Maxine Petrucci

antiMUSIC: So tell us about Titania. How long has it been in the works?

Maxine: Titania has been in the works for about three years. I was getting tired of all the fabricated music I was being exposed to on TV and the radio. So I decided to write some music that I thought I would enjoy. The result is a very fast moving album with shredding guitar, pounding drums, and very melodic vocals. Writing, singing and playing all the guitars on this album gave me the chance to totally control the way this album sounds.

Which was refreshing to me always having to play what other people wanted me to play in projects in the past! Titania is receiving an excellent response from every one who has heard it! To listen to a couple of tracks and purchase the CD go to www.maxattacks.com or www.myspace.com/maxinepetrucci

antiMUSIC: Any significance to the title?

Maxine: Titania is the queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night's Dream". I turned her into a heavy metal supersonic queen superhero. That is the only concept behind the title. I had thought about calling the band Titania but went with Maxine instead.

antiMUSIC: We'll get to the songs in a second but when people say Maxine Petrucci, you automatically think guitar. And you haven't let us down on this record. Let's jump right to "Max Attacks" which is just outstanding. How much fun did you have laying that track down? How many takes did you do for that?

Maxine: Playing guitar leads is one of my favorite things to do. I wrote "Max Attacks" in about a week's time. I played it four times in the studio all the way through picking the take I thought had the most energy and feel to it.

antiMUSIC: Is it safe to say you like soloing more than anything else?

Maxine: I find solo's to be very challenging to write. I want my solos to all be very different from each other which isn't easy in a world where everything has been done before.

antiMUSIC: Let's talk about some of the songs. What can you tell us about the following, either what the song is about or something that happened during the writing/recording:

Maxine: "Titania"
"Titania" was a fun song for me. Creating a heavy metal supersonic queen. Featuring Billy Sheehan on bass.

 "Squeeked"
"Squeeked" is a feeling you get when something bothers you or gives you the creeps. Featuring Mike Pisculli on bass.

"Love Test"
Love Test is about relationships, break ups and the insecurities afterwards. Featuring my brother Paul Petrucci on bass.

antiMUSIC: You have Roxy on drums for this record. You've worked with her in the past. What is it about her drumming that you wanted for your record?

Maxine: Roxy and I both love hard rock and metal and have a lot of the same influences. She knows how I play and vice-versa. Having her play on Titania made sure that part of the recording process would go as smooth as possible. She's definately Roxzilla on drums!

antiMUSIC: Billy Sheehan guests on the title cut. How did that come about?

Maxine: Billy Sheehan has been a friend of ours for years. We called him and he said he would be glad to do a track. He believes in us and I can't say enough to thank him! You should check out his new CD Cosmic Troubadour.

antiMUSIC: Paul Petrucci is credited on bass and Jenny for art work. Are they your brother and sister or cousins?

Maxine: My brother Paul is a great bass player. He played in a band called the Motor City Rocker's featuring Jimmy Marino (the Romantics). Jenny is my brother
Remo's wife. She did a wonderful job drawing the cover of Titania

antiMUSIC: So what have been doing musically since the demise of Madam X?

Maxine: After the demise of Madam X in 1991, Roxy and I started a project called Hell's Bell's, an all-girl project featuring Lenita Erickson on vocals. I owned a couple of night clubs in northern Michigan featuring national acts like Slaughter, Warrent, Quiet Riot, etc. and I played with the house band Dr. Bone. In 1998 I played bass on Vixen's Tangerine tour. Then in 2002 I started work on my solo material.

antiMUSIC: You can really shred. Do you spend much time practicing or do you come by it naturally?

Maxine: I have naturally good technique but that means nothing without practice. I play ever day so I don't get rusty.

antiMUSIC: What are your favorite memories of Madam X?

Maxine: There's a ton of memories from Madam X some good some bad. There were a lot of Spinal tap moments including getting lost back stage. Big hair, lots of lights and a wall of sound, you can't top that!

antiMUSIC: How did you get along with Sebastian?

Maxine: He was very young working his way to the top. He had no idea what it meant to pay his dues and that it wasn't all about him. He is all grown up now and has earned his way to the top. I'm glad to see him doing so well.

antiMUSIC: That band was very image-conscious (although not at the expense of the music). Were you influenced by KISS and other theatrical bands as well as musically?

Maxine: We were influenced more by bands we heard growing up in Detroit like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Humble Pie. Our light show and image was added to little by little over time. We had a giant robotic head and everthing. Sometimes stuff like that gets in the way of the music but it was a lot of fun!

antiMUSIC: What's on tap for you for 2006?

Maxine: Titania was released in April in Japan and is doing very well. The Japanese love rock and metal. I'm working on getting distribution in Europe and the U.S. Meanwhile you can buy the Titania on my website www.maxattacks.com. I am recording my second CD and I am nearly finished. I'm setting the bar really high for myself on this second album I want it to be absolutely brilliant!

antiMUSIC: Anything you'd like to add?

Maxine: Thank you to all the rock and metal fans for accepting me for my talent on guitar and vocals instead of the image I created in Madam X. I've created a fresh new metal sound that is very heavy. I love my guitar and vocal work on Titania and would love for you to listen for yourself! Titania sounds nothing like Madam X or Vixen. I wanted to create my own sound and was very successful in doing so! Titania rips from start to finish. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Love, Maxine Petrucci
www.maxattacks.com
Titania@sbcglobal.net
www.myspace.com/maxinepetrucci

antiMUSIC and Morley Seaver thank Maxine for doing this interview.
 

Review: Maxine - Titania

Maxine is Maxine Petrucci, who many of you will know from Madam X, the 80's metal band. That band was also famous for helping launch the career of Sebastian Bach. There has never been any doubt that Maxine can wail on guitar and she proves it on her debut solo disc. She handles both guitar and bass (except on four cuts) as well as vocals while sister Roxy handles the drum duties.

There are ten tracks here on Titania and all rock with an urgency that sinks deeper with each listening. The title track kicks off with a crunchy guitar over the nice juxtaposition of Maxine's sweet and innocent vocal. Billy Sheehan guests on bass on this cut although there are none of his trademark runs. The solo is just wicked on this cut.

"Love Test" has a great hook that goes straight to your feet. "Kiss on This" is really memorable and "Passion" and "Pathetic" get a bit nastier as does "Dirty Thang". All through this record Maxine does tasty little runs but the closing cut, "Max Attacks" features full-on shredding. This guitar exercise just rifles through some manic riffing featuring a Tasmanian Devil picking hand as well as fingerprint-burning fret work. Finally a record that features some freaking guitar solos.

I wasn't impressed with some of the songs on this record on first listen, although I was with the guitar work. After several plays however, I began to really like all the songs themselves. This stuff should just be killer live. Special note: more of the Petrucci family is represented here. Paul plays on one cut and Jenny did the cover art.

Maxine - Titania

Label:Indie
Rating:

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