Maxie Williams is not afraid to listen to earsplitting sound for long periods of time. How could he be after mixing Marilyn Manson for seven years? His doctor, on the other hand, wants him to take a hearing test. Maxie lives in McComb, Mississippi, where he was born and raised. His doctor has known him since he was a boy and still has the records of his first grade hearing test. He’d like to see the change in Maxie’s hearing. Call it optimistic or call it denial, but Maxie doesn’t feel the need to know.

Maxie Williams

Since high school, when Maxie ran the soundboard for the stage band, the monitor mixer has been enamored with all things audio. In 1984 he opened Maxie Sound and Lighting and for eleven years made a living renting out gear while picking up side gigs as a monitor engineer whenever he could. His ability and reliability as a monitor mixer helped him connect with tour managers and production managers. By the late 80s he was working festivals and with bands that played in the area.

“People were calling me if they lost a sound engineer, and asking if I could go on the road for a week. I’m lucky. I haven’t had to move to LA or New York because I have awesome contacts. People call me. I’d rather reside here. It’s peaceful and quiet. I bought five acres of land and I have a one-acre pond that’s fully stocked. I’m not really a fisherman, but a lot of the crew I work with are and they call and say, “Dude, I’m coming down and staying with you.””

If Maxie is aware of how fortunate he is, he is also conscious of how tough it can be for young sound engineers. Though he never went to audio school he encourages up and coming engineers to learn all they can wherever they are able to. “I feel yay and nay on going to school. In a way, because of the technical stuff, I wish I had, but you can’t get the education of being out in the field in school. I did seven solid years of Marilyn Manson. It’s stuff you’ll never get or see in school. I asked lots of questions when I was coming up and learning sound. Don’t be shy. Always ask questions.”

Mixing Manson was always a welcome challenge, acknowledges Maxie, but last year he accepted an offer to work with Stone Temple Pilots. “I was at a point where I wanted to mix something else. And if Manson called me today, I’d mix him in a heartbeat. I’d love to mix him again, but after seven years I just wanted to change the pace.”