Chelsea Langevin

Before senior Alex Maxson knew them as the band Starving Millionaires, she first heard their music blaring from a garage in a calm California neighborhood.
Now the band is signed with Long Beach Records and features a unique blend of rock, reggae and punk, Maxson said.
The Starving Millionaires rocked a crowd of Linfield students at a professional Cat Cab on May 7.
The San Jose, Calif., band comprises three members: Joe or “Sid Slater,” bassist; Eric, vocalist and guitarist; Dave or “Moon,” drummer. However, the trio began as a duo, with Eric and Joe recording reggae and punk rock tapes together. In meantime, Dave was learning how to play different instruments.
Eventually, after frequently swapping music, Eric and Joe joined Dave to form the Starving Millionaires, according to an interview with The Pier Web site.
Maxson said she learned about the Starving Millionaires while living in San Jose, Calif., from her friend whose house was across the street from the Starving Millionaires residence.
“They eventually moved but stayed friends with Jess [Maxson’s friend], and because of that, she became a huge fan and would make my sister and I listen to them and go to their shows,” Maxson said.
Since then, Maxson has been a loyal fan.
As KSLC general manager, Maxson said she has remained in contact with the band members, working diligently to schedule them an Oregon performance.
“While I’ve been at KSLC, I have played them as my choice music and put their name on my profile of bands I like,” Maxson said.
Maxson said Starving Millionaires Googled their band name one day and her Web site was among the first search results, which sparked even greater interest in traveling to Linfield for a show.
“Once I knew when our Cat Cab date was going to be, I e-mailed them and asked if they would be interested,” Maxson said.
While Maxson said some of their songs are comparable to the style of Sublime, which is a band that helped open the doors for their genre of music, she is careful not to label the band as one style.
“They have a little bit of everything,” Maxson said. ”I like it because it is upbeat music that gets you to have fun and keeps you
interested.”
Joe said that Eric was primarily influenced by Sublime.
The Starving Millionaires’ goal is to expand the genre of the reggae and rock blend and remain true to it, as many reggae and rock bands begin strong and eventually soften their sound, they said.
Maxson said she prefers the band’s first album, “First Ditch Effort,” which only features six tracks.
“My favorite songs on the album are ‘Double Brown’ and ‘Hopscotch Girl,’”
Maxson said.
While the Starving Millionaires’ presence at Linfield is undeniably exciting for Maxson, she said her goal in inviting the band is to introduce Linfield students to a new style of music.
“We have heard bands at Linfield that play reggae, rock and punk, but they bring a blend of all and are always fun to watch,” she said.
While on their way to Linfield, the band members said they were looking forward to seeing the school.
“We’re excited to see the Catdome,” Eric said. “It should be a good time.”