Rising Stars: Meet Max Sternlicht

Today we’d like to introduce you to Max Sternlicht. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Felix Tandem started out as the solo project of singer and guitarist Max Sternlicht in the summer of 2018. After several years of writing electronic music, Max went back to their roots in rock. Felix Tandem’s debut EP was one day away from being finished when COVID hit New York and the city shut down. After an almost two-year hiatus, Max decided to reform the group in Nashville and finally release the music.

The band quickly became known in the East-Nashville rock scene for their sense of humor and high-energy performances. Their first release “Shoplifter,” was Lightning 100’s Pick of the Week when it was released. Their second single “Broadcast” was featured on Pandora.

The band’s debut EP “Okey Dokey” is set to release on August 26.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It most certainly has not. I started this group in New York while making minimum wage at a sound design studio. Finding a place where we could afford to practice was hard enough. Lucky for us, we had a hook-up at a studio in Brooklyn where we were able to record our first few songs. COVID hit New York and the city shut down the day before our final studio day, so the project was tabled.

Our bassist at the time was Singaporean and she had to fly home when her student visa expired, so the group fell apart. Not long after that, I moved down to Nashville. The music community down here inspired me to finally get a new group together and put out music. Everyone here has been so enthusiastic and welcoming, it’s been great to feel like part of the fabric of the rock scene.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Felix Tandem has been called many things — theatrical, energetic, bewildering, funky, dancey, power-poppy, metal ASF — but the word everyone settles on is “fun.”

The band’s motto is ‘be stoked always’ and we hope to bring the love and excitement that we feel getting to play music to anyone who’d listen to the people who are kind enough to listen. Nothing gets us fired up like getting people fired up. Enthusiasm is contagious and we try to make everyone feel what we feel when we’re on stage, even if we look completely dorky doing it.

We’re especially proud of having our first single featured on Lightning 100. We received a whole bunch of amazing feedback on it all thanks to Lightning Casey taking a risk on playing us. We also LOVE the video we shot for that song in an unnamed-for-legal-reasons-big-box-department-store.

That was a ton of fun and really showcases our personality. The two videos we have on the way are even cooler.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Oh man, where I see the music industry going and where I want it to go are two very different places. Right now, music is the best it has ever been. The barrier to entry is so low and the technology is so good that anyone who is inspired can create a total banger. Music also sounds better than it ever has before.

There is a ton of earth-shattering face-melting brain-exploding artists out there but there is also a TON of garbage. Not to shift the blame, but I think musicians are doing everything right. The problem is with the industry and the listener. Convincing someone to listen to new music is HARD. The industry is too chicken to take a risk on an artist that hasn’t already gone viral and discovering new good music is a lot of effort to put on a regular schmo.

I ditched Spotify because the algorithm kept recommending me the same stuff over and over and my listening habits were getting boring (also f*ck joe organ). I really appreciate how TikTok has democratized music discovery a little bit more, but the extreme hype and fad-ness of it scares me a little.

On the flip side, I feel like pop music is having a renaissance with artists like the Weeknd and Billie Eilish doing things that are more experimental and less immediately accessible. All of this is to say that people should like the shit they like and support independent and smaller musicians.

Contact Info:

• Website: FelixTandem.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/felixtandemmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FelixTandemMusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/maxstern95
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjYxCDktUNh_7UeDkUR-cOQ

Image Credits
Anna Warner, Kyle Fitzpatrick, and Merideth Murdock