The Max Levine Ensemble is an American

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

punk band from the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, metropolitan area. They play punk rock with various

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

influences, and often have politically conscious lyrics. They used to have a rotating band roster that changed from tour to tour depending upon who could go. Though at one point they played regularly with 5-7 members, they generally play now as a three piece

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quart ...

consisting of David Combs, Ben Epstein, and Nick Popovici.

History

The band was formed in 2000 when David Combs met Max Levine while attending highschool at the

Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, often referred to as CESJDS or JDS, is a private, pluralistic Jewish JK-12 school located in two campuses in North Bethesda ( Rockville postal address), Maryland, United States.

. Max introduced David to various punk rock bands such as

Propagandhi Propagandhi is a Canadian punk rock band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by guitarist Chris Hannah and drummer Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba and completed by bassist Todd Kowalski and guitari ...

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...

, and

the Clash The Clash were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave music, new wave moveme ...

, as well as introducing him to

radical politics Radical politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the principles of a society or political system, often through social change, structural change, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed rad ...

. Combs had been playing in a

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a wal ...

band, and when Max asked him to cover punk rock songs in his ska band he thought it was inappropriate for the genre. Instead he invited several of his friends to start a new band that would play full sets of

cover songs In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released ...

to be requested by Max Levine. They played their first show at a high school band show case in December 2000. The set consisted of 5 cover songs and 2 originals. From then on the band focused on original material, but kept the name The Max Levine Ensemble in homage to their friend. Since then the band grew and developed, incorporating various influences into their

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

sound. They self-released two full length

CD-R CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) are readable by most CD readers manufactured prior to the int ...

s in 2001 and 2002 that were later released together on Fight The Octopus records as "Chach, Cops, and Donuts." In 2003 they released their third full length, "How to Build an Intergalactic Time Machine" recorded with Hugh McElroy of the Black Eyes. The band tours the United States. Notably they joined up with Operation: Cliff Clavin for their reunion tour and a split 7-inch in 2004, and toured as part of the

Plan-It-X Records Plan-It-X Records (PIX) was an independent record label. Originally based in Georgetown, Indiana, PIX was based out of Bloomington, Indiana following brief stints in Olympia, Washington, Gainesville, Florida, and Cairo, Illinois. The label relea ...

bus tour in 2005. In 2005 a split 7-inch with

The Spirit Animals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

was released. In January 2008, the band released their fourth full-length album "OK Smartypants" on CD from Plan-It-X, audio cassette from Big Record Label, and on LP from No Breaks Records. In July 2008, the band was maligned by

Ben Weasel Benjamin Foster (born 1968), also known as Ben Weasel, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band Screeching Weasel. Early life Foster was born in 1968, and was raised in Prospect Heights, Ill ...

the

Screeching Weasel Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Mike Kennerty (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums). Screeching Weasel is originally from the Chicago subur ...

frontman on his radio show, "Weasel Radio." In 2009 the band took their revenge by releasing a "split" 7-inch that appeared falsely to be a collaboration with Ben Weasel, featuring clips from the radio show on the B side and songs like "Ben Weasel Thinks We Suck" on the A side. In December 2009, synchronous to a five-week US-tour, the band self-released a cassette tape EP entitled "Them Steadily Depressing, Low Down Mind Messing, Post Modern Recession Blues." Later in 2010 the EP was re-released on 7-inch by

Asian Man Records Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

. In December 2011, the band embarked on a seven-week US-tour in support of their EP, "The Elephant in the Room," released on 7-inch and cassette by

Fuck You is a Seven Letter Word Records ''Fuck'' is an English-language expletive. It often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to arou ...

Members

Currently active members

*David Combs (aka Spoonboy) - guitar, vocals *Ben Epstein (aka Bepstein) - bass, vocals, guitar (formerly) *Nick Popovici - drums, bass (formerly)

Currently inactive members

*Alex Mazer - trumpet, vocals *Adam Soffrin - drums *Mat Lewis - drums, vocals *Ari "Rejy" Jacobovits - bass *DJ Michael Barticus - turntable *Mr. Himmelsbach - keyboard, harmonica *Matt Tobey - drums, guitar *Max Levine - "Frontman extrordinaire"

Discography

Albums

*''Songs That Make You Wanna Jump up, Run Outside, Grab a Donut From a Cop and Yell Chach Rules!!!'' - Self-Released,

(2001) *''...Goes to Jail for Stealing a Donut from a Cop'' - Self-Released, CD-R (2002) *''How to Build an Intergalactic Time Travel Machine'' - Fight the Octopus Records, CD (2003) *''Chach, Cops and Donuts Discography'' - Fight the Octopus Records, CD (2004) *''OK Smartypants CD'' -

Plan-it-X Records Plan-It-X Records (PIX) was an independent record label. Originally based in Georgetown, Indiana, PIX was based out of Bloomington, Indiana following brief stints in Olympia, Washington, Gainesville, Florida, and Cairo, Illinois. The label relea ...

, CD / Big Record Label, Tape / No Breaks Records, LP (2008) *''Ben Weasel'' - Fuck You is a Seven Letter Word Records, 7-inch (2009) *''Them Steadily Depressing, Low Down Mind Messing, Post Modern Recession Blues'' - Fuck You is a Seven Letter Word Records, Tape /

, 7-inch (2010) *''The Elephant in the Room'' - Fuck You is a Seven Letter Word Records, 7-inch, Tape (2011) *''Backlash, Baby'' - Rumbletowne Records &

Lame-O Records Lame-O Records is an independent record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Eric Osman to release Modern Baseball's ''Sports'', the label has been hailed as one of Philadelphia's best indie labels. History Lame-O Records was fo ...

, LP /

Broken World Media Broken World Media was an American record label based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, founded in 2012 by Nicole Shanholtzer (formerly of The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die) and subsequently closed in 2017. Broken World ...

, Tape (2015)

Split releases

*''Split w/The Spirit Animals'' - Crafty Records, 7-inch (2005) *''Split w/Operation: Cliff Clavin'' -

, 7-inch (2005)

References

External links

TMLE HomeSpoonboy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Max Levine Ensemble, The Punk rock groups from Washington, D.C. Musical groups established in 2000 Lame-O Records artists