After twelve years of making music on the road and at home, local darlings Cruiserweight disbanded in 2010. Siblings Stella and Urny Maxwell took a brief pause from the spotlight and international touring and then jumped head first into a new project- Adam and the Bullshark. Half rock band, half original musical stageplay for kids of all ages, the undertaking is ambitious, to say the least. While never dismissing the sincerity or success of their former band, the Maxwells agree: Their new venture has teeth.
What started as a silly story about a strawberry jam-loving bullshark years ago (made up in a Pre-K classroom where Stella taught at the time,) has evolved over seven years, where now the goal of producing "Adam and the Bullshark" into a full-scale musical is rapidly coming into focus. Anyone who knows Cruiserweight's former lead vocalist is well aware of her big ideas' tendencies to snowball... big time. So...
Once she realized that her dream of bringing the story to life would be an impossible feat by herself, Stella recruited Urny, along with friends Chepo and Terry, to begin arranging her vivid and sometimes harebrained plot into song-form. The result is something familiar, in that the outfit resembles Cruiserweight sometimes, in sound, lineup, and the venues they frequent. But Adam and the Bullshark is different in that it transcends norms and trends, (I mean, until U2 writes songs for a musical-- OH, CRAP!) I guess it's still cool, though, because most bands won't attempt to write a script and album of songs that can tell a clear story, right? Even if they DO attempt it, most bands won't do it well. MOST bands...
With bullshark pinatas on display and party favors to boot, Adam and the Bullshark's shows are punk-rock and grandiose at the same time, but always captivating. Whether appealing to beer-swigging 20-something's at Emo's or elementary school-aged kids on the "Kiddie Limits" stage at ACL, Adam and the Bullshark fits right in with an audience looking to be entertained. A tight schedule of shows as well as plans to record the musical score in early 2012 are under way.