Back on the New Year's Eve before the calendar officially marked the farewell of the 1990's, Kevin Max was probably among only a handful of folks who was "actually wanting the Y2K thing to happen" because he was "looking for the adventure" in living a life against the norm. Now, a little less than two years later, Max finds himself venturing into new potentially risky territory with the release of his first solo project, Stereotype Be.

While his dc talk bandmate Michael Tait's solo project, Empty, wasn't a radical departure from the hybrid of modern rock served up on the group's Supernatural project, Max's album is painted on a different music canvas that could potentially throw the faithful dc talk fan for a loop. However, Max says these changes shouldn't really be alarming because musical progressions have always been part of dc talk's repertoire. "People are afraid of change, and I think that's one thing dc talk has always been a part of," Max says. "All of my favorite bands change like the Beatles, U2 and groups like Radiohead and REM."

With those influences in mind, it shouldn't serve as much of a surprise that listeners will hear a little bit of all the aforementioned when they give Stereotype Be a spin. It's melodically progressive like the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's album with splashes of world beats and the musically ambiguity that made Radiohead's Kid A an acquired taste. And like a new father tastefully bragging up the new edition to the family, it's quickly evident that Max is unabashedly proud of the songs he crafted for the project. But almost as noteworthy as the songs themselves is that Max was "actually part of the recording process" as he recounts the experience as "a crash course of how to produce a record."

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