max: The Blood and Beyond…

Jen G~
Publisher & Editor
AWOE Magazine

THE BLOOD SUNDAY

The Kevin Max Family

Jen G: How are you doing? New father again.

Kevin Max: Yeah, I’m doing great. I mean, being a father is intense, but it’s awesome.

Jen G: Well, that is great. I’m just going to go through some of the questions. But since I know your son is here…what was the experience like waiting it out? Was that really difficult for you and your wife?

“But now it’s an amazing process having a son and a daughter. It’s just been a blessing…”

Kevin Max: It wasn’t difficult because the first time, when we had London, we had to induce Amanda as well. London was about three or four days late, so we decided to induce then. We kind of knew that we were probably going to have to induce because you don’t want to wait too long for a baby to come.

It was a very normal induction, and he came out very easily. It was a good process. It wasn’t frightening for us in any way. Really, the only thing that’s been frightening is the lack of sleep. (Laughs.) I’ve been in the studio this whole week, and I was there until about 1:30 in the morning last night. Then I came home, and he woke up about three times during the night for feedings. I was awake during all three of those feedings, and I’ve probably gotten maybe two hours of sleep. So if I appear kind of grumpy, it’s because the lack of sleep doesn’t do me any good. (Laughs.)

I’m one of those people who needs sleep. If I’m sleep-deprived, then things happen. So I might need to go back down for a nap before I head into the studio today.

But now it’s an amazing process having a son and a daughter. It’s just been a blessing that we never could have bought.

Jen G: Yeah! Oh my gosh, that’s so cool. I saw the pictures on your website—well, on your MySpace—of you and your father, and then your kids. They have the best red hair I’ve ever seen. It’s so beautiful! (Laughs.) How did you and your wife choose both of their names—London and Wilder Liam?

“Obviously we want to teach them the basics. The basic ideas from Scripture and the basic things that we’ve learned from life as parents…”

Kevin Max: Wilder Liam. London we chose because we were looking for a name that we both could relate to. Originally we were going to name her Eva—spelled E-V-A. It’s a Jewish name, and we were really excited to name her Eva. Then we found out that everybody living in Los Angeles seemed to be naming their kid Eva at that time. It became kind of a trendy phenomenon.

So we decided to name her London. Her full name is London Eva Kay Max.

Kay actually isn’t an abbreviation of my first name like the nickname I was given in high school. Kay is my mother’s middle name, and it’s also my wife’s mother’s middle name. So that’s where we got that name.

Then Wilder—that’s a name from an old manager I had, a friend who managed me for a while. He was from England, and his name was Steven Short. He had a son named Wilder, and we just thought that was a great name. So there you have it.

Jen G: And Liam?

Kevin Max: Liam is just the Irish version of William. We’re both Irish on both sides of our families, so it’s kind of a traditional thing.

Jen G: As a father, what are some of the things you want to impart to them as they grow older?

Kevin Max: Right now we’re really focused on making sure they get the best out of life. For us, it’s kind of a learning process—trying to figure out what they watch, what they read, and who they’re involved with.

Right now they’re so young that it’s really about making sure what they’re watching on television, what they’re hearing, and what they’re picking up is something we want them to learn from. To be honest with you, the Baby Einstein stuff is great, and there are a few other things we’ve introduced them to that seem to work. But we’re still a few years away from a lot of that.

Obviously we want to teach them the basics—the basic ideas from Scripture and the basic things we’ve learned from life as parents that we apply every day. So it’s kind of the same old, same old.

Jen G: What is something that you would want them to remember about you as a person?

KEVIN MAX: THE BLOOD AND BEYOND — Page 2