Do people still listen to good old-fashioned pop music? I'm not so sure. The
pop-rock and power-pop scenes have receded so much under a deluge of hard rock,
pop-punk, and metal that it's hard to see their moptop haircuts and
bell-bottomed trousers. And pop-rock wasn't popular enough in its heyday, with
the likes of Marshall Crenshaw and Elvis Costello, to find a place on classic
rock radio these days.
So what am I getting at? Well, I want to talk about the Marlowes. The band is
one of the best in the area, but they play the kind of music that has fallen
off the radar. What to do? Well, if you're John Larson, the band's main
creative source, you bring your music to your fans. Over the years, he has
found a very active pop/power-pop underground and he's mined it ever since.
"I guess, we're in this underground power-pop scene," he says, mentioning he's
not totally crazy about the term "power-pop," but he'll take what he can get.
"It's not exactly a big seller these days, but there's a big underground market
in it. There are a lot of labels, mail order places, radio shows that
specialize in it and we've become a favorite band in a lot of places through
that network." Larson says the band has fans in places as far flung as Japan,
Brazil, and Spain, where their last album was voted Best Indie Album of the
Year by a Madrid radio station. "When we go to some of these places we can live
like a rock star for a few days!" he laughs.
Of course, after being in the rock biz for a while, and holding the Marlowes
together through some tough times since 1994, Larson doesn't exactly maintain
the pipe dreams of rock stardom he may have once had. But a listen or two to
his new album demonstrates he hasn't diminished his expectations of making damn
fine pop music. Sugarbursts & Thunderbolts, the band's fourth
full-length disc which was just released on Tuesday, is a platterful of
glorious, no-frills melodic pop.
"We're really happy with it," says Larson. "It's the first work with our new
guitarist Dave Richardson and it has a really nice feel to it. Dave brings a
new and different sound to the band -- not a huge departure, just a little more
blues-based."
Sugarbursts & Thunderbolts is certainly remarkable roots-inflected
power-pop. Songs like the terrific opener "Because of a Girl," the ripping,
Cheap Trick upstrokes of "Brighton Rock Candy Summer," the Monkees-ish guitar
line of "Clown College Reunion," and the Eric Carmen-inspired ballad that
closes the album, "A New Kind of Weather," all make for a complete and
satisfying listen. Through it all there are lots of ups, downs, ebbing,
flowing, and great, danceable vibes.
In creating those vibes, Larson and Richardson are joined by bassist Keith
Larson and drummer John DiGiulio. The band is tight, talented, and of a single
mind. "I write the skeleton and the chord changes," explains Larson, "but I
never dictate how the song needs to sound. I bring in the germ and they take it
from there. Sometimes it goes in a direction I never envisioned. It's always
weird for me to take credit as the sole songwriter. The lyrics are mine and
some of the hooks, but the songs are the band's. We create them together."
There was a time when the band wasn't so sure about its future. Together they
had hit a valley and they weren't so sure anyone truly cared about what they
were doing. But one day during that blue period, out of nowhere, the band got a
phone call. A rep from the International Pop Overthrow Festival in Los Angeles
wanted them to play. All of a sudden the gray skies cleared and the band found
motivation. "It gave us a shot of confidence when we really needed it. We
played a big theater and took the stage alongside lots of other really great
bands, like Velvet Crush. We were in good company and it really changed our
mindset."
Since then, the Marlowes have set about exploring that aforementioned
underground motherlode of power-pop fans across the globe, to good success.
They've also focused on mini-tours up and down the Eastern Seaboard, where
they've managed to build up a good network of contacts as well as healthy
followings.
Sugarbursts & Thunderbolts will be another notch in the Marlowes'
belt, certainly, with good distribution through Red Eye. It'll help to expand
the band's already growing reputation and perhaps even sell a few copies.
"We're at the stage now where we know what the deal is," Larson admits. "We've
been doing it long enough to know that personal satisfaction is important and
so is keeping our name out there. We really hope people still care about us,
and we're going to make sure they do, one fan at a time. I'm not in it to get
signed by a major. We're realistic. If we sell a few thousand, that's a gold
record in my mind. To me, that many people hearing us is great."
The Marlowes will be celebrating the release of Sugarbursts &
Thunderbolts at the Blackstone in Cumberland on Saturday.
WANDERING EYE. Glad to hear the new Fantastics EP is out at last.
Check on 'em at thefantastics.net. Sad to hear about V for Vendetta
having to cancel part of their tour due to Michelle's injury. Here's hoping for
a quick heal.
The Becky Chace Band will be giving away 1000 CD samplers at "Gears,
Games and Gadgets: Toys for Big Boys" at the Tweeter Center on Saturday
beginning at 1 p.m. The disc contains "Drive" and "Vital" from the new EP,
Entertaining Road Hazards. They'll autograph 'em after the show, which
is free and runs all day.
Also on Saturday night at the Met Café, there's the long-anticipated
Violent Anal Death (only half-joking). It's their first show in five
years and it happens with the Shakes (with Brian from Gingo), the Clap (from
NY), and Nouveaux Riches in support.
Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland will celebrate its two-year anniversary
with an evening of Celtic music and dance featuring Pendragon, with Skip
Healy and step dancers Kevin Doyle and Kieran Jordan on Saturday at 8 p.m.
Admission is $12. For reservations call 725-9272.
The Fall River Festival of the Arts on Sunday promises to be an
exciting day for visual and performing arts and local cuisine. From 11 a.m. to
6:30 p.m. in downtown Fall River, jazz folks can see and hear a wide variety of
jazz recording artists from the Whaling City Sound label's roster, including
Marcelle Gauvin, the Psychic Horns (Dan Moretti and John Allmark), the Whaling
City Superband, and Jerry Bergonzi.
Reach me at big.daddy1@cox.net.
Issue Date: September 20 - 26, 2002
