Listening to Max Heinegg's rich baritone voice, you can hear his musical influences – Nick Drake, Grant Lee Phillips, and Bono among them. Upon a closer listen, beyond the atmospheric production of the instruments and the metallic sounds of the guitar, are the lyrical, poetic influences of immortals like John Keats, and Union College faculty poets Jordan Smith and Kit Hathaway.
In Heinegg's most recent release, and his first solo studio album, By June, the singer-songwriter exudes the emotional intensity of a poet. On one track, “La Belle Dame Sans Merci,” Heinegg interprets Keat's famous poem of the same name. Set to a spare acoustic guitar and layered with strings and mandolin, the song literally amplifies the poem, putting it in a fresh perspective.
Heinegg's album is so well produced (it sounds quite a bit like the work of Daniel Lanois, the famous New Orleans-based producer who has worked with such immortals as Bob Dylan and U2) and the instrumental so top-notch, it seems hard to believe that Heinegg never even picked up a guitar until his days at Union College.
Heinegg at Union
Son of the popular English professor, Peter Heinegg, Max, came to Union with a love of literature and music that had been engrained in his upbringing. He fondly remembers the classical music in his parents' house and cites it as a major influence: “I think the key was that music was always playing, in the house, or in the car; it was a mainstay.”
His parents love of language and writing also affected the young Heinegg. His own poetry was encouraged from an early age and at 15, his father introduced him to poets Hathaway and Smith. “It was quite a privilege to be able to meet with established poets when I was just a kid.” Heinegg's teenage experiences left him with a love of literature and lyric verse and led him to Union College.
At Union, Heinegg pursued his academic interests, studying Marlowe with Prof. Ruth Stevenson, and modern poetry with Smith. At the same time, he was getting an education in rock and roll from his classmates: “I learned how to play guitar at Union from other students, and jammed across campus, learning as I went.” Heinegg recalls setting up (and turning up) the amplifiers outside his dorm and playing as loud as he could with his buddies until he was shut down by Campus Safety.
Soon, Heinegg had formed his own band on campus, Wineapple, named lovingly another English professor and family friend, Brenda Wineapple. The band won a Battle of the Bands on campus, because, as Heinegg says, “we wore suits and dyed our hair, and were the loudest.”
But memorable rock moments and screaming crowds were still several years away for Heinegg. He had his own radio show on WRUC and took a class in music appreciation, but Heinegg was in the beginning stages of what he calls the “lifelong process of songwriting.”
Life After Union
After graduation, Heinegg and his wife, Wendy Pfaffenbach '95, spent a year traveling around the country before relocating to the Boston area. (Wendy, who practiced law after earning a J.D. at Boston University, is a teacher in Concord Mass.) With an M.A.T. from Boston University, Heinegg began teaching sixth grade English by day and making a name in the thriving Boston music scene by night (including stints in bands with Union alumni Chris Blackburn '96, John Woods '95, and Alex Polemeropoulos '96).
For five years, he sang and played guitar in the High Ceilings, a band he founded in 1998. Self described as “aggressive guitar-driven pop to all-out angular rock experimentation,” the High Ceilings were loud and they put on a powerful show that left Boston-club goers wanting more.
The High Ceilings gave Heinegg an opportunity to record three studio albums, and to work with such Boston punk legends as David Minehan. Most importantly, the High Ceilings was Heinegg's opportunity to hone his skills as a songwriter and lyricist.
When the group amicably disbanded in 2004, Heinegg began recording By June. For Heinegg, the solo release is the “first record I had made that really sounded like me.”
By June speaks to Heinegg's experience. One track, “This May,” was written when he and his wife were expecting a daughter (although Ava Simone-now 1-was born in June) and “Sunlight Lies” is a fragmented look at his city, Boston. The solo side of Max Heinegg is a softer and gentler version of the wailing lead singer from the High Ceilings. Love songs like “Assumed” have made their way into his songbook expressing the maturity and sensitivity of a husband and father.
A Teacher, A Poet, A Musician
This fall, Max Heinegg returned to Medford High School where he has taught for the last three years. Busy at home with a young child and working every day in the classroom makes writing and music-making a challenge, but Heinegg remains remarkably productive. He recently finished a new manuscript of poems and is working on a new album that is set to be released in early 2006.
Staying true to his roots in literature, the record will include another poetic adaptation-this time William Blake's “Poison Tree.” Listeners can expect a wide range of musical styles ranging from pop songs to modern folk, ballads to dirges. The major difference in the new album might well be Heinegg's new perspective on life. He has a new job which may be more time consuming and rewarding than that of teacher or poet or musician-Heinegg is a father.
For more on Heinegg, visit www.maxheinegg.com. One of his songs will be on a compilation to benefit victims of the tsunami. For more, visit: www.thereliefproject.org.