Howdy everyone! Hope you’re all doing well.
It’s been a few months since I’ve done a journal for this website, hasn’t it? Well, there’s been a few major developments in the Marc With a C world recently. Let’’s list ‘em off:
a): As many of you already know, Ryan Price is no longer the stage drummer for Marc With a C. It’s a completely amicable split, though. He’s a very, very busy man that is working on a billion things at once. Plus, longtime Marc With a C bandmate/webmaster Chris Zabriskie was able to officially rejoin the group, so it seemed like the right way to go. Chris has been drumming at the last few shows, and we’ve been diggin up a ton of songs that haven’t been performed onstage in a looong time.
b): Chris and I are now also in a totally seperate band called “lo-fi is sci-fi”. While it’s an extension of the solo work Chris has done for years, it’s definitely a fully functioning *band*. We’ve recently finished a new album called “We Were Wrong”, and you can stream the entire thing at www.virb.com/lofiisscifi because we want you to hear it. I’m exceedingly proud of what we’re doing, and I hope that you guys will like it too.
c): Don’t worry, folks. I’ve still got plenty of time for Marc With a C stuff! As a matter of fact, I’ve already finished my fifth full-length record. It’s called “Normal Bias”, and I’m absolutely positive that it’s the best record I have ever made. As a matter of fact, it’s so all-encompassing that I actually haven’t got a single clue where to go from here. That’s a pretty major thing for me, considering I write songs as often as most people take showers. I’ve let a few people hear it, and everyone seems pretty jazzed about the record. Right now, we’re shooting for a September-ish release. And in case you’re curious, here’s the tracklist:
1. Song Song
2. Already Dead
3. Dear Son
4. A Tale To Tell
5. The Earth Didn’t Move (You’re Just Hung Over)
6. Ex-Neanderthal
7. Drunk Classic Rock Fans
8. Town In Flames
9. How It’s Been
10. Happy To Be Alive
d): On June 5th, 2007 I released a compilation called “What The Hell Is Wrong With Marc With a C?”. Since almost all of my first four albums had sold out, it made more sense to just press a compilation of crowd favorites. You know, just to start making some type of semblance of sense over what I’ve put out in the last five years. The tracklist was decided by a popular vote. The voters were made up of close friends and big fans, and I have to say that they did a pretty bang-up job picking out the twenty songs that represent my act best. You can now order the compilation from this very website for the low price of $9.99!
Since there’s a minimal amount of liner notes, I thought I’d take this opportunity to write up a little blurb about each song contained on the disc. C’mon, it’ll be fun! Let’s do this…:
01. “The Problem Is Me” – I had a slight nervous breakdown in 2004 shortly after “Bubblegum Romance” was released. This song sums up how I felt at the time, having been written in the thick of me losing my mind. This is a different recording than the version that closes the “Life’s So Hard” album. This is the slower version that I open the shows with occasionally. I like playing it both ways live, but on record? Yeah, this slow version is for me. Ryan Price did an amazing job on the drums here. Restraint, baby.
02. “No London In Brazil” – Years ago, I went on a few dates with a woman that was unquestionably out of her mind. Of course, I didn’t know this at first. She was just a pretty southern belle that was receptive to my advances, right? Ahh, if only. Girl showed up at my house once with a backpack full of 7-11 coffee creamer packets that she drank through the afternoon like shots of whiskey. After I made it clear that I wasn’t interested, she’d later just show up at random times and invite herself in. Like… while I was asleep. God knows what happened to that poor girl. Her insanity ran much deeper than her fetish for Coffeemate products, but I’m not sure if I’m terribly comfortable spelling them all out for you. The song touches on all the major points, and I don’t slather the words in any sort of embellishment. She really was bat shit crazy, and I just wanted her to leave me alone.
03. “Nerdy Girls” – I honestly had no idea that this song would become such a popular thing. Many people have assumed that “Nerdy Girls” was written about a specific person, and they are half right. Actually, it was written about a Cecil Seaskull, leader of the 90’s twee band called… Nerdy Girl. It was just a matter of me having a crush on the characters in her songs, but I’m not terribly sure that those tunes are all that personal for her. It’s a nice song, and I’m glad so many people like it.
04. “Stuck With Me” – Again, this tune isn’t about anyone specifically. I just wanted to write a song that sounded like it could have been the theme to all of those nineties-alternateen-coming-of-age-romantic-comedy-drama, you know? Since I like those songs more than I’m willing to admit, I wanted a song like that to call my very own. This is one of my very favorite songs to play live. I never ever get sick of it, and I’m glad that the crowds seem to enjoy it as well!
05. “Freezing In Florida” – I almost threw this song away, you know. I didn’t think anyone could possibly enjoy a tune that I wrote in the style of Hank Williams, no matter how close to my heart it might have been at the time. I just figured that crowds wouldn’t be into it. My friend Jessica Commins-Frick practically threatened me with bodily harm if I chucked this tune, and we used to do it as a duet together in the early days. That gal was onto something, as a couple got married in Chicago to the song. As I mentioned before… awards seem kinda meaning less after that type of honor, you know?
06. “Til You Come Home To Me” – This is a cute song I wrote for my soon-to-be-wife Nicole. I wrote it, quickly recorded it and shipped it off to her at work to let her know how excited I was for her to come home that day. The only recording that exists of this song is the same low-bitrate MP3 I sent to Nicole on that fateful day, so that should account for any lossy sound you’re picking up in your headphones. Love, love, love this song. And I still mean it, too.
07. “Laura, I Need Medicine” – A very different recording than the original slower, turgid one on the “Human Slushy / The Early Stuff” releases. This one was recorded in my living room with Ryan Price on drums, and it sounds alot more like it does in a live setting. Plus this one has a sweet little freestyle rap in the middle! As sick as I can get of the constant barrage of requests for this song, I often forget that it’s really just a fun pop song at the core. When I’m reminded of that fact… I don’t mind playing the song at all.
08. “Broken Record Player” – They don’t get much more direct than this. It’s all true, my record player had broken and I was devastated. I saw a car crash in front of my house right after it broke, and I didn’t care at all… I wanted to play my records. Quite possibly the saddest song I’ve ever written. Chris really likes the guitar solo on this song.
09. “RetroLowFi” – Ahh, yeah. A joyous little doo-wop song about how much I like listening to and shopping for vinyl records. This was written after Chris and I spent an entire day in a junk store just pouring through these artifacts. We came out dusty, sweaty, but most of all victorious. I got the first four Ramones LP’s for a dollar, while he got Men At Work’s “Business As Usual” and the soundtrack to The Goonies. Seriously, if you ever want to make me a happy guy, just toss me in the car and take me to a thrift store with a pile of used records. Five dollars can undoubtedly by Marc happiness in that situation, at least.
10. “Every Single Friend” – I had a very close friend for years. He was my best friend, and said he thought of me as his brother. He dropped me like a stinky rock with no warning or reason, and it still breaks my heart every time I think about it. I wrote this song from his perspective, realizing that when he lists off the things he thinks are cool about himself… well, those are the very things that I should’ve dropped his friendship over long ago. I’d still talk to him if he’d call, though. I hear he got married to a British girl and disappeared off the face of the earth. I have to assume that one day he’ll want to talk to me after he figures out that this song is about him. If that’s what it takes to open the lines of communication back up, I’m willing to pay that price.
11. “I Need A Hug” – Yay! My favorite song from “Bubblegum Romance”. I was really strung out when I wrote this. So strung out that I quit drinking and doing drugs for a full two years afterwards. I don’t really get reminded of all that nonsense when i sing it now… I just think it’s really pretty and especially fun to play with Chris on drums.
12. “Life’s So Hard” – Just a song where I take the piss out of overzealous kids on MySpace/LiveJournal. It’s pretty tongue-in-cheek, though… I probably couldn’t describe it very accurately if I weren’t kinda one of them in a lot of ways. I whine in blogs, I constantly check my email, etc. It’s only those certain kids, though… the ones that would rather write an email than actually talk to their friends. The ones that can’t give a compliment without typing it in the “picture comment” field. MySpace itself isn’t bad, really. I actually think that “Friends only” LiveJournals are much more destructive, and if you’re around sometime… I’ll explain it to you.
13. “She Loves The B-Sides” – From an early EP that made a family member sick to their stomach. She even stopped talking to me for awhile because I titled it “Hey Rape Girl”. She’s since come around, but she doesn’t like the record much. I still really enjoy most of this disjointed little thing, especially this song and “Chasing The Bug”. This one is about Kate Hudson’s Penny Lane character in the directors cut of “Almost Famous”. It’s not about anything that ever happened to me, nor is it about anyone I’ve ever met.
14. “Why Don’t Girls Like Me?” – This one was a pretty darn popular single for me for awhile. I’ve grown out of it quite a bit, being in a committed relationship and all, but I still think it’s a fun pop song to listen to. It’s a true story, too. I asked a gal-pal of mine once the worst question in the word: “why don’t girls like me”? She talked me ear off for about thirty minutes on all of the reasons I was tragically unboyfriendable, and voila! A pop song was born!
15. “Bounce Bounce Bounce” – Another enduringly popular tune of mine. My daughter Juliana is seven years old now, so many of these things no longer apply, but I’m really glad I wrote this. You know, she’ll be able to hear how much joy I received by simply watching her jump on the bed and playing with her toys. She’s one of a kind, and she’s without a doubt the smartest, prettiest and bestest person in the whole wide world.
16. “A Very Special Episode” – Another rerecording of an older tune. The original version of “Episode” was chock full of annoying drum machines, a moog that didn’t quite fit, an out-of-tune guitar… all recorded in a key that I couldn’t possibly sing in. This new version is how it’s always been done live, as well as how it was intended to sound in the first place. I’m happy that it’ll finally get the airing it deserves. It’s a good, well-behaved song. Doesn’t pee on the couch, doesn’t chew up my homework, etc.
17. “Bite Size Help” – Written around the same time as “The Problem Is Me”, and it’s certainly about the same topics, this has been one of my personal favorites for years. Audiences only really started taking to it about a year ago, but I was really happy when they did. Call me self-absorbed if you will, but the “giving a whale a tic-tac” line is one of my favorite silly little lyrics I’ve ever made up.
18. “If I Had A Dealer” – The original release of this song came from an online-only EP of unfinished demos. I always liked the song, but something didn’t feel totally right. Then Ryan Price got ahold of it and helped out a bit with the arrangement, and next thing you know, it had the actual ability to destroy entire city blocks. We’ve had to move sixteen times since the song was written, now. In all seriousness, I was trying to replicate the lazy New York swagger of the best Modern Lovers songs. I’m not sure if I was terribly successful in that aspect, but I think this is a really good song. I’m quite proud of this ‘un.
19. “I’m In Love With Everyone I Know” – One of the most often asked questions I get after a show is as follows: “Did all that stuff really happen to you”? They’re usually talking about this song, which includes a verse about my mom getting beaten up at a monster truck rally. Yes, it happened. Everything in the song is true. Well, technically I guess I’m not a pterodactyl, but I had a dream that I was once.
20. “We’re All Gonna Die” – Not as volatile of a song as you’d think, really. I mean it in a positive way. We’re all gonna die, so let’s get rid of some of our pesky inhibitions and hang-ups, you know? I’m still working on being better about it. Heck, I still don’t even really dance in public. This track had the distinct honor of opening at least two-thirds of every Marc With a C show in 2006, so it’s a good one to close out the compilation with.
And that pretty much should catch you up with everything going on with Marc With a C at the moment. There are shows galore coming up… all of which are conveniently listed on the shows page. Hope to see you at an upcoming event. We’ll also be posting a podcast soon with tons more info on the compilation. It’ll be worth your while, I promise.
Until next time…
Love on ya,
Marc
