*.Max Returning? The best news I've had in five and a half years
Dear Max 

Thinking that the local music scene has been comatose for five and a half 
years, in a purely left-field reaction over something I have been wanting to 
do since Million Year Girl I took to the web in search of Max and an airline 
that could get me to a gig in L.A. 

Then I found... My god! Max is coming home. 

How long are you in Australia for? Are you performing anywhere in addition 
to Manchester Lane? Will you be touring in Sydney? How would an everyday 
average guy with absolely nothing to do with record labels or journalists 
successfully engage you in long and intelligent conversation over coffee? 

I found a flight... to Melbourne! 

Ecstaticly yours, 
Steve 

PS. Is there an album in your luggage? 

*. Hi. My name's Pema. I was wondering around the library a few years ago and I picked up A million year girl and said I have to hear this. So I listened to it and I loved it. And I still love it. Are you going to put out anything more? I have a band now and it's wonderful to be able to arrange stuff and express myself and all those good things. To make money I make websites. I'm trying to learn how to play Raining angels, Purple flower and Is it ok if I call you mine? But I'm not a very good guitarist and they're very good songs. Are there tabs anywhere? Thank you for pushing them out to me and a lot of other people, that was very nice of you. I like to play "Alice" to myself in the dark before going to sleep. I have trouble sleeping....My favourite song off it is still Orchestra au Naturel. My mom likes it, too ;-) I'm in Victoria, BC.
where you are very, very obscure. Which makes it kind of cool that I actually found your CD....What kind of direction are you taking with your music now? And where are you? I really enjoy the dramatic feel of "Coma" and "Hunting ground", but "Raining angels" and "Purple flower" and similar tracks also had such a nice sympathy and warmth to them,too. I hope you explore a lot of both, plus the mystery that still revolves around "Jezu's Jewellery"... What was that about? That song (and others, but that one especially), and your castle/dollhouse theme gave the album a concept kind of appeal that I really enjoyed. It got to me on an emotional level and kind of told my virgonian hyper-analytical mind to shut up for awhile. A very smart CD in that way.

*.2000 Max - last seen on TV -  in Hollywood!
Max  A couple of weeks age you appeared on TV here in Western Australia, Dream Factory. Although these other people on the show have lives worth living I was thinking that it would have been better following you around.You know, day in the life....Anyway it glossed over some of your plans and I was left wishing it could have been more specific. What are you working on? Is there a company over there aware of how popular you are. Is it really as hard as they say it is to gain their interest and if so are you playing gigs to gain interest? What are pubs and gigs over there like, what is the local like? I am craving a little depth from my local, as you are well aware there is a great deal of untouched emotion, truth and courage in this society and think that this would be part of your search. Is it? Have you found any unafraid and willing to just be what they want? Is this enough questions? I saw you at Fly By Night and thought your presence was immeasurable and uncomparable to other acts. The way you connected with the entire crowd was exhilirating.? Congratulations, such a talent and passion is natural and beautiful. Love your tenacity and strength. 
                                                                                                                                                Kym
 

*. Hey Max! So pleased to see you have a web presence once again... another small refuge in the tangle of garbage "the net" has become. I was a big fan back when you were weaving magic around Sydney... Kinselas, the Metro... before A Million Year Girl and after, too. Spent time spreading the gospel of Max, got converts only to have the goddess up and relocate! Hope the other side of the world is treating you well. Most of the highlights of the Sydney live music scene, I just realised, are from other states. We'd love to have you back for a gig or two... *grovel beg plead* One of my most treasured possessions was my copy of A.M.Y.G. which you signed to me at an instore in Pitt St (Virgin or some other store). Some bastard broke in, and it disappeared never to be seen again, along with most of my collection (only $3-4000 worth... ) So if you ever come back, I'd love a chance to try and replace it ;-) Looking forward to hearing about your new releases... please see that your old Aussie fans are able to get copies, too! Cheers, 

*. It's after midnight and I've just given up channel switching between Basic Instinct and Silence of the Lambs - I bought AMYG (A Million Year Girl) yesterday - it's my second copy (I think my first copy was bought at the door when you sang at the fly by night club in Perth - but my ex has that now :-) Anyway, it brought back great memories - as always I love to hear your music and it'd be good to find out more about you - singing opera in Italy was part of the story you told the audience at the FBN - hold on, I've just read the rest of it - but no mention of life in LA...... Did you know that a search for "max sharam" on yahoo does not come up with www.maxsharam.com ! It's fathers day tomorrow, so don't forget to forgive. If you feel like climbing in Ecuador, snowboarding in Whistler or scuba diving in the Mediterranean, let me know :-) I'll look to like, if looking liking move; But no more deep will I endart mine eye, Than your consent gives strength to make it fly. 
Ciao bella. 
                                                                                                                                                 Jeff

   *.     Yes I love the album.

More and More it seems

it's like...a collection of dubious friends...

"Be Firm" first greeted me, so I became immediately attached to her. I'd be singing her in my car, at work... it was great. After a while, though, I realized I needed to hang out with a wilder crowd, you know, like the bad kids. "Coma" is definitely a bad kid. This track particularly interests me because of the unique narrative. 
                                              Finally! Someone who understands!

I love how you lay all the cards on the table in "Coma".. this isn't some cutesy pop song in which you sweetly sing the loss of your lover. This isn't a woman who's going to take abandonment lying down. Your delivery in the line "I'm coming to get you..." is so simple and matter-of-fact... that it takes a bit of a pinch before you realize that, actually, this woman has lost it. For a while it feels like she's making perfect sense.

And the almost instinctive desire to hunt and haunt an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend is something a lot of singers shy away from I think largely out of fear. They don't want to lose people by exposing any possibility of psychosis.

Anyone who listens to the album can really get a sense of the real human being behind it... the emotions dealt with from "Jezu's Jewelery" to "Orchestra Au Natural" demostrate a range only matched in bare human nature.

Each emotion detailed to striking degree on A MILLION YEAR GIRL. I feel like such a goof going on about the record... but as I said in my first e-mail, it has certainly struck a chord within me. I particularly enjoy "Orchestra Au Natural" in the perspective it gives all the other tracks. Not that the other songs are trivial shit (How could anyone say that about "Lay Down"?), but after everything is said and done, "Orchestra" really makes it all seem distant. Not irrelevant... just distant. It lays it all to rest. Hmm.. it's one of those songs that's probably best left alone. Words appear to demean it. At least my words do.

So you're coming to Los Angeles are you? How exciting. Are you going to be doing any live performances... appearances... stuff like that? It would be cool to see a show.

[Q- how do you feel towards other australian singers like merril and tina arena??]

personally i think you are the best, merril is a close second and tina is waaaaay down the list. i hope your european tour went well. which city do you live in? anyway,

[Q - i hope to join a max sharam fan club if one has already been started then what is the addresse??]

once again, you are a legend! [du bist sehr geil!!!!!!{geil as in great, not horny}] signed with constant adoration from your devoted fan,

susan shaw [16/f/innisfail north queensland]

ps, i love koma (German), but i cant make out some of the words mainly in the chorus - im coming around, ich komme verbei, but after that i dont know, and chunks of the second verse. i would love to get my hands on a copy of the words,

[Q - where might i find them??]

i was recently in germany visiting my sister, i can understand quite a lot of german, but am embarrased to speak it. i was also wondering,

[Q - can you speak german, or did someone else do the translation of coma for you?]

SHAW

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