The
History
of
Doktor Maxx
In February 1993, out of the ashes of a band called Mr. Meaner, Bangcock was formed. The members were: Rick Von Lienen on guitar and vocals; Tom Ehlts on guitar and vocals; Marcus Allann on drums and vocals; Bob Mays on bass. Rick, formerly of Mr. Meaner, never broke stride in the move, but many changes were yet to be made. Four months later, Bob was gone and Brad Martens took over the bass chores. But his time in the band was also short lived. Before the end of 1993, Eric Lee would do his first stint in this band.
Bangcock marched on until May 1994, when Tom Ehlts announced that he was moving to another level and left the band. He was replaced by Tomas T, from Over the Limit. Then the band began to gel. Songs were being written, and audiences were being rocked. In March 1995, personal problems took their tool on Eric Lee, and he left the band. He was replaced by Barton Peterson. April 1995 saw the beginning issue of the Bangcock Insider, a newsletter dedicated to the fans. A fan club was also started, which has proved to be very loyal. It was that same summer, Marcus Allann decided to leave the band. Drummer Fast Freddie Seltrecht, who's past bands include Vicious Circle, joined in adding his thunderous pounding to the group. Before the end of June 1995, opportunities forced another change in the band. Eric Lee rejioned the band for a trip to Kansas City.
It was at this point that the band decided to change the name. After a long debate, Doktor Maxx was chosen. With a new name, it was also time to begin recording a CD, which would eventually be called Klowns of God. Recording began in April 1996, but health reasons forced Eric to bow out of the band before it could be completed. Enter Hodgy, the virile young bassist from Sick.
Several mixes ,many months, and thousands of dollars later, the CD was finally pressed. Released in February of 1998, the disc is round and shiny on one side, with a spell-binding Doktor on the other. Opening with "Eyre Via Sentience" before blasting into the favorite set opener "Feel it Comin", the band takes no prisoners. Klowns Of God is filled with bombastic rockers like "Hungry" and "Not For The Money", and powerhouse stomp-a-longs such as "Rubicon". Fast Freddie's "Fun In A Bottle" fades a vomiting Hodgy into the lush keyboard heavy intro of "Cryin' Out For Love". Rounding out the disc is the majestic "Embrace The Shine", a fitting denoumont to the journey which is Klowns Of God.
Not only does Doktor Maxx have their debut CD under their belt as a testament of their past and an oracle of the things to come, they also live their lives LIVE, by putting on a monstrous, non-stop live show. Blending the hot cuts of the CD with some ass-kicking cover songs, this band is something to see. The interplay between members makes you want to get involved, compared to many bands that look as if they took a whiskey chaser with their Quaaludes before they went on stage. Rick and Tomas T's guitars create a wall of sound over Fast Freddie's chest-pounding drums. Hodgy never stops moving, bouncing, running, beating the shit out of his bass. It only gets better and better.
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