Rammer, above, learned music theory and recording techniques during a long stint in a rehab facility.
Max Rammer had to make a life-altering decision after a 2017 diving accident left his arms and legs paralyzed: the Janesville teen could slip into hopeless depression or muster the grit to live with his new condition.
A little over a year later, the resilient Rammer released an eight-track EP titled 21·25, a reference to his post-accident hospital room, under the name, ThatsLife. The mellow music, a melodic mix of electronic, hip-hop and indie pop inspired by Childish Gambino, Bon Iver and Chance the Rapper, ferried him through dark days to an optimistic existence that he hopes will inspire others.
“There’s really two stages of me — before my accident I was a completely different person,” says Rammer, who used to skateboard and snowboard. “I feel like I took so much for granted before my injury, and now it gives me a deeper appreciation for everything.”
Immediately after the accident, which occurred just weeks before Rammer was to start classes at UW-Madison, he was rushed to intensive care at University Hospital.
“It was pretty scary. I knew exactly what happened right when it happened. I kind of accepted it pretty quickly,” Rammer says. Paralyzed from the arms down and unable to use his triceps, he can move his wrists, and his fingers naturally follow, allowing him to grab objects.
After the hospital, Rammer spent four weeks in a Chicago rehab facility, relearning basic day-to-day actions, followed by another four-month stint in Omaha, Nebraska, with the goal of adapting pre-accident hobbies into things he could practice. There, Rammer learned music theory and found ways to record with a MIDI controller, a beat pad, a MacBook and Logic audio software.
In rehab, Rammer noticed people in similar situations falling into a pattern of helplessness and worthlessness, followed by depression.
“I found myself in that exact trap for the first few months of my injury,” Rammer says. “I wanted to show people who have my injury that your life isn’t over; you can still have passions and fun things.”
With a little help from social media, Rammer found musical collaborators. He posted his remix of Childish Gambino’s “Bonfire” and tweeted a call for a vocalist for an original
track. Noah Kolak, a high school acquaintance, responded. Kolak ended up singing on two of 21·25’s tracks, including the opening song, “Night After Night.” Written by Rammer after a stay in the hospital with a serious infection, it begins, “My life is on the line/Day after day/Night after night.”
He poured his emotions into floaty, autotune-heavy tracks with telling titles: “Given Up,” “Stay Inside” and “Wishing.” Rammer also recorded and produced the first album for Kolak’s band, Be Consumed.
Rammer reintegrated socially by reaching out to friends and posting on social media. Takers ended up collaborating with Rammer on his family’s three-season porch in Janesville, now known as SunPorch Recording Studios, which has relocated to Rammer’s bedroom for the winter.
“We just go over there and get in a certain headspace and get super focused,” says Kolak. “It’s like he’s a machine. I have all these ideas in my head, and we record the shit with everybody and it’s exactly like I wanted it to sound in my head.”
Rammer’s determination to overcome the obstacles helps him keep his focus. “I look at life in a different way, and I find myself not getting beat down by the small things,” Rammer says. “What most people might get caught up in, having a bad day … it’s a lot easier for me to brush it off.”
Rammer plans to attend UW-Madison this fall, majoring in business finance. He’s also looking forward to joining the local music scene. In the meantime, his work is getting some recognition. His music has been used in a video by a YouTube gamer. He was also interviewed in November for the Get Up Nation Podcast, an offshoot of a book titled Get Up: The Art of Perseverance by Adam Greenberg, a former major league baseball player for the Chicago Cubs, and Ben Biddick, a UW grad who served as an Army medic and a hostage negotiator.
But Rammer says his most satisfying accolade so far came in the form of a Reddit comment from a health facility employee. He had played Rammer’s music for a paraplegic man who was inspired by what someone in the same state could create.
“That’s exactly what I wanted to do,” Rammer says.
