Mary’s Garage Band - Art Rock and Cafe Punk
Mary’s Garage Band
They’re baaaaaaaack! Mary’s Garage Band has completed their second demo album at our studio. And of course, Jon Bruschke brought his Roland Juno 60 keyboard in again to torment us.
In 20 words or less, Mary’s Garage Band can be described as: “Two 30-something PhDs playing classic rock with three 20-something hotties who would rather play punk
Here’s info from their website :
Mary’s Garage Band: An Interactive, Interdisciplinary, Internet Musical Experience. An adventure in MP3. A live show illegal in 23 states.
The GENERAL IDEA
Kenneth Burke was a scholar of social behavior earlier this century. Unlike James Dean, Otis Redding, and Vincent Van Gogh, he wasn’t discovered after his death. He was discovered too late in his lifetime to really enjoy the sex, drugs, and rock and roll part of fame. Even without the fame part he enjoyed the sex and drugs, as he was a notorious drinker and he fathered several illegitimate children and subsequent illegitimate grandchildren. Ironically enough, one of the illegitimate grandchildren was Harry Chapin, who added the missing rock and roll.
At any rate, he is credited with the idea of “mystery” – the idea that because of some innate feature of human social behavior the concealed is compelling and attractive. Thus, the theory goes, when nobody knows what the lyrics of “Louie, Louie” really are, they become mysterious.
The human imagination then runs wild and starts to believe that there are deep, profound, abstruse messages hidden in the lyrics. Or when we hear that there may be strange, backmasked messages on “Hotel California,” there is an overpowering urge to find out what the message might be. It becomes fascinating because the mysterious might be connected to strange, powerful truths or, better yet, invisible forces of good or evil that are accessible only to a few. All of which is to say that rock and roll marketers have figured out Kenneth Burke’s idea pretty damn well and are exceptionally good at marketing it.
Marys’ Garage Band is a complete rejection of the concept of “mystery.” Behind every song is a story.
The idea behind Mary’s Garage Band is that there is plenty of stuff in music when it is played forward to make it interesting. Hearing the insights of the musicians who make the music can create a dialogue that is every bit as fascinating as the bizarre forces we might imagine to exist when, say, we ponder what the symbol that now represents the Artist Formerly Known As Prince is supposed to mean. This page is designed as a vehicle to allow us to distribute and talk about our music, for our tens upon tens of fans to interact with the music. The meaning of a song resides in the interaction between the author and the audience, and we hope you’ll join us in creating that meaning.
THE PLAYERS
Mary’s Garage BandIn 20 words or less, Mary’s Garage Band can be described as: “Two 30-something PhDs playing classic rock with three 20-something hotties who would rather play punk.” The aged include Dr. Bill Loges (PhD, 1991, USC) and Dr. Jon Bruschke (PhD, University of Utah, 1994).
The fact that we are over-educated is relevant in three regards. First, our extensive exposure to social theory allows us to drop random facts about guys like Kenneth Burke. Second, as professors we have keys to the tech. production rooms and can record lots of stuff for free. Third, (and least importantly) our readings of advanced ideas sometimes creep into our music.
We have also noticed that a certain amount of sex appeal aids in the rapid rise to fame, and that live performances with drum machines lack chutzpah. We thought we’d spend more time exposing bare skin on the stage, but the top of Bill’s head was not producing the desired effect. We went with youth who met the following criteria: They would work for free, they happened to know us, they would not run up a bar tab larger than the amount we were getting paid, and they could play their instruments. The hotties are William Cameron Ward (Giles Scholarship recipient), Casey Arbenz (M.A. candidate), and Danimal Kruse (CFI, CFII, MEI, BA in business).
Bill LogesBill Loges - Vocals, Guitar
Cameron Ward - Guitar
Casey Arbenz - Bass
Daniel Kruse - Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Jon Bruschke - Vocals, Keyboard
This group is the most difficult to categorize that we’ve ever recorded. Take a couple college professors, add in some intellectual young adults, add in punk and 60’s beatnik rock and that’s Mary’s Garage Band!
The vocals aren’t always in tune, but it doesn’t matter. The lyrics are intellectual but about everyday things, no big political protests here; just great grooves and music. Songs about not wanting an intimate dinner at a restaurant to end, and love songs that howl at the moon at lightning speed.
This music is definately for an coffee shop crowd, or could be used in a movie. It was difficult at times to NOT see their music in the movie score of some modern cult film. We hope they record with us in the future because they were also a lot of fun to work with!
