Interview by Sheryl Stewart (taken from Air1.com)

Like the famous Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh, dc talk's Kevin Max has often been labeled eccentric and odd. His ideas and his image tread on the fragile edges of Christian society, inviting curious onlookers and prompting criticism. Is the singer, songwriter, poet an egocentric, wayward artist or a deep, thinking man who sees life and art from a unique angle? How does this multifaceted personality meld into the dc talk mix? Curious? We'll let him tell you.

Air 1: You have been criticized for being yourself. People have so many different views of you. Are there any misconceptions?

Kevin: There are a lot of misconceptions about me. I think the biggest one would probably be the fact that I'm this totally self-absorbed, narcissistic, inaccessible dude, which is totally opposite of the truth. If you come backstage to a dc talk show, usually, I'm going to be the one that will actually talk to you. I'm not saying that Toby and Mike wouldn't. I'm saying that I enjoy people a lot more on a one-on-one level. When I get in huge groups of people, I crawl into my shell a little bit and get shy. I think people mistake that for being arrogant. I just have a better time talking one-on-one. That way, I can have a conversation. I'm bored with surface talk, to be honest.

Air 1: How do you think people got the idea that you are this eccentric rock star?

Kevin: I think the word eccentric is fine, because I'm a bit of an eccentric person in that I don't like the same old, same old. I try to push the envelope artistically, musically and lyrically. I tend to do things other people wouldn't do as far as the way I dress, where I like to travel and what I like to collect. The rock-star image is not true, because when I hit the stage, I'm a rock star; when I get off the stage, I'm Kevin Max. I'm a pretty normal guy, as normal goes. None of us are normal, and that's really the meaning behind (the song) "Be," all of us are strange, wonderful and fearfully made. That's the beauty of God's creation: nobody is normal. I don't think anybody would want to be normal. Aspiring to be normal is really, really, scary to me. It's the people that want to look like everyone else that scare me.

Air 1: In a former interview, Toby talked about the musical compromises that you all three have had to make in dc talk, and that's why you all wanted to do a solo record. So, what is it that you had to compromise musically while working with dc talk?

Kevin: Musically? That's probably the least amount of compromise for me. We're such an integrated form of musicians. We're all very eclectic in our styles and what we like. I think the biggest thing for me was that I lean more toward the old-school kind of rock 'n' roll approach to songwriting. On the same page, lyrically, I have made a major compromise with some of the things that have gone down with dc talk in the past. Dc talk is a vehicle that has been used in some ways for evangelical purposes. I tend to write from more of an abstract viewpoint, and my poetry has a lot more to do with my writing.

Air 1: So now that you don't have to compromise in your solo record, Stereotype Be, what is it that you want to say?

Kevin: I have so many different sides to me that people haven't seen, because I have played the character of dc talk to a degree. When you get hooked up in a band, everybody starts to fill their niche. You start to play that out. I think people are going to be interested in knowing that I'm much more complex and well-rounded than I seem to be in dc talk. Because of that, I have a lot to say on this record. The record is about realizing your self worth, and realizing that you're not perfect. You might be short, fat, ugly, skinny, have an eating disorder and you might be turned on by drugs. We all have weaknesses. We all have skeletons in the closet, and I think when we realize our weaknesses, we then can become strong underneath God's design. I think the idea behind the whole record is God is more cosmic and more huge than Christian music makes Him out to be. We box things up so much, especially in this industry. We pack things up and make it look all neat and tidy. God is not neat and tidy. God is bigger than organized religion. For an artist like myself, to feel like I'm doing what I want to do, I have to feel freed. I have to feel like I can be a realized son of God. To me, that is knowing how huge He is, and understanding that there's more than the rules that we lay down.

Air 1: Who and what are you making your music for?

Kevin: I consider this music made for people that want to go underneath the surface a little, that want to live extraordinary lives. I will say that, a lot of times, when I'm writing I think about the misfit. Growing up in high school, and even in college, I felt like a misfit because nobody really understood where I was coming from. I grew up in a Christian society and a lot of my ideas, and a lot of who I was, rubbed against those religious things, the religious implements and cultural absolutes. So, in a way, I target a misfit audience. I really feel like this music is for everybody. Like the song "Be" that's on my record, it's about self-realization and anybody can get with that. If any of us can understand what true power we can have, and what things we can really do, even supernaturally, it's pretty amazing. So, the record is not limited. I don't even think of a style of music. It's very international sounding. You have to sit down and listen to the whole thing. That's why I was kind of against putting out the Solo EP. To me, the EP was a little bit of a cheat on my record. I didn't want to put the best songs on the EP. I wanted the best stuff to be saved for the record. I'm hoping my record (to release Aug. 28) is the kind that people will listen to, start to finish, with headphones, reading the lyrics at the same time.

Air 1: Joe Perry of Aerosmith said, "For art to work, it must be familiar, yet at the same time, surprising. What about your art is familiar, and what is surprising?"

Kevin: What's familiar is probably the sound of my voice. That's what will probably drive people to the stalls. That is what has been my work piece for years — developing my voice and developing a character in my voice that people can relate to, and want to take home with them. To say, "When I listen to him sing, I feel like I'm at home." That's what I have done with my voice. Hopefully, I can do the same thing with my lyrics and my music.

Air 1: What will be surprising?

Kevin: That I have a sense of song structure. I think a lot of people think that I would just go off on a tangent and not have any kind of radio sensibility. People don't realize that I have a big pop sensibility and have grown up in pop music. I understand what it takes to make a pop song.

Air 1: Haven't you been performing for people since the age of 4?

Kevin: Yes, I sang in churches. I sang on the radio. I did little things for people that came by our house. I was constantly performing. It was kind of weird, because I could hold a tune, and had a little bit of character to my voice, even that early on. Some people can, at the age of 4, solve puzzles, or complete mathematical equations. I was just able to sing and always loved music. That really developed when I was in junior high and high school, because I really started getting into different forms of music, and had my first band.

Air 1: There was never a time when you didn't perform. That's a really unusual childhood. How did that shape you as a person?

Kevin: I think that shaped me because I went through a period of time where I performed, and I lost my love for it. I was doing it to do it, and I'm speaking of some of the years in dc talk, when it was like a job. I still look at it as a job, but I actually have come full circle now, to the point where I really love it again. I push myself on stage and I try to connect with people as much as I can, especially with the music on this new record. It's going to be interesting to see how far I can push that, because the music is really challenging and very cool.

Air 1: When you perform solo does it feel odd to look around and see that Toby is not there, and Michael is not there, it's just you and your band? Or are you digging it, for a change?

Kevin: The truth is, I don’t feel weird about it at all. In fact, before getting together with Toby and Mike, I was in a band and I was the lead singer and wrote all the music. I was expecting to do that my whole life. When dc talk came along, I was thrown into this role of being the keyboard guy and singer. Now, I have come back around to where I was originally, and it feels great. I love performing by myself.

Air 1: Did you ever think that you would still be performing in dc talk after all these years? Did you have any idea that the band would be the institution that it has become?

Kevin: Somebody used another word, the other day. They said dynasty. That might be going a little far. No, to be honest, I didn't think it would become this. I always thought it would be a job that could make me some extra money, and then I would do my own thing. Think about it, you know the kind of lyrics that I write, and you know the kind of things I like. Dc talk doesn't really mesh with that. Even the name is ... I have always thought that was such a stupid name, but for some reason it really caught on. Now, in the Christian industry it has become a household name and I can't argue that. I'm proud of the fact that I helped build that.

Air 1: What effect have Toby and Michael had on your life? Beyond bringing you in to dc talk?

Kevin: Toby has affected me in the realm of friendship and brotherhood, much more than just professional partners. We have been through a lot together. We don't agree all the time, but who does? He has taught me, time and again, how to relate to people from the stage and in life. He is also a fantastic business mind. Michael has affected me in knowing how to reach out to people and love them properly. He always seems to know what to say to people to make them feel good and I think he is quite genuine in doing it. I always feel like I am being fake when I embrace people I don't know, but he has taught me the art of just hanging out. I'm much too serious. I'm more of a one-on-one communicator, or sometimes my alter ego kicks in, and I turn into crazy man. He has taught me to love in big group situations, so now I am just a bundle of fun to hang out with.

Air 1: Of all the things that have been written about you, I have never read how you became a Christian. At what point in your life did that happen?

Kevin: I actually came to know the Lord really early on as a young kid and then I recommitted my life at 11 ... 12 years old. Because I wasn't sure if I had really accepted Him into my heart when I was younger. I didn't really think that I could comprehend it. When I was 12, I knew the whole thing, I knew what it was to be given salvation. I knew what it is to want to live for Christ and give my life over to Him. You know, "If you haven't already come into my life, come in to my life" kind of thing. Just to be doubly sure.

Air 1: How has your understanding of that relationship changed as you have become older?

Kevin: I believe that God accepts us because we believe and we have faith. He gives us eternal life because He wants to. But, I also think, there is a lot to be said about actually being a Christian and living the lifestyle. That's what I have learned in my lifetime: being Christ-like is different than saying that I believe in Christ. It's easy for people to say "I'm a Christian," but it's difficult for them to live the lifestyle.

Air 1: It's easier for them to follow a list of rules, which is what a lot of people do. It's easier for them to fall back on that than to actually model their life after Christ.

Kevin: Definitely. I grew up in a semi-legalistic society. I completely fight against all those cultural absolutes that a lot of Christians want to throw at people. I'm probably what a lot of people would term a liberal Christian because I don't think it's wrong to go to movies. I don't think it's wrong to go dancing. There are a lot of things that I don't think are wrong, but I think there's a balance. There is a line that you can cross and you have to know what that line is.

Air 1: It's not about that anyway. The essence of Christianity all boils down to love. A love that affects everything you do, right?

Kevin: It's loving people bigger and better than yourself. That's why the scripture says if you really live out the principle of love, then you're living out all of these things. You won't struggle with wanting to shoot someone in the head if you love them. You won't struggle with stealing from them or sleeping with their wife.

Air 1: What's the best advice you have ever been given, and what's the best advice you can give?