Nineteen-year-old Colin Maxwell is a Sinclair nursing student who has a passion for music.
“Music is a way to express yourself and annoy your parents,” he said.
Growing up in Ohio all of his life, Maxwell said that he has never been shy.
“I’ve never been a stranger,” he said. “My mom always said it was scary because I would go up to people in the grocery store and just start talking to them.”
Maxwell has enjoyed playing the drums since he was very young.
“My dad said that I loved the drums since I could walk,” he said. “I would go up to the drums and just start beating on them.”
Maxwell has been in bands including Kill The Chaser, a southern-metal band that was together for two years and a post-hardcore band by the name Lenda Monstro, meaning “legendary monster” in Portugese, which only lasted a couple months.
“Being in a band takes full commitment, especially with both going to school and working,” he said.
Maxwell was in a previous Metal/Post-Hardcore band called I Am Not I for a year and a half before they disbanded.
“Our guitar player at that time had a kid,” he said. “And that metal genre of music we were playing wasn’t ‘in’ at the time.”
Johnny Tenspeed, or JTS, is a pop-punk band out of Troy that Maxwell is drumming for.
“Right now we are looking for a singer,” he said. “We may have someone lined-up, but we don’t know for sure yet.”
Johnny Tenspeed takes influences from the bands such as the Wonder Years from Lansdale, Penn., Brand New from Long Island, New York and the Story So Far from Walnut Creek, Cal.
“Being in a band doesn’t just mean you think about it when you are playing,” he said. “It’s an everyday thing. I’ll be sitting in class and think of a song or an idea.”
Maxwell’s father is also a musician. Maxwell plays his father’s vintage 1970’s Slingerland drum set.
“My dad started playing drums when he was 14,” he said. “I actually still play with that kit now. It’s still holding up even after all those years.”
Maxwell takes influence from Neil Pert of Rush and John Bonham of Led Zeppelin.
Due to personal issues Johnny Tenspeed had to cancel their first show that was scheduled for Oct. 27 at the Rockstar Pro Wrestling venue in Dayton.
To listen to Johnny Tenspeed, like them on Facebook at facebook.com/JohnnyTenspeedBand or follow them on Twitter: @JohnnyTenspeed.
