Mr. Blotto was born in Chicago as an off-night vehicle for musicians who loved each others playing but were in different bands at the time. The only rule was that they would only play what they loved. That philosophy continues today and has led Mr. Blotto into unique musical situations.

Mr. Blotto takes the Jam band asthetic into areas unfamiliar to the standard Jam Scene. They have been known to cover entire albums by Led Zeppelin and the Who as well as perform entire shows of Country and Reggae. Artists as diverse as the Grateful Dead, the Flaming Lips, Willie Nelson and The Velvet Underground have seen their material interpreted by Mr. Blotto in the 2000+ shows the band has performed in the last 15 years, yet covers only pepper the bands hefty catalog of original material stemming from five studio albums and other unreleased crowd favorites.

It’s a band made up of experienced players from Chicagoland playing original rock. Their style has been described as Power-Prog-Pop. The music is fun, melodic and catchy, but they like throwing in some progressive adventures. Lyrics are clever and entertaining. Max released one full-length album called “Equations” that came out in 2012, and they’re continuing to develop new songs. They’ve garnered some loyal fans and they love playing live!

Who’s in Max Plankton?

Rick Bennett is the lead singer and bassist. Before Max Plankton, Rick and John Griffin headed up a rock trio called Frankenpony. They had four full-length albums, played often in Chicago (Elbo Room, Beat Kitchen, Lion’s Den, Gunther Murphy’s, Cubbie Bear) and downstate, and even had a song played in an episode of the TV sitcom “Help Me Help You” on ABC.

John Griffin is the guitar master (and studio wizard). In addition to Max, John plays in the legendary punk-art-rock band, Tutu and the Pirates, and he gets his blues groove on with The Bluesniks. John also records many bands at his suburban studio, Griffin Audio Media.

Brian Robery drives the drums and sings harmonies. Brian had a long stint touring with Uncle John’s Band (popular in the Midwest as a Grateful Dead tribute band). Outside Max Plankton, Brian has other steady drum gigs, too. He also makes drums in his spare time!