Here comes Jury

Just 21 years old, Max Jury has a world-weary air about him. He’s too genuine to come off as jaded, yet when he does things like refer to his former college classmates as “those kids” (as in “I’ve seen how great these kids are at music”), you don’t think of him as pretentious. Because for a young man from West Des Moines, he’s seen and done more than most people twice his age.

Max Jury plays Wooly’s on Saturday, March 22.

“When I graduated high school, I moved to Boston and went to the Berklee College of Music,” Jury said. “I dropped out once to go to London to record and play a little bit. Then (I) ended up going back to Boston and back to school, because I decided it would be in my best interest to do so.

“Then I dropped out again.”

Jury’s first attempt at professional music failed, he says, because the people he was working with were “hesitant.” Unwilling to fully commit to a musician who was at the time still in his teens, bets were hedged, and Jury floundered.

“I was fortunate to do those things, but there wasn’t strong, strong interest,” Jury recalled. “But this time, the interest has been stronger. Living in Boston and going to London at a young age opened my eyes to how hard you have to work and how good you have to be to make an impact. It’s a lot of hard work, and it’s very competitive.”

This time around, however, things are different. Jury is a couple years wiser and has a better handle on his sound.

“I’m able to do things this time because I signed a publishing deal, and I have the money to live on my own. So that gives me some confidence.”

Being able to concentrate solely on his sound and make music his full-time job has freed him up creatively. He’s releasing an EP early next month and planning a West Coast swing in support of it. After that, he plans on working on a full-length album, as well as putting together a couple local collaborations.

“The scene in Des Moines is pretty cool right now,” he said. “MaryBeth Doran is great. Holy White Hounds are great on the rock side of things. It’s a pretty good time to be here.” He thinks, then adds, “I just love music.”  CV