Kevin Bronson on May 5th, 2014

0

The video for Max Collins’ single “Sports Bar” gives a new meaning to the billing “one night only.” Collins, of course, is the frontman of L.A. trio Eve 6 (known best for the radio hits “Inside Out” and “Here’s to the Night”) who rebooted with their original lineup in 2011 and released “Speak in Code” in 2012. While his Eve 6 bandmates have been busy, Collins has been struck by the songwriting bug as well, and this week he is releasing his fan-funded solo album “Honey From the Icebox.” It’s engaging guy-with-a-guitar rock that abides Collins’ influences, which he says includes artists such as Crowded House, Steve Earle and the Lemonheads. There’s back story to this video, which features Collins playing to a hostile audience at a roadhouse. As Collins told Noisey, director Thaddeus Bridwell met the video’s co-star, Francis Skinner, when the director’s car broke down in the desert near Joshua Tree. Skinner was the roadside Good Samaritan, and later Bridwell found that Skinner had a Old West-style saloon on his property. In the video, Skinner does his best to save the show, but it goes south – although Collins, for his part, ends up being fine fare for the evening.

||| Stream: “World on Fire” from “Honey From the Icebox”

||| Live: Max Collins opens for Jody Porter (Fountains of Wayne) on three nights during Porter’s Viper Room residency this month: tonight, May 12 and May 26.