Maxwell in the house! - musician - Cover Story - Interview

There's a moment in happening musicians' lives when they either explode into the stratosphere or just fizzle - and it's often then they're at their most exciting. Maxwell stands on that launchpad now

The first time I met Maxwell was at the MTV offices in New York City. He was completely unknown at the time, and walked with a lynx's slink. I remember he wore an unflattering wool ski cap that concealed his voluminous hair, as though he were practicing the paparazzi-avoidance techniques he was certain would soon become his lot.

He was right. Rarely have I met anyone as sure as Maxwell was then, not only of his impending success, but of his artistry. Long before anyone had heard his name, he was incredibly comfortable about demanding perfection from himself and everyone he dealt with; "I guess that's good enough" is simply not a phrase you'd hear coming out of his mouth.

The twenty-four-year-old, Brooklyn-raised singer's mouth is one that melts easily Into a ravishing grin. He is handsome to the point of being pretty, and his videos have helped Install him in that special category of music stars: those whose fans want not only to hear them, but to see and touch them, too. Maxwell's voice Is an ever more compelling reason to like him. He can slip into falsetto as gracefully as RuPaul can into Gucci, as though he were born to it.

In a very un-'90s move, Maxwell made his first record, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (1996, Columbia), a concept album. Partly co-produced by Stuart Matthewman (former bandleader for Sade and current member of Sweetback) it's a collection of Intricate R&B love songs based on a romantic Interlude in Maxwell's life, and it has the groove and smooth factors locked down tight. Here's the pitch: Boy meets girl in club, eyes lock across the room, they go home together, they ball all weekend long - and never speak again.

DIMITRI EHRLICH: So tell me about the life of Maxwell in the last few days.

MAXWELL: It's been crazy. I landed in New York after a European tour that began in January and was back in my apartment with Vicks VapoRub all over my head. Three hours later I got up to present a Grammy and then went back to sleep again. And one of my musicians left the band. We had three sold-out shows that we had to postpone because of all the new variables that came up. I just got sicker and sicker from all the stress; it's neverending. I'm not complaining - I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity to express myself musically - but it is lonely because there's no time to kick it with people. And sometimes when you're in public situations, people look at you as if you were furniture, like they didn't know your hair was that curly. It's weird.

DE: Is success making you happy?

M: I've always been happy because I have an outlet that works for me. I'm just in a state of disbelief that all this has happened.

DE: What were you like when you were younger?

M: I was a big herd in high school. I sat in the back of the room, I was quiet, nobody knew who I was.

DE: Has having a hit record and several videos all over MTV impacted your love life?

M: I had only two girlfriends the entire time I was in high school and I had no date for the prom, so it's wonderful to have this whole girl thing attached to what I do now. But I go deeper than that. Maybe it's my secret way of trying to make it harder on myself. Unconsciously I'll always try to do that so I can constantly struggle. With women who are interested in me, I'm looking for something else in their eyes, that they see beyond the lights, the shiny suit, the music. Even with the people who work for me, it's the same thing. I want a band that is a close-knit group of people. Sometimes we get on each other's nerves, but everybody is able to express their feelings and not feel like they're gonna get fired.

DE: It seems that both men and women love your music.

M: I'm happy that guys enjoy my music and get the message. I get letters from guys saying they used my album when they proposed to their girlfriends. And my album is not just about having girls feel good. I want guys to feel down with me, too - to know that someone is expressing and verifying things they feel. That's what listening to Sam Cooke or Antonio Carlos Jobim did for me - verify that crazy romantic feeling that a lot of men have inside.

DE: A lot of '90s musicians are being packaged as the new version of some earlier Icon. Joan Osborne has been described as the new Janis Joplin and Erykah Badu is the new Billie Holiday. You're often spoken of as the new Marvin Gaye. How do you feel about that?

M: Visually, Marvin Gaye and I are millions of miles apart. If I were in a suit and had short hair, it would be different. It's a compliment to be mentioned in the same breath as him, but the reality is that I have a lot of living and loving to do and a lot of music to make before I am even half of what he represented musically. But I try to live up to my own standards every single day of my life.

DE: You have a reputation for maintaining tight control over your career. How do you feel about the relationship between what your vision is and what the reality of your life is?