MARKED MEN
by veronica
Men-making-their-mark-in-music.
www.myspace.com/themarkedmen themarkedmen.com
I saw so clearly before. So what got in the way? I couldn't understand why the hell everyone was holding out on me about this, the Marked Men. I can't get these thoughts out of my head. They've found a way to make a black turn gray by combining a little bit of The Reds (r.i.p.) and a little bit of High Tension Wires, to come together and create something so familiar, but something that hasn't been done before. At least not in what is put out on the shelves these days.
So, don't mess with Texas. Seems lately it is the reason. It is the place these Marked Men call home. Easily considered a best kept secret, their records shouldn't be kept from anyone's ears. If you seriously don't appreciate this band, I give up. More importantly, you should kill yourself. Just give it a little bit of time, cause you know that you can never live before you die.
Joe is responsible for making my day and taking the time to do this interview. Soon, he will be responsible for putting you in touch with the best shit you stupid scene kids have ever heard. Wait - that's not very hard. Okay, he's basically going to let you all fucking have it once you hear them. If you feel unscathed, you probably suck and so does your taste in music. Most likely your hair, your style, and your mom does, too. Mark pops in to give his two cents, as well.
Here ya go, idiots.
V: ."...and then, the Marked Men were born. But how? And why?"
J: The band came together in the year 2000, after The Reds disbanded. Chris needed change and meaning in his life and moved to Japan to teach English. He never stopped writing music and he is the main reason why the world has the High Tension Wires. The Marked Men started out as a three piece with Mark, Jeff, and Mike (the remaining Reds). I think their first show was in Austin, around mid June 2001. At the time, Mark was playing bass. In May 2002, they asked me to play bass. That was honestly one of the best moments of my life. My first show with the band was at a house. July 26 2002.
V: Weird. One of the best moments of my life was when I heard your band....
J: I thank my lucky stars I am in a band that has not put out any crap! Just pick a song I dare ya! If you don't like it, fine, if you love it, awesome! I really do love all of our stuff, but I would probably put on "On the Outside," our second record to make a good first impression.
V: I say toe-may-toe, he says toe-mah-toe. What about The Marked Me, what do you say?
J: To my parents and relatives I stick with Rock n Roll. To others, I just say punk, or Rock n Roll. I know so many people hate that question because they don't want to be lumped in with whatever awful band is associated with a certain genre. As long as no one ever says we sound kind of like Nickel Back, or Fallout Boy, I think Rock n Roll or punk is a fine way to describe us. Of course, if someone just actually listens to the music they can draw their own conclusions.
V: Wait, people listen to music?
V: Well, it's me and you, kid. Now's your chance to talk all the shit you want about those total dorks in your band.
J: Mike... you really cannot find a better drummer, I mean there could never be someone to fill those shoes. Touring with Mike is great because he knows a lot of stuff. He is kind of like a sponge, he just absorbs information. I can continuously ask him questions of absolutely no importance and he usually will have an answer. Most of the time, I am just asking because I want to know if he has an answer for me. Now Jeff. One night, Jeff had out the guitar and I asked him if he knew White Lion's "When the Children Cry." He played it and then there was 3 more hours of me asking him to play numerous other power ballads. I never stumped him. Yeah, he is a bad ass. He also plays along with my game of trying to get horrible songs stuck in everyone's skull. That game can last for days. Sometimes, I think Mark is misunderstood. When I first met the guy, I was little intimidated by him. Now, he is one of my best friends. Life is funny like that. In Europe, Mark was the guy people wanted to get real drunk. Good job Europeans! Mark brings a lot of the structure to the band. He does the artwork, writes songs, he helps with shows, etc.
Mark: I asked Joe what he wanted me to say about him for this part of the interview and he said, "I don't know, man, whatever, you know, just make me look cool." Okay, fair enough. I would say that Joe is the heart of the Marked Men. He is the glue. He is the public face. To know Joe is to love Joe. Cliché? Maybe, but it's absolutely true.
On tour, when staying in San Pedro, at Sean's house from Toys That Kill, I woke up in the morning to take a piss outside. As I was unzipping my pants I noticed Joe passed out on the sidewalk. With a pounding hangover headache, I pissed on the ground and smiled to myself, feeling a sort of warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart. After pissing, I woke him up and he said, "Oh, God." I found him a nice spot on the floor inside the house and tucked him in. It's really the little things, ya know?
V: I wish I could find your lyrics, man. =D So, you said Mark writes the songs... Does he primarily write the lyrics? And also the music?
J: Mark writes Mark's songs, Jeff writes Jeff's songs
V: How hard is it for you to write songs?
J: I think these days with busy schedules, it is harder to practice the songs than to write songs. I think Jeff and Mark always have songs. They might not be totally planned out, but they are there.
V: I wish I could explain this in the technical, genius of music-way. Your sound... it seems that the lower quality the recording the better the quality of your music, or sound for you? Is that something that you take special precautions to create? I mean bands like you, or say - the Clash, well, there's just a difference in the way your records sound and the way a Foo Fighter's records sound.
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
J: Low Quality???! I will put our recording against anything out there, and we do that stuff ourselves! Jeff and Mark are the mad scientists behind our opus' and everything we have put out is GOLD in my book. The precautions we make are simple: we do it ourselves! We are control freaks as far as the band goes. You can't trust just anyone. Ask any band and they will have a story about how something got fucked up with recording, show, blah blah blah, because they had someone else do it and they were too busy to deal with it. Of our records, I like On the Outside or Fix my Brain. They both surprised me! I am in the band but I am also a fan of the band. On the Outside was so weird to listen to the first time for me, I just thought, ummmmm, okay this sounds like multiple records rolled into one. Now I love it, Fix my Brain was the same way. I give the guys 5 kudos.
V: K. Think that answer's my question!
V: Who are some of your modern influences? Influences from the past?
J: For me, Toys that Kill, This is my Fist, Kiss, Love, Bananas The Soviettes (R.I.P), Birthday Suits, the list goes on.
V: When are you ever going to tour so that I can see you?
J: Our drummer, Mike, became a father recently, we have kind of chilled out for a little while - but we are slowly getting the ball rolling again with some local shows and some shows nearby, in Austin. Outside of Texas, I do not know yet, but hopefully we will do LA and San Diego very soon, Midwest A.S.A.P.
V: If you could put fit together any show including the Marked Men, who and where would it be?
J: Well, let me tell you a little story! A couple of years ago we played in Anaheim with Toys that Kill, the Fleshies, and the Soviettes. It was Amazing!!!! So add: This Is My Fist!, Vena Cava, Sultans, Birthday Suits, River City Tanlines, Tokyo Electron, Shark Pants, Swing Ding Amigos, and Tilt Wheel - put it in the XCW arena (awesome wrestling) and you will have the best show ever and it would be the most rad sleepover lock in ever imagined.
V: What are you thankful for in contribution to making your music?
J: Pizza, Mexican food, Thai food.
V: What do you honestly think of your own band? I mean, you guys are pretty much IT, just... Have it. At least in my opinion. Honestly... go ahead and say it.
J: I love this band, and I think we are awesome! Everything I have done the last few years has been with the band in mind. It seems like it pays off, but I do wish we could tour more than the little we do. This summer was the best, because we were out for a long time, and that had been what I wanted to do since I was 16.
V: What's next in for the Marked Men?
J: 7"s, a new record, something!
Veronica Springer's Final Thought: Apparently, my interviews are flawed because I treat/write about every band I interview as if they were the best band ever. Or so I've been told. It's true. I mean, I do feel that a couple of the bands I've back like so in fact are close to that, but it's true. I totally do that. I guess maybe it's because I appreciate their time. How am I gonna interview a band and then rip them a new asshole in the prompt once it goes up? I guess just as easily as every other good music journalist does. Perhaps one day, I can feel okay about that. At any rate, I decided to post this disclaimer to let you know that this really is the best band you've never heard of. Frrrreals. I have waited long on this. I was really very excited to be able to interview one of my favorite bands today. So good! So good, it's kind of unfair to other bands. Please, please, and one more time - please go listen. They are kick ass! That is all. Special thanks to this band: for helping me through music, and for being a part of our site. And thank you to the people who actually go hear me out.
