The Max Levine Ensemble

Hey I just got back from tour. A few weeks ago I wrote an essay on sexism in the punk scene for punknews.org , sorry to just post it now! You can read it at punknews or click "read more" below.

My new LP "the Papas" is available for pre-order now! It will come with a zine and a download link! Check it out from:

Hey just wanted to throw a quick plug at the I Live Sweat series focusing on sexism in the punk scene.  So far, they've run personal essays from Lauren Denitzio of the Measure [sa] and Mariel Loveland of Candy Hearts.  Lauren also did a great interview on Punk Rock Pravada that's worth reading as well.  Over at out.

Due to an emergency medical situation, we have to cancel.  You should still go though, there are a ton of great bands playing.  We'll be playing Best Friends Day in Richmond, VA in August, so RVA punx, you can catch us then... Sorry about all this.

Hey everyone, I (Spoonboy) am putting out a new solo record, that I'm pretty stoked about. It's gonna be a collaboration between Fuck You is a Seven Letter Word Records, Plan-it-X Records, Discount Horse Records, and Shout Out Loud Prints, and it's coming out on vinyl, cd and cassette tape!!  The record in any format will come with a zine with lyrics, stories, essays, and the like. You can check out the cover art, an mp3, and the track listing below: 

1. 
2. All the Kids In Michigan 
3. Not Coming Home 
4. Stab Yer Dad 
5. Do You Need a Messiah 
6. Gerald Lee Palmer 
7. Hegemonic Blowfish 
8. Sexy Dreams 
9. Peanuts 
10. Carol Rhodes 
11. All One or None 
12. The Mamas and the Papas 
13. I am a Dog 
14. My Antonia 

I recorded the record in April 2010 in Athens, GA with a backing band consisting of members of Nana Grizol, Hot New Mexicans, Grape Soda, Madeline, Elf Power, Defiance Ohio, ETC! The CD, tape and download will also come with some lo-fi acoustic recordings I made in my bedroom. 

I'll be on tour playing solo shows for most of May and June! You can check tour dates at www.iloveyouthisisarobbery.com!

courtesy of mega talent: BEN LEVIN

thanks so much to everyone who came to our party on saturday!  it was wilder than our wilder expectations.  all the bands were amazing, and it was particularly awesome to see so many old friends in the same place... so yeah.  thank you.

now on to the present! in case you're bored or need something to look forward to, i'd like to offer you the official trailer to the upcoming documentary BUTT CHEESE AMERICA: THE BEPSTEIN DOCUMENTARY by bepstein's roommate rose blossom.  it should be out this summer!

what does the future hold?  we're playing a show in dc with chewing on tinfoil from ireland on january 25th.  and both spoonboy and the bepstein show will be making appearances at an upcoming dc acoustic house show on february 17th with paul baribeau and the boy who could fly.  so look out for all that!

also, our new/old record "mr gikokovich" is out now on plan-it-x records and no breaks records if you're interested.

From the Washington Post Express:

What's the secret to a long-rocking band? Unbridled passion? Unwavering commitment? For D.C.'s Max Levine Ensemble, endurance has meant something far simpler.

"The band just wasn't really able to break up," says vocalist David "Spoonboy" Combs. "There were a couple points when it looked like the band had reached its conclusion. But we couldn't agree on it, so we just kept playing together."

The group's brand of catchy pop punk might seem out of place in a town known for aggressive hardcore and mathy post-punk, but Combs isn't worried about that. "If someone writes us off because we have a hook in our song instead of a breakdown, I don't take offense to that," he shrugs.

The Ensemble's connection to D.C. runs deeper than musical aesthetics, anyway. "I think we've always been more connected based on types of shows we play rather than on the type of music we play: shows where people are finding wherever they can to put it on, shows that have a more politicized DIY aspect and have more political lean to the lyrics."

Many of the band's songs are so upbeat that you might be fooled into thinking they were simple, tossed-off tunes. But Combs says to listen closely: "[Our sound is] catchy, it's more fun, but we've also broached heavier things in our lyrics." Want proof? Check out Tmle.terrorware.com, where you can find lyrics and free MP3s of their entire back catalog.

For TMLE's upcoming 10-year anniversary show, the band will be releasing a greatest-hits disc — except all of the tracks are new. "We have old records that we're running out of, and we thought, rather than re-pressing these old records that sound so different, we would rerecord them," Combs explains. "In some cases, we've been playing these songs for years, and they've progressed and changed. So, we wanted to document that."

From the Washington City Paper:

Ten years is an impressive milestone for any band, but it is an even more remarkable achievement in D.C., where the tendency is to implode before playing a record release show. The Max Levine Ensemble is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a party at the Black Cat, though you’re most likely to have encountered its scrappy brand of pop-punk in a church auditorium or crowded, overheated basement. With its history of serious-minded harDCore, the District can be a tough town for pop-punk. But a quick skim of David “Spoonboy” Combs’ lyrics—particularly on the excellent Them Steadily Depressing, Low Down Mind Messing, Post Modern Recession Blues EP—reveals an astute political consciousness that owes more to Dischord’s heyday than anything from the Lookout! Records catalog.

 

in case you hadn't heard, we were recently interviewed for the russian zine "behind punk."  over and out.