Austin’s Max Frost came out of nowhere with “White Lies,” but it was the kind of song that did a lot of convincing. After a couple of critically acclaimed SXSW shows and that one single, Max put himself on the fast track to a promising career in music. Since then, he signed with Atlantic Records, finished his Low High Low EP for an October 8 release (pre-order it here), and scheduled over two months of tour dates with Gary Clark Jr. Things are looking pretty good for Max right now, but it didn’t come easily.
“Right after SXSW, I had my computer and hard drive stolen at a show. I had no idea what to do or that I was soon to catch a break online and sign with Atlantic,” Max explains. “I had to re-create every song from scratch for this EP, except ‘White Lies,’ which was a difficult process. I aimed to create newer fresher versions rather than try to imitate the demos. I brought in my good friend Josh Moore to co-produce and mix tracks with me so I wasn’t alone in the task. I picked songs that I felt gave a taste of the diversity of what’s to come in my music. The theme was created during the conceptualization of the artwork. The name ‘low high low’ represents both the emotional ups and downs of losing my music then having breakthrough. It also represents the emotional tones of the songs as well as the juxtaposition of lo-phi and hi-phi elements.”
As far as the tour with Gary, it’s a perfect fit. “I saw Gary play for the first time when I was about 13 and he was about 21 at a small place in Austin,” Max says. “I grew up a bit and opened for him dozens of times when I was 15-17 right when Gary was really taking off. It’s a huge honor to be going on this tour and totally surreal like a flashback to the past.”
I wanted the song to represent that but also give relief in the idea that it’s never too late to start taking control and to wake up. I feel awake in my life right now and I hope the song helps people feel the same
Before the EP drops, we get another taste of what to expect with “Suspended Animation.” It’s a song Max wrote very recently and was inspired by someone he knows personally. “We all live on auto-pilot for phases of our life,” he says. “I wanted the song to represent that but also give relief in the idea that it’s never too late to start taking control and to wake up. I feel awake in my life right now and I hope the song helps people feel the same.”
Max Frost Tour Dates:
All dates w/ Gary Clark Jr. except *
9/21 Utopia, TX Utopia Fest*
9/26 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern Theatre
9/27 San Diego, CA House of Blues
10/2 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
10/5 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Music Festival*
10/10 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
10/11 Denver, CO Ogden Theater
11/11 Boston, MA Royale
11/12 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
11/16 New York, NY Terminal 5
11/20 Minneapolis, MI First Avenue
11/22 Indianapolis, IN The Vogue Theatre
11/23 Columbia, MO The Blue Note
