CAMPHOR is Max Avery Lichtenstein aided and abetted by Gretta Cohn   •   D. James Goodwin   •   Kevin Thaxton   •   Ryan Smith   •   Jesse Blum   •   Robert Carlson   •   T.D. Ellis   •   David Gold   •   Grasshopper  •   Ken Kraut  •   Tony Leva   •   Jason Merritt  •   Sharon Moe  •   David Nagler   •   Jon Natchez  •   Jason Russo   •   Tony San Marco   •   Peter Sachon  •    Jesse Sparhawk  •   Justin Smith  •   
and Regan Avery (visual contributor)

The substance known as camphor has historically been used in religious ceremonies, as a moth repellent, as an ingredient in fireworks, for the embalming of the dead, and for medicinal purposes such as the alleviation of heart symptoms and fatigue.  It is also the name of a New York-based indie pop group built around the songwriting of Max Avery Lichtenstein. If Max's name rings a bell, you may recognize him from his unconventional instrumental music for critically-acclaimed independent movies including Tarnation, Jesus' Son and The King.  As a film composer, Max has proven himself quite adept at pushing emotional buttons with his beguiling sense of melody and judicious use of creative production techniques.

In 2006 Max decided it was time to explore the possibilities of music un-tethered to film.  He penned a collection of songs loosely exploring the Japanese concept of wabi sabi, the idea that greatness exists in the inconspicuous details of the world, and that heart-tugging beauty can be found in the imperfect and the broken.

With the outline of these songs in hand, Max pulled in friends and collaborators from the bands Mercury Rev, Beirut, Stars Like Fleas, Bright Eyes, Hopewell, The Silent League and Timesbold (of which he is also a member) to produce and perform the debut Camphor album Drawn to Dust, a delicately crafted and gracefully orchestrated chamber pop opus highlighted by Max's captivating voice and evocative lyrics.

Drawn to Dust is a synthesis of sound, style, atmosphere and philosophy that was built with a menagerie of character-rich instruments ranging from the organic (mariachi horns, strings, woodwinds and harp) to the manufactured (mellotrons, optigans, lo-fi electronics and more). The album offers up a dark but catchy listening experience reminiscent in flashes of artists like Nick Cave, Sufjan Stevens, Sparklehorse, Beck, Brian Wilson, Calexico, Broken Social Scene, Wilco and late-era Talk Talk.

Camphor's debut received great acclaim in the U.S., where the CD was released in April 2008 on Friendly Fire Records. To accompany the release, Max produced a unique music video for the record’s first single “Castaway”… a cinematic retelling of the classic siren myth as performed by a cast of PLAYMOBIL® characters. The video caught the eye of Pitchfork Media who premiered the clip on their Forkcast, and it has subsequently been featured on many of the most prominent music bogs and online magazines (including Spin, PopMatters, Detour and Better Propaganda). A follow-up video for the album’s second single is in the works. The band is soon heading to Europe, where releases of Drawn to Dust are planned for late 2008. 

ORIGINS (according to Max)

"Camphor was born back in 1999 while I was producing some instrumental music for the film Jesus' Son. The film is set in the early 1970s, and it's populated by a cast of beautiful & troubled characters with an abundance of light and dark qualities. The filmmakers required a few tracks of original music with a certain well-worn sonic quality & a melancholy character, and so they found me...

"I co-wrote some of the heavier music for the film with my friend Jason Russo of the band Hopewell. We were kicking around names to christen the new 'band' we'd assembled for the task, and CAMPHOR sprang up. It seemed to evoke all the right things... flashes of old and precious treasures stored away in the dark corners of a forgotten steamer trunk; dusty moth wings; chemical concoctions; a strong & penetrating sensory experience... it touched a nerve in my little heart, and I've been writing under the name ever since."

OLD FRIENDS IN NEW CLOTHES (according to Whip)

"...it's hard to adjust the eyes at first, but a little time and some attention to detail tend to reveal the old friend again. But it's hard to deny the new uniform. Good people change, step up, step down, disappear.......get a job....but when some stranger picks them up hitching down some lonely road sometime in the future, the new clothes older now, that self same loving and gracious person steps out of the car leaving some anonymous driver feeling a bit better about his or her life. Max has proven to be both this driver, and this passenger...on this ride. "

SPRING 2004 (according to Tony San Marco)

"In the middle of a particularly dreary tour of Germany, Timesbold (our other band) rolled into Dresden exhausted. It felt like we were crumbling under the weight of our own weariness. The paint was peeling. The fruit was bruised. The seams were splitting. That day, Dresden looked like we all felt. The sky opened up and it poured rain. Then, I dropped my toothbrush in the toilet of the shithole where we were sleeping. It was low, man. I mean real low.

So, we unload our gear and we're waiting to start sound check and Max picks up J's guitar. I was sitting at the pump organ and Max starts playing this song and I try to play along. I realize that it's one of his and, at that time, Max didn't really play his songs for us. We only played the song through a few times before we went back to the business of being Timesbold. But, it was one of those moments where, even at the time, even as it was happening, I could tell was special. That moment on that dreary day in Germany will forever be held as one of my favorite musical moments.

I waited two more years for the call to play on Max's record. I can't tell you how grateful I am that the call came. There's a communion you get to have with people when you play music together and it's working out right. It defies explanation and it transcends words, but, you can hear it. I hear a lot of it on these songs."

MAKING DRAWN TO DUST (according to D. James)

"In November of 2005, I had just finished mixing a record, when I got a call from Max to do a short piano session for a band he was producing. We had talked about working together in the past, but it never came to fruition. Being a producer myself, I rarely heard work that I liked, but Max’s aesthetic in the studio was one that I loved!

Finally, the piano session was upon us, and I met Max for the very first time in person. My impression is that we both felt an immediate connection. As I pulled out what I call my “tomato can mic”, Max’s eyes lit up like a child, and a brotherhood was born! The evening ended with Max asking me to help him mix the Camphor record, a prospect that I said yes to immediately..."

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THE EVERYTHING ELSE (according to Jesse)

"Last timesbold tour, somewhere between our cavernous luxury hovel in heist and even-a-belgian-wouldn't-and-often-didn't-know-where, and after already having contributed little odds and ends to this camphor long player a year and a half prior, I secretly played the rough mixes of these tunes that max had on his pocket jukebox for the rest of the boys; I don't remeber the circumstances but we somehow managed a moment without him in the tour van.  I didn't tell anybody what was playing. A little ways through 'So Lucky,' Tony goes 'f#$k, is this max?' in that loveable/angry/envious/jubilent/admiring sort of tone he takes sometimes.  J rolled another one with a big toothy(ish) grin... Levon quipped with a  heartfelt 'wow man' and drew kept driving...

I only vaguely remember what I contributed to this one... a guitar in a dumb waiter 3 years ago here, a harp in a shower 5 months ago there, did I play that mandolin? No matter... one of the childish things that these boys (and Max especially) helped (and are still helping) me put away was shifting the focus from my individual performance and really listening and hearing how something contributed to a tune as a whole.  Simple sounding enough, I know.  Easier when you forgot what you played and where. 

I really thought I was pretty into this whole music-making thing, knowing my way around some strings and things, a pretty good listener.  I got some notes under my belt, but these guys have had everything else for a long time, apart and together.  And mostly "the everything else" is far more critical than the notes.  

I sure hope he kept the tuning of that guitar on the whiteboard..."