Maxie Ford

Local girl band, Maxie Ford, was born of a joke and a dream. Nolee Anderson and Katy Kemmick have long wanted to be in an all girl band together. While Katy is a gifted singer and musician, the joke came in the form of Nolee having no musical abilities. Or so they thought. As they expanded upon their idea, it became clear Nolee’s tap dancing skills were her musical instrument! She is the percussion section. Establishing the missing component sent the band zooming full speed ahead.

 

They began pulling from their close circle of talented friends. Hannah Habbermann was the first to to jump in with her famous skills (as per Nolee) as musician and singer. Next came Haley Haw, who is also multi-talented. Calling it their goofy experiment, they ventured into the Kemmick’s basement one weekend to see if the myriad of skills would mesh into anything worth listening to. They immediately realized they had hit on something ridiculously fun and full of chemistry. They were starting to sound like a band but felt a piece was missing. This came in the form of Grace Lamdin who plays upright bass. Or Grace on bass if you will…  She walked into practice, whipped out her bow and aligned the Maxie Ford stars. It just made sense and they moved from massacring (Nolee’s description) their way through songs to creating some awesome sounds!

The lives of high school and college girls are unendingly busy but they find scraps of time to be together and practice and laugh their heads off! Their shows are faithfully attended by groupies. A few guy groupies are allowed to come to practices but only if they keep quiet and bring pizza. The band moms are always in attendance at gigs- cheering madly and dancing and drinking a pint or two. Doug Habermann and Jon Kemmick are Maxie’s in-house sound dudes. Very impressive for an impromptu band made up of friends playing covers!

I got to enjoy Maxie Ford for the first time at the Magic City Music Awards last weekend. I loved what I saw and heard. These hot little mamas can play. By not giving up on a dream, they have created a fabulous experience for themselves while entertaining and charming the heck out of Billings! So charming in fact that a group of preschool boys could not tear themselves away from the stage. One even rushed it- having to be tearfully retrieved and led away from the band. Totally. Awesome.

Maxie Ford’s next gig is December 22nd at Yellowstone Valley Brewing Company. They are opening for the Alex Naumen Trio who are releasing an album that night. Put it on your calendar- it will be a great night!  UPDATE:  Maxie Ford will be opening for the Kopecky Family Band on Sunday, December 16th at Manny’s Sports and Entertainment.

Be sure to check out Maxie Ford’s Facebook Page!

Jodie Tenicin Smith  the photo chik

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