Dulcimer, cahone and bells: Max ZT and Rich Stein

Max and Rich playing


Max and Rich discuss how they got into music and how they make a living


Max and Rich talk about their style of music and their influences

Artists: Max ZT and Rich Stein
Medium: Dulcimer, cahone and bells
Location: Union Square on the steps near 14th St.

Max ZT says it’s not world and it’s not progressive, Rich Stein adds it’s just what you get when a couple of white boys roam the world and then you throw them together and let them make music – there’s no real defintion. Max and Rich have a good synchronicity in their description of their music, which is a good sign considering these two only met last November.

Prior to playing with Rich, Max played Dulcimer for 16 years. After seeing the instrument at a festival when he was tiny, Max concluded it was awesome and that he must have one. Successful in that first endeavor of acquiring a dulcimer, Max took lessons for about 10 years in Chicago and has come to New York to pursue another endeavor, success in music. Having lived in Chicago and Seattle, and having gone to school in upstate New York, Max contends “the music scene [in New York] compared to Seattle or Chicago is just leaps and bounds above.”

Rich Stein hails from Virginia Beach, VA and plays all kinds of percussion. He got his start at the age of 10, stating it was a typical instrumental style for a kid since he was always banging on pots and pans. Even at that early age Rich knew he wanted to rock for a living and began to take drum lessons. Rich played in school band and continued percussion throughout college in Boston. After Boston Rich felt it was a “natural progression…to move down [to NY] and do music professionally. Where else are you gonna go if you wanna play music?” To that end Rich keeps himself busy playing anywhere from 7 to 10 gigs a week. Not that Max isn’t equally serious, “we’re both…professionals. This is all I do, this is all [Max does].”

In their quest for musical inspiration both Max and Rich have traveled the world. Max cites Senegal as a major influence in his life, having studied there on several occasions. Rich has also studied in Africa, drawing attention an experience with a powerful drummer in Ghana while handling a worn wallet he received as keepsake from the encounter. Rich also notes that his teachers Jamie Hedad and Joe Galiota have had a strong impact on his musical career.

For both their parts, Max and Rich love playing in the street. With a healthy respect for the tradition of street performing in mind, they cite the sun and opportunity to meet people and see old friends as their impetus for getting out in the open. As Rich put it – “if you’ve go the time, why sit around at home when you can be outside playing music?”

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