Max Davies from The Kitchen Dwellers

A short interview with Max about the band and the music they create together.

I know there are 4 of you from Montana – is this the original band members from 2017?   

Yes! Still all the same four band members from 2017.

Are you from Montana or is that were you all just met?  – How did you meet and get together to start The Kitchen  Dwellers? 

 Growing up in Illinois, I became obsessed with the mountains and outdoors. Montana was always the place I wanted to call home so I began that journey in 2007 after high school. 

The band formed in 2010 at Montana State University.  It was Joe and Shawn’s freshman year of college.  Torrin and a different guitar player, Kyle Shelstad, were the original four piece and some fiddle players have come and gone. The group as it is now began in 2014 when I joined the band and it’s been the same players since.  We all met in Bozeman, Montana.  There was a really fun music scene in town and we were all inspired by the state of folk and bluegrass.  Yonder Mountain String Band was a big influence and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival was integral to the bands development. Telluride being Shawn’s hometown, the band always had a place to stay and some connections on venues to play while the festival was going on.  Lots of jams in Kitchens led to the band name and voile! The band became known for putting on really high energy acoustic shows and started hitting the road. 

 I like that name came from your practice space – the kitchen was big enough for all of you – anything about that story you’d like to share?

I can’t speak for what it means to others, but for me it resembles a place of congregation.  Where everyone can meet and socialize and have a good time.  There are no airs being put on and I think that’s something that I love about the band.  We take each other for how we are and just do our best. 

As part of a touring band — what are some the ups and downs about being on the road?  I am sure there are lots of things that you can think of, but what story really describes “being on the road” .

We are incredibly lucky to be at a point where we are able to travel somewhat more comfortably than we did for the first 7 years.  We drove around the country in a chevy van for 7 years.  It’s cliche, but the extreme ups and downs of being on the road for months at a time and not really having a home are real.  I used to explain that I felt like a traveling vacuum salesman going from town to town peddling my wares. When I think back of those extended trips, I am usually taken to some desolate highway in Nevada or California, our van breaking down and it taking a day or two to actually leave town because it just took that long to get help. I keep a note in my phone with lots of events that have happened throughout the years.  Someday I want to compile a bunch of short stories of some of those times.  A more recent road story would be trying to leave Steamboat Colorado in 2023.  We had chains on the van and it had been snowing for 3 or 4 days straight.  As we pulled out onto the road, which was on a hill, we started sliding down the hill, in the opposite direction we were intending.  The tire chains broke as we were sliding down the hill and so we slid for a while and came to a stop.  Leaving our stuck van on the side of the road we hitched a ride to town.  Steamboat didn’t have any chains that fit our tires so we got chains that were far too big and strapped them on.  Our tour manager hopped in the van and I had to run alongside the van while it went down this hill, adjusting the chains every few seconds so they wouldn’t get caught on the axle and destroy the van.  It was dangerous and scary! 

What was it like to play Red Rocks recently?   

Red Rocks is just one of those bucket list places for a musician to play.  The history there is insane and we can’t believe we get to play there.  This was our fourth time playing and we co-headlined with our absolute heroes from Leftover Salmon.  They’ve been super supportive over the years so to do that with them it really felt like a family reunion.  At Red Rocks the audience is directly in front of you, forming a wall so the energy is very palpable for a nine thousand person venue.  We staggered our sets so both bands got to play twice. This was the most relaxed we’ve probably felt playing that venue so we were able to enjoy it more this time than being overcome by nerves. 

How do you think your sound has changed over the years?  

We have been able to craft our sound over the years.  On the surface we are a four piece string band that writes songs about the mountains and attempts to play bluegrass.  I say attempts because none of us grew up playing bluegrass, but we try our best.  Through working with producers and putting money towards upgrading our gear we have all been able to dial in the sounds we want to create on our instruments.  For a four piece we can create a kind of sonic template that allows for long grooves and can throw in some harder rock elements. Torrin has a unique banjo style and that combined with Shawn’s driving mandolin chop and Joe’s effect driven bass lends to a very diverse possibility as far as song and sounds go.  We are all driving the band, and try to move together as a unit.  We are feeling more comfortable identifying what a song may need and have been incorporating songs at different tempos and rhythms.  Earlier shows were a bit one dimensional, and now we are having fun with lots of different influences. 

How have you grown as a guitar player? and in what way does your Thompson D-MA compliment your guitar playing?

I have really made a concerted effort to improve my flatpicking.  I’ve never liked my flatpicking and to be honest it’s difficult to flat pick at the tempo that we find our groove in.  It’s fast!   There are so many amazing players currently touring and making music so I find lots of inspiration from them.  When I first played my Thompson I knew it was the perfect guitar for me.  It felt like the guitar I had been looking for.  The thinner neck and body size allows me to accomplish some of the bluegrass licks I am going for but also really allows me to have fun when I kick on the distortion, compression, and delay. It really was love at first sight with this guitar.  I think I need another one! 

How would you describe the sound of your band – I have seen it called “eclectic jam” with many musical influences.  

I would describe the band as a group of songwriters who lean towards emotive and storytelling lyrics and music that spans the range of folk, bluegrass, many sub-genres of rock and roll, and psychedelia. 

What does Jam Band mean to you? 

Bands that love to jam!  There are bands that go out there and play a show or record music to a click track or play songs the same way every time.  Jam bands are bands that are open to the music operating as more of a conversation between all the players and musical ideas of all different varieties can be expressed; rhythm change, time change, melody change, all on the fly. Jam bands and the audience are there for more of a collaborative experience than going and being entertained by a show.  Both serve their purpose in different ways. 

Are your roots bluegrass?

Not necessarily.  Growing up I devoured all of the rock and psychedelic music of the 60’s.  My roots are The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Band, and every other band from the 60’s and 70’s. That has since grown to incorporate music of all different kinds.  Learning the bluegrass songbook and traditions is quite an undertaking and it’s been a total joy to dive deep into it. I have to thank so many musicians that have taught me along the way.  Chris Pandolfi and Andy Thorn have left an impression on me as far as learning the roots and that patchwork of history to try to gain some perspective as to where we are now. 

What are you most looking forward to in this 2025 summer/fall touring season?

We are playing The Ryman at the end of June with a band called Mountain Grass Unit, and that’s going to be a very special night.  Our first time headlining The Ryman.  The band has a big summer tour.  I will miss some of it due to the arrival of a baby coming very soon.  I’m really looking forward to the upcoming fall tour.  We have some multi-night stops in some of our favorite cities and the band is just feeling really good and will be playing some new material. 

Who are some of your musical heros ?  

I can’t not mention Tony Rice.  There is so much to learn from his playing and every time I learn a passage from him I come away with something new.  Neil Young and his authenticity.  Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Jackson Browne. Billy Strings is a hero, he has done more to progress the viability of doing this as a career than most and I love that dude.  Also plays a Thompson! Trey Anastasio from Phish, the level of musical output from him is incredible.  We’ve been fortunate to play with some of our heroes. Bill Payne of Little Feat joined us at Red Rocks and it was surreal to be playing on stage with someone who wrote the soundtrack of my childhood.  Also so many people behind the scenes.  Lots of my musical heroes are some of the people that make it all happen, the members of the team from booking, to bookkeeping, and especially producers and engineers.  It takes so much to keep the plane in the air and that includes a company like Thompson. 

Thanks Max for being thoughtful with your answers and being part of the Thompson family!

Photos by Jeffrey Neubauer