19 Responses to “Interactive Interview with Marlowe Grey”

1. hstisgod on November 18th, 2008 9:53 pm

   Of all artists in the world, what artist does MG draw the most influence? as well as comparison?

2. Big Baby Fratelli on November 19th, 2008 10:58 am

   Hello Michael,

   Really dig your album and your guitar work is simply professional! I have a couple of questions: Who is your favorite guitarist of all time (or top few if it’s too hard)? And how do you come up with the guitar work in certain songs? Is it a spur of the moment thing in rehearsals or do you come up with the sounds while jamming solo and then try to work them into the songs?

3. matryoshka23 on November 19th, 2008 11:54 am

   Let me begin this interview with a heartfelt THANK YOU on behalf of the band for providing us with this much appreciated opportunity to share our music and point of view with you and all who are kind enough to take the time to read this and, hopefully, check out our debut cd!

   I think it’s safe to say that Marlowe Grey is a musical rorschach blot of sorts. Whenever I play our album for somebody, she or he nearly always hears and mentions an influence in our music that none of our other listeners has heard and mentioned before. Often the heard and mentioned influence would likely not be listed by any of the band members as an influence at all! At least not a conscious one.

   Although I don’t think we sound alike, for the most part, especially following the release of their most recent batch of albums, Radiohead seems to be a common thread, in terms of influence, among all members of the band. And it isn’t uncommon for the occasional listener to point out some recognizable Radiohead-esque patterns weaved delicately, and accidentally, into the original sound that we are striving to create.

   Other artists that we are influenced by include, but are certainly not limited to, the following: The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Elliot Smith, Iron and Wine, Jeremy Enigk, Bon Iver, The Olivia Tremor Control, and some not-so-recognizable influences including such local acts as Thing One, Ra Ra Riot, The American Watercolor Movement, The Claws of Paradise, Flaming Fire, and so very many others.

   Marlowe Grey strives, as all other artists do, to produce the side effect of a unique and original sound. An effect that is the result of our sincere and genuine efforts to create musical artistry that is an honest representation, an unblemished reflection, of all that is happening deep within and all around us. In a certain sense, it is an effort to diminish over time, and ultimately erase, the line that seperates the inside from the outside. If and when we arive at this point in our evolution, the music will no longer represent the waves of thought and emotion that we and our listeners experience, but rather it will have become the very waves I speak of themselves.

   To us Radiohead, and most, if not all of the influences listed above, appear to be striving toward the very same state. Music is experienced, explored, experimented with, expressed, and enjoyed as a deeply magical and mysterious artform. It is not simply therapuetic for the artists in that it provides an opportunity to get out, secure, and deal with all of the benevolent and malevolent that soothe and heckle from within. This is the self-discovery aspect of creation. It is also important to realize the power of music as an artfrom to act as a vehicle for communicating between the artist and the art appreciator the most fundamental truths of our human condition…past, present, and future. A succesful communication may help someone get through the day or even save a life! This is where we are coming from.

4. matryoshka23 on November 19th, 2008 12:39 pm

   Thank you! If only my guitar work were in fact, my profession! It is, for me, difficult to narrow all of the amazing guitar players that have influenced me down to a single solitary favorite guitarist of all time. As you have already suggested, I will hereby mention a handful that come readily to mind. My earliest guitar heros were Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai. As I progressed along the path, I picked up a whole slew of other gurus including Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Syd Barrett, Dave Navarro, John Frusciante, Jonsi Birgisson, and local heros Matt Boroff (Planet Dread), Pat Bitbol (Eternal Vision), and Mustafa Bhagat (gul) among many, many others.

   Although each of the above-mentioned guitarists has his own unique sound and style, the common thread that unites them all, as far as I’m concerned, is the genuine creative artistic spirit within. Each have successfully striven to push the envelope and disolve the boundaries of music in his own original way and therefore has successfully pushed the envelope and disolved the boundaries of not only music, but of art in general, communication, and also the very essence of human perception!

   The guitar parts that I contribute to the nusic arrive in several diverse ways. Marlowe Grey has historically nearly always recorded its rehearsals and jam sessions. And although it is often painful to listen to the inception of a new musical idea that is gestating somewhere inside the creative mind of the artist and ensnared within the confines of a digital disc-shaped sound-trap, if one is open enough and listens deeply into the chaotic cacophony of captured sounds thereof, she or he may just strike serendipitous gold! Sometimes a big mistake can turn out to be the best part of the song! I rely on this heavily.

   Another method is to listen to and hum along with recordings of Noc’s (lead singer/songwriter) raw, stripped down musical ideas while driving to and from work in my car each day. This method often requires me to race home and get to my instrument immediately so that I can translate what is in my head and what I am humming into something that flesh on wire and wood can sonically reproduce.

   A third method is simply to sit there for hours with a guitar on my poor little acheing knee racking my brains out, and slicing my fingers, in an attempt to come up with something that works for the song yet adds some interesting unexpected dimension or texture to the piece.

   And then, of course, there’s divine inspiration! It is then that these delicate little hands and fingers, this humbled brain and nervous system, become only but an instrument, a tool, within the grasp of much, much bigger hands and fingers! And I am NOT a religeous man!

5. ero1982 on November 20th, 2008 1:25 pm

   What is the dynamic relationship amongst members of the band? There almost always is some kind of drama, how do you guys avoid it if you do?

6. dberman on November 20th, 2008 4:16 pm

   When can we expect another mg release and what advancements have you made musically for the next release?

7. matryoshka23 on November 20th, 2008 4:29 pm

   Avoiding drama in a band is like avoiding water under water. Drama in any co-creative endeavor is sure to arise in varying degrees as a result of the ever-present conflict between the limiting individual and collective egos emersed within the ocean of boundless compromise.

   Everyone involved brings his own unique vision into the sphere of creativity only to have it tested by the forces at work therein. As with anything else, the evolutionary process of natural selection comes into play and the order is formed as the strongest wills come out on top. In a healthy situation, however, all imagineers involved will have learned and mastered the art of compromise and, in the end, a new vision emerges…the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts.

   Typically Noc will come to rehearsal with a well thought out idea for a song, which includes the chords, melody, lyrics, and basic structure of the song. The struggle begins when his vision of the song locks horns with the rest of the band’s interpretation of his idea. Ultimately I believe that the struggle is a healthy one which allows for growth through an exciting trial of experimentation and self-expression.

   When the song is complete, none of our visions trumps any of the others’ and we are all relatively satisfied to hear a little of ourselves here and there within the context of the song or the album as a whole. But then beautiful struggle rages on as another album takes root and begins to flourish!

   This is the nature of the creative process, whether it’s an individual or a collective. It is frustrating one moment and ecstatic the next! Alchemy is not an imperfect analogy. The chaotic elements making up the early stages of song development are refined over time into the gold that is the final expression thereof! And this gold, the finished product, is but an imperfect reflection, a sort of pyrite or fool’s gold, that echoes the real gem or the changes that occured within the minds of the artists who created it.

   As with any other species of relationship, it is vital for all involved to keep the lines of communication wide open. Not only within the context of the creative environment but also in more formal “business” or “band meeting” type settings and, of course, a weekly night out together at the bar to let everything go for a bit. A time to focus in on the most essential and valuable aspect of the musical journey that there is…friendship.

8. ajplady on November 20th, 2008 4:59 pm

   paper or plastic? john or paul? world peace or peace within? legacy or lunacy?

9. matryoshka23 on November 20th, 2008 5:10 pm

   Currently we are in the middle of recording our second album, which has been dubbed with the working title of “Chaos Never Died”. Most of the drum tracks have been recorded as well as a handful of bass and guitar tracks.

   Ideally we’d like to release the album in the Springtime of 2009. This is what we are currently aspiring to. What better time of the year to share new music with friends than the time when everyone is ecstatic about the end of a long, cold winter and the onset of a warm, soothing Spring?! The windows are open, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming!

   As far as advancement is concerned, well, to start, half the line-up of the band has already been changed! When I initially joined the outfit, it consisted of a drummer (AJ Faas), a bassist (Joseph Galione), and vocalist (Anthony Pietropinto). The songs were virtually completed by the three piece and I was asked to layer it up with colorful psychadelic guitar textures. The result is our debut album “Zoa” (available through cd baby…ahem!).

   The forthcoming album includes a new drummer, a new bassist, and an “everything” player who joined Anthony (Noc) and I every step of the way during the development and orchestration of the songs.

   The new songs, to me, are notably more mature and interesting than those which make up our first album. We have learned a lot as individuals and as a band over the course of the last couple of years and it really shows in the new and exciting dynamics that appear within the more experimental structures of this new batch of songs.

   We are finally beginning to shed the skin of trying to emulate the sounds of the artists who we have always looked up to. The result is an original sound that is truly beginning to take form. This is a very transformative time for us and we all are so anxious to get this album completed so that we can share it with all who have a deep longing for honest and sincere music radiating out from a genuine source of love for music and positive change!

10. matryoshka23 on November 20th, 2008 5:13 pm

    Recycled paper. John. Peace within. Lunacy. There are seven levels.

11. matryoshka23 on November 20th, 2008 5:46 pm

    Or rather, paper John’s world peace legacy and plastic Paul’s inner peace lunacy. There are still seven levels.

12. ero1982 on November 24th, 2008 11:52 pm

    Are you guys still taking questions? If so, where did the origin of the name Marlowe Grey come from?

13. craiglam on November 25th, 2008 11:11 am

    Do you think that the more recent technology advancements, things like Myspace, instant messenger and text messaging are having a positive impact or a negative impact? Is this form of communication an isolated communication?

14. matryoshka23 on November 25th, 2008 3:28 pm

    Absolutely we are still taking questions, although unbeknownst to me until I logged in just to realize this! Keep ‘em comin’!

    As far as where the name of our band came from, well, I will have to get back to you with the details as our lead singer came up with the name and I cannot currently recall the whole story.

    I believe that an admired actor whose first name is Marlowe is the source of the first half of our name. Grey is the last name of a woman with whom Anthony shared a long, deep, romantic relationship. I know that the joy of his love for her and the sorrow of loss is at the heart of the emotional essence driving many of the songs that he has written.

    Elizabeth is the Liz in “Liz Song in C”, which seems to be a favorite among most of our listeners.

    Tony is currently working on a side project tentatively titled “The Spain Album”, which is about the dramatic ending of the above-mentioned relationship. It’ll be a good one!

15. matryoshka23 on November 25th, 2008 3:48 pm

    I feel that technological advancements such as myspace, instant messaging, and text messaging are having both a positive and a negative impact. As with anything else, it all depends upon she who is perceiving the impact and her own personal conclusions thereof.

    Artists can utilize any form of technology to their advantage if they have the will, imagination, and technical know-how to do so.

    Myspace is giving everybody an opportunity to get their music out there to a vast network of friends and strangers alike! The internet, as you already know, is an extremely powerful tool or medium through which to communicate, and on so many diverse levels.

    Earlier this year someone in Germany purchased a cd that I played on. It was submitted to an online magazine for review and placed onto cd baby to be sold globally. Someone read the review, became curious, purchased the album, and viola! He loves it!

    To me this is genuine magic! I felt an emotion, accompanied by a related vision, and translated it into sound by placing my hands into different shapes on a beautifuly carved wooden object strung with wires. These sounds were recorded onto a reflective disc that a complete stranger in Germany placed into a cd player. The next thing you know, he’s feeling an emotion and seeing his very own vision! To me this is truly magical!

    Instant messaging and text messaging are also extremely powerful and effective ways to reach out to others. If it wasn’t for this technology, much of the music we have written may never have materialized as it has!

    Instant messaging and texting has allowed us to organize our rehearsal sessions and performances, share musical ideas, inform others of shows, remind ourselves and each other of lyrics and musical phrases, etc.

    So yes, I think that technological advancements can play a very positive and powerful role in the life of an artist.

16. briang on November 26th, 2008 2:46 pm

    What do you think about the current scene nowadays? I mean music and the biz in general?

17. matryoshka23 on November 26th, 2008 4:48 pm

    Every era has its dull hazy lights and a handful of shiny glimmering ones in terms of the music that is available to the general public.

    In most cases, one must do a bit of digging if she wants to find something interesting, strange, and beautiful. What we hear on most of the stations when the radio or television set is turned on is a whole lot of mimicry and very little creative imagination. And I mean mimicry down to the very finest details.

    Not only does the music sound like the artists are attempting to emulate their peers and those who came before them, whether consciously or unsconsciously, but the same is also true of their fashion choices, their hairstyles, the equipment that they use, their body postures and motions when performing, and just about everything that they have to say, whether on stage or in an interview! It’s all mimicry and very little originality and imagination.

    Whenever I turn on the radio or the television set I hear it and I see it as clear as day. There is a formula that seems to work for many in terms of getting your music heard, getting yourself out on tour, getting yourself money, and getting yourself drunk, stoned, laid, and (temporarily) famous. You really just need the expected sounds, look, and moves for the fantasy to unfold and comes alive…sadly.

    Therefore, let the music industry as we know it collapse! Things need to change and the change needs to be a radical one! The formula needs to be erased and never replaced! Artists need to begin exploring and experimenting again. We need to do away with the usual song structures (i.e. verse/chorus/verse/chorus/solo/bridge/chorus and other typical examples).

    We need to do away with radio-friendly 3-4 minute songs. We need to do away with limiting ourselves to the usual musical instruments. Try new combinations of instruments, exotic instruments, original instruments (make your own!). Why not explore and experiment with exotic or original scales, chord structures, and time signatures? Create a whole new musical vocabulary! There is so much more that can be done! So many more places that art can go! Again it simply takes the will, the imagination, the technical know-how, and the balls/ovaries to make it happen…to be a pioneer!

    As in every other generation of the past and generations yet to come, music, and art in general, is controlled and manipulated in such a way that the controllers and manipulators are making large sums of money and the artists often very little or significantly less. The music is filtered through the minds of money makers and the art is watered down to such a degree that it sounds like a bank lobby painting looks!

    The music business needs to be revolutionized or completely dismantled once and for all. It is a monster that devours the integrity of artists and the integrity of the art that they are making.

    Of course this is not true of every case. What I am refering to mainly are the major labels and most of the independents. There are plenty of amazing artists out there making amazing revolutionary and transformational art on labels who are fully supportive of their creative endeavors. However, to find them, a bit of digging must be endured.

    This, to me, is the beauty of the internet and other technological advances of today and yet to come! We can now be in control of the whole creative process by being the artist and our very own record label! We can get our music out there, in its purest, most unfiltered form, without having to go through the corporate machinary.

    In short, the artist is now in a position to reclaim her artist integrity by exalting her imagination and getting back on the path of honest creative communication that comes from a place very few allow themselves to have access to…their selves!

18. ajplady on December 1st, 2008 3:49 pm

    SORRY TO INTERJECT::

    Marlowe Grey is in fact the ewok hidden in the “Heart Of Darkness,” written by Joseph Conrad… although I cannot not say that Christopher Marlowe was not an influence as well. My lovely ex’s last name was Gray and she always hated the idea that they would be closely tied while in fact they have nothing to do with one another.

    The “Spain Album” (as yet untitled) will be… something… most honest record… purity… sanctuary… let’s finish this one first.

    ajp

19. matryoshka23 on December 2nd, 2008 11:45 am

    Apology not accepted.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.