Saturday, February 19 - The Black Marks at Zissimo's in Hampden

Zissimo's is a small bar in Hampden that recently started hosting bands on the second floor. It's an old-school Hampden joint, which means completely unpretentious, no door or show charge, and drinks that cost around $2.50. Not bad for an inexpensive Saturday night!


We're playing with The Daily Lion, who go on around 9:00, followed by us (The Black Marks - in case you forgot what website you were visiting)  around 10:00 - 10:30.

Hope to see you there.

Cheers,

Michael

Orson Welles or Ed Wood

Really, though, it was Bruce Springsteen’s fault. I got “The Promise” box set for Christmas, and was transfixed by the “making of” video and packaging – a replica of his notebook while recording “Darkness on the Edge or Town.” I thought through all the bands I’ve been in. I’ve done a lot of recording, but never a complete record. We always went in with a handful of our most recent songs, and laid what we had on tape (file actually, but tape just rolls off the tongue).

I started to make a list of albums that I love front to back – ones I never skip a track on:

David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and Scary Monsters
U2 – The Joshua Tree
Husker Du – Zen Arcade
Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street
Love and Rockets – Earth, Sun, Moon
Radiohead – OK Computer and The Bends
Nine Inch Nails – Pick an album – I’m a huge fan

They all work together as a whole, and while not “concept” albums (except for Zen Arcade and Ziggy Stardust), they all follow a theme or feeling that’s carried throughout the entire album.

Then I thought of The Black Marks. I realized I wanted to try to make a complete album, at least once in my life - an album that worked as a whole, not just a collection of our songs. The Black Marks are the only band I’ve been in that I feel could accomplish this. I’ve been in good bands – a punk band, “alternative band,” and such – but none possessed the capabilities for range that The Black Marks has; the ability to create multiple emotions and convey them across various soundscapes and intensity levels.

I made a list of all our songs, and whittled it down to what I thought would accomplish my goal. I took it to the band, and they agreed to the idea (there’s still some discussions/lobbying for the final song list, but it’ll be hammered out).

Currently, we have drums, bass and a few guitars down. We’re recording throughout February, which will stretch into March, and will hopefully have this album ready for release at the end of April or in May.

I’m really happy for, and proud of, the effort everyone in the band is putting into this album. It’s a pleasure to be in a band with these fine, creative people. Sketches of some of the songs slated to be on the album are found throughout this website, if you want a look at their raw foundations.

In turn, more videos, photos and notes will be posted about the making of this album in the upcoming months. Once finished, we’ll see what end of the Orson Welles/Ed Wood spectrum the album lands on. Regardless, I’m thrilled to finally be making an album that’s required a lot of thought and planning, and thrilled that it’s with The Black Marks.

I hope you keep reading these posts and enjoy what you’re seeing or hearing. Thanks for your support.

Michael

Night Train 357

Here I am, as a studio guest to our good friend NIGHT TRAIN 357. And no, I don’t know what the 357 means. And no, I don’t have a rap name, unless Mike G. counts.

Anatomy of a song

I love the in-between songs on albums; the musical interludes or really mellow songs where it seems half the band aren’t playing. Neko Case has a number of these amazing songs.

That was the genesis of this song, “Hazel Eyes.” It started out as a verse and chorus at practice one night:

I wrote the words for the chorus, Mandi wrote the verses with input from Ben. The song’s focus is on that moment you realize that someone you’re in love with doesn’t love you anymore. It’s not the break-up moment, but just that sudden realization that you try to suppress, until the inevitable happens and the relationship finally falls apart.

The most disturbing thing about the song, though, is the use of the word hazel, as Hazel is my daughter’s name. I really tried to avoid this, but nothing else worked – “brown eyes,” “blue eyes,” “cold eyes,” “you’re an unfeeling jerk eyes…” and the list goes on.

I imagine The Avett Brothers had a similar problem with their song “January Wedding,” because how many people really choose January to get married. February is the only other phrase that works in the chorus; all other months would sound ridiculous. The band felt we were in a similar situation, so they convinced me to keep “hazel,” as that was the best two-syllable descriptor. We also eventually got the whole band involved musically, even adding our newest member, Tamika, as our second vocal.

While not the best quality, I hope these two videos give a little insight into the songwriting process and how songs often evolve from a simple refrain into a finished piece, and how the original idea mutates throughout the process to include other elements unforeseen at the moment of inspiration.

And by the way, we look all goofy in the video below because this was a Halloween show, and we dressed as the Addams Family. (Trust me, it looked a lot better if you were at the show, with a couple of drinks in you.)

The Devil May Care

This one had a bizarre beginning. It was written as winter approached in 2009. Sam and I (Michael) came up with almost identical guitar parts for the verse. It likely spawned from both of us noodling around on something at practice a month or two earlier, but the similarity was astonishing. Sam's verse won out (an additional chord in his made it more interesting), along with a cool little transition thing he came up with during the singing of the phrase "the devil may care." My part evolved into the chorus.

The lyrics came from a cold, gray day, a job I was fed up with, fear of losing said job, the shitty economy, local stores closing, friends underwater financially, my crappy attitude, everyone else’s crappy attitude – really sunshiny stuff! I tried to hide these emotions under the guise of a relationship falling apart, but the second verse pretty much does away with the disguise and speaks more directly to what I was feeling at the time.

However, I also like to laugh, or at least to smile, during dark times, so I named the girl giving advice to the narrator “Janey,” as my little homage to Lou Reed’s infamous Jane in “Sweet Jane” and “Rock and Roll.” I also liked the picture of a 50-something Jane, who has seen it all, doling out life lessons to a younger cohort at a dive bar, in the early hours of a morning that doesn’t hold much promise. 

It's 2:00 am, I'm out again
Thursday night downtown
I just smoke my cigarettes and stare

I've been through all the ups and downs
The good times and the bad
The good times don't come around much anymore

Janey said I should have left long ago
It's my own fault that I stayed
"All those years, you know, they don't fade away"

But if the years don't fade your soul sure does
Til there's nothing left inside
And all you can do is throw your hands in the air

Cause the devil may care

And I can see it going on
This world is meant to do you harm
I'm too tired to win this fight
I'm so sick of the sleepless nights
I throw my hands in the air

Cause the devil may care
But I don't care

It's been so long since I've been proud of anything I've done
The money's gone and I can't find my way

Honesty's lost and loyalty's gone
The sharks have had their say
The water's thick with blood from the undead

I lay around and watch TV, I wander through downtown
Past the boarded homes that closed long ago

It's a hopeless time and no help’s in sight
I'm stuck here all alone
And all I can do is throw my hands in the air

Cause the devil may care

And I see it going on
This world is meant to do you harm
I'm too tired to win this fight
I'm so sick of the sleepless nights
I throw my hands in the air

Cause the devil may care
But I don't care

Mum's this Friday, October 29 - 10:00 PM

Mum's was voted as City Paper's best bar in Federal Hill. Come join us in true Halloween fashion to celebrate!

Beautiful Day

This song began with a drum beat and bass line, and a vocal idea about how responsibility can be a downright drag at times. A lot of people in the band have young kids, and as much as we love them, they can be absolutely exhausting.

We also have full-time jobs that can be pretty demanding. Between the two, you find yourself longing for just one day where you can shut everything off, forget about all of your responsibilities and sleep in.

The “sleeping in” is the real focus of the lyrics. You can read it as being a “sex in the morning” thing, but the lyrics weren’t intended to be that way. This isn’t our “Afternoon Delight,” as, quite frankly, that would be repulsive—take a good look at the photo of the Starland Vocal Band: 

do you really want to envision Larry from The Regal Beagle (http://tinyurl.com/24dq3lk) having sex?

Thought not. If you have to think of it in that way, think of it as more of our Raspberry Beret (http://tinyurl.com/24lhstk). We can live with that one. Otherwise, take it for what it is – a song about giving the finger to the rat race and rolling over for a few more pleasant hours of dreamtime next to the one you love.

Sunrise signals a bright new dawn

But I don’t feel like getting up on my own

Think I’ll turn back over

Close my sleepy eyes

And stay for a beautiful day

Baby, we work so hard

And we deserve to ignore the alarm

Let’s lie here together

Screw the world outside

And stay for a beautiful day

We need a break from the pressure and the worthless stress that beats down on us all week

Let’s damn the consequences leave our bosses to their messes and forget about everything

Cause all I wanna do is wrap you up in my arms and keep you close to my heart 

And stay for a beautiful day