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Siren’s Mutagen: "In preparation for an all-night vigil at the side of a cursed man, or before a battle which is certain to be prolonged.” +15% increase in mental acuity. Side Effect: Altered sleep patterns, mild diuretic could lead to dehydration loss of vitamins B and C as well as calcium, iron and zinc.

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Edmar Castaneda Trio Playing @ Northsea Jazz Festival 2016 Marshall Gilkes-Trombone, David Silliman-Drums Special Guest Jason Lindner

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The Week(s) of Unconventional Quadrilateral Boundaries Part 4

The festival was finally coming to a close and I cannot recall how many times over the week I heard “Augusta Read Thomas will be here in X amount of days!” Today was the day that I had the opportunity to come face to face with one of the greatest living composers in music. I must say it was a surreal experience that started like any Friday of the semester I went to class, got coffee, and practiced aural skills. At approximately 9:45 a.m. I closed my tech slate to be punctual for the seminar which was located in the choir rehearsal room. A sat next to a few of my colleagues who would not squander the opportunity to hear from such an incredible talent. In addition to my colleagues some of my teachers had also filed into the room to listen to this compositional titan. The remaining time dissipated as ART entered the room to give her seminar and was introduced by Dr. Walczak. The introduction concluded and ART took the floor to showcase her unique signature as a musical auteur.

           She opened her seminar with a picture of a four-bar phrase in one of her compositions and carefully broke down how she selected her notes and her vision as to exactly what she envisioned. Next, she showed a recording being played by a remarkable group of instrumentalists and one of the had slightly misinterpreted what she had written. She immediately pointed out the tiniest error of the recording and said “it should be like X.” I sat back in my seat for a moment and thought “ignorance is bliss and I should have opted out of coming to this seminar because I am going to mess things up in Magnetic Fireflies with the added pressure of her knowing every little last detail.” The thought slowly faded from my mind and I continued listening to her composition lecture.

Thomas described her unique compositional signature with a few noteworthy words consisting of circuit, integrated, nuanced, and vibrant. With that in mind I started to get a glimpse into the exclusive signature of ART. She showed a picture of a frozen lake and used the example of water and the states of matter She looks for a molecular bond in her compositions which makes them cohesive and adds to the uniqueness of her compositions too.

           A round of applause echoed through the choir rehearsal room halls as she finished her seminar. At this point I think my brain started hurting and I thought that I had just gotten a composition lecture from a computer run simulation. During this semester I have noticed an interesting vein that has been pricked on multiple occasions. It seems that great artists seem to find themselves at a unique crossroads of art and science.  In ART’s case when she was explaining the picture of water aesthetically it looked pleasing and could offer a source of inspiration perspiration, but she was also able to abstract a particular state of matter to keep a composition consistent. After the seminar I walked through the halls relishing that I had just gotten a lecture from a musical genius.

            I was sitting in my chair on edge later that day in wind ensemble looking down the double barrel of Dr. Morehouse and ART for the Magnetic Fireflies run through before the performance tomorrow evening for the conclusion of the festival. The baton was raised and the downbeat was given it was time to share what our ensemble had been working on. Honestly, this was not the best that I had played through this piece. I know that I botched the rhythm of the small solo that I had to play. In the last few bars, I have a few whole notes followed by an 8th note B-flat and then a high G for the next few counts and then the pattern repeats itself. This particular first trombone part will come into play again in a few sentences. The composition concluded with a swift shimmer and the sound dissipated to the peripherals of the rehearsal room. The swift shimmer dust of the fireflies settled as our run through concluded for ART.

           Honestly, I think she was genuinely impressed with our run through. She complimented many of the ensemble players. Aside from two spots I thought I had a solid play through. ART complimented my sound, but during the last few bars she need more of a contrast in the part I was explaining earlier. It was discussed that I need to be subtler with the first entrance and then explode during the second-high G to really bring the character that she wanted in her composition. When the time came to touch on this spot I did exactly what was asked. I concluded playing the remaining notes and from the back of the rehearsal hall I received a thumbs up and I could see her mouth the word perfect. I sat in my chair with an expressionless face and continued as if nothing even happened. ART wrote and exceedingly nice compliment on the Magnetic Fireflies score which seems to be a magnet for attracting ART comments … go figure… the comments we had received were some of the same noteworthy words that she used to describe her compositions from her seminar.

           Additionally, the ensemble was also showcasing Dr. Kathleen Ginther’s The River Merchant’s Wife an Asiatic composition that tells the story of a wedded couple who long for one another’s company. The composition paints an exotic landscape of flowing waters and mischievous monkeys, but ultimately tells the story of this woman’s love for her husband. We were joined by an alum of SIU, Emily Fons, mezzo-soprano who had the privilege of singing the solo from the perspective of the wife longing for her significant other.

           There is a certain amount of awareness that is needed in order to play this piece because most of the parts are exposed, so it is imperative to count and play your part. I believe that our section tends to play too timidly, including, myself. However, after a few sharply critical captain comment cuts things seemed to ironed out. The rehearsal concluded and all that was left of the festival was the dress rehearsal and concert tomorrow evening.

           The dress rehearsal was an afternoon affair that concluded in catering from Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches Our dress rehearsal went fairly well it was the second-best performance of Magnetic Fireflies and some of the troubled spots of River Merchant’s Wife had been addressed. There were a few transitional problems that had occurred between the winds and choir. For instance, during one of the movements there is an exposed 5/4 bar that usually caused our section a bit of a hiccup… because counting…  Additionally, there was a syncopated rhythm that usually ended poorly too… because more counting. Hopefully these mistakes would not happen during the performance….

           After the freaky fast feeding frenzy the conclusion to the 2018 Outside the Box was about to begin. Once again Dr. Walczak led the opening remarks of the concert and was given a gargantuan round of applause for organizing Outside the Box 2018. I remember that this particular concert felt surreal especially playing Magnetic Fireflies. Overall, the performance went well, but it was the third best we had played the composition. Personally, I navigated the small solo rhythm correctly and thought that it was the best I had played the composition.

           Unfortunately, River Merchant’s Wife did not go as well as the dress rehearsal as there was some derailment during one of the movements. I believe that I was too focused on playing the piece to realize any type of derailment. Although there were some sub-par moments in River Merchant’s Wife, Dr. Ginther was still floored that we had played her composition for Outside the Box. The festival concluded and the surreal feeling of the concert faded into the abyss as I came to grasp with a grounded sense of reality.

           I am extremely fortunate to have had this experience and to see so many great contemporary composers and teachers perform their compositions during the week(s) of unconventional quadrilateral boundaries. Now that the insanity of the week(s) has subsided things can finally get back to normal, or so I thought… because the meeting with the sorceress was fast approaching…  

FIN

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The Week(s) of Unconventional Quadrilateral Boundaries Part 3

          The boisterous echoes funneled through the hallways of Altgeld. I retreated to the solidarity of the second-floor bench after my class had concluded. The sounds of electro-acoustic compositions had permeated my colleagues’ brains like an infectious parasite. With little resistance I decided to subject myself to the parasite that had laid earworms into my classmate’s heads. I discovered a doctoral thesis written about electro-acoustics and trombone and was content with delving into something I did not know much about.  

           In my research I discovered both “Mission Red” which sounds like a progenitor of the modern electronic music we have nowadays. However, “Mission Red” was performed by none other than Mike Davis. “Mission Red” has some challenging passages and personally reminds me of Weather Report. I believe that sometime in the near future I would like to start looking at this composition.   However, in addition to being exposed to “Mission Red” I was also exposed to a composition called “The Smell of Wet Dogs After a Summertime Rain.” I too am also fond of this composition and the groove section in the middle sounds nearly identical to Nine Inch Nails “Closer.” After listening to “The Smell of Wet Dogs After a Summertime Rain,” I decide to listen to an instrumental version of “Closer” and with the tight schedule I was on I decided to start my ear-training for the day and serendipitously started going through my ear training regimen with music in the background. Thus, introducing a new avenue of strangeness and adding a new challenge into my routine.

           Monday evening featured the improvisation unit The George Sam’s Experience and at that particular juncture felt par for the course. Once again, the compositions performed were improvised by the ensemble. Honestly, I thought having the ability to complete creative control was interesting they could their compositions anywhere. I thought some of the spontaneous music created sounded similar to film music. I though George Sam’s utilization of the trumpet was interesting often times he articulated a note and then pulled the horn away from his mouth to create a strange kiss like noise.

           What I found truly admirable was this ensembles ability to share the stage with other performers. Throughout the performance they brought Dr. Mandat on stage to improvise with the group and then brought the improv unit to also join them in creating something impromptu. I could tell that my opinion on The George Sam’s Experience was somewhat different than my colleagues who had a hard time rationalizing the idea that this group was creating music. I like that the festival had a spectrum of creative control anything completely improvised and ephemeral to creative compositions with a bit more structure, but just as eccentric.

           Tuesday’s concert was the emerging composers of the school of music. I had the opportunity to play for the brass fanfare, but due to the layering of the instruments I had difficulty with the opening rhythmic ostinatos. However, the rest of the piece went well despite having difficulty with the opening and finding a rhythmic anchor. I really enjoyed listening to the other compositions of the concert which featured anything from electronically aided compositions to phunny works such as “D- F# - A -See#” in which effective pauses were used brilliantly to create a chuckler of a composition. The concert concluded just like another swift day in the middle of the desert and what was on the horizon for tomorrow evening was truly unique, arcane, and insane.

           Dr. Mandat’s recital was an unforgettable esoteric eclectic experience. I had the opportunity to hear a few of his compositions at the clarinet studio recital last semester. The recital started exactly as I expected. The opening composition started simulating the deep abyss of the cosmos. “Stargazing” featured the clarinet studio scattered across OBF emulating the sounds of a cool breeze on a warm night, looking up to the stars, and questioning if we are alone in the universe. Occasionally, certain performers were highlighted with a spotlight which I took as either moonlight and or other celestial bodies drifting in the nights sky.

           Last semester I had the opportunity to hear the next two compositions on the program, including, “Ruff’em Up” an awesome groove inspired lick fest on the bass clarinet. I really enjoy the energy behind the composition and his stage presence is just as vibrant. He seems to have the ability to phase in and out of the zone.  The next composition, “Absurdities and Incongruities” featured strings which I thought was a great addition to the program. I really enjoyed the cello part of first movement of the composition the ostinato sounded sly.  I conjured up the thoughts of a rogue skulking in the shadows and prowling through a haunted mansion in search for the most prized jewels guarded by a sinister undead necromancer. A brief intermission took place and I was excited for the next work to start.

           My colleagues had informed me that Dr. Mandat hooks himself up to a motion sensor camera and can manipulate frequencies while playing his clarinet. With that in mind I was getting read to experience this arcane sorcery firsthand. What I witnessed was truly one of the coolest musical experiences. I was blown away how artful Dr. Mandat was able to manipulate sound waves using motion capture technology. It reminded me of certain film scores that were just starting to utilize electronics in the 1950s a la Forbidden Planet. It was obvious that Dr. Mandat had spent some time learning how to manipulate certain frequencies without getting too loud. There was a finesse with how he moved which prevented the electronics from getting too loud and aggressive. Interestingly, he was not afraid about how eccentric he looked on stage he was putting himself out to the world as a master of clarinet mysticism and arcane brilliance.

           I walked away from the concert extremely content with the opportunity I had. I also feel lucky to have watched something so dang cool and to have a professor like that on campus. Once I had a few moments to digest what I had witnessed it reminded me of an area of interest that I started doing some research in 2015 called cymatics.

           Cymatics is a way to make sound visible. This is achieved by imprinting vibrations through a membrane. The patterns that are created are varied by certain tones, low frequency tones tend to make less complex pattern on the membrane while higher frequency tones create much more intricate patterns. These patterns are so interestingly complex that they express six dimensional shapes. What makes this so intriguing is that it shows the ability to discern certain patterns, not just in the migrating sound, but in the interplay of sound. It is the animating principle of vibrations, interacting with a substance. These experiments provide a physical representation of the creative and transformative potential of vibration, sound, in this case, which is readily seen, heard, and understood that is scientifically verifiable and repeatable. We can use this to recognize certain universal principles.

Might be time to see if anymore research has cropped up in the past few years about this area of interest. Nonetheless the recital was superlative and I felt fortunate to have had such a great experience. I cannot wait to see what the festival brings next… that’s right Augusta Read Thomas, or as I thought of her as ART

           The Week(s) of Unconventional Quadrilateral Boundaries will conclude in part 4

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The Week(s) of Unconventional Quadrilateral Boundaries Part 2

Following the events of Randall Hall, I awoke wondering what performances Saturday would bring. After hearing the recital last night, I knew that anything could be on table at this juncture. I went through my normal Saturday routine which consist of what I call unchained practicing. This simply means that I have the luxury of practicing all day. I planned on timing my session in order to catch the improv ensemble. I had such a wonderful time listening to the improvisation unit last semester especially with the spoken piece they spontaneously created while reading through school newspapers. When I sat down I opened the program to find text normally where the compositions are listed and found “improvisations by the ensemble.” A smile washed and I knew that I was going to be in for a great treat.

           There was no spoken work that was done for this concert, however, there was a composition that started with what appeared to be the sounds of feral animals barking at one another. I really enjoy listening to the improvisation unit because half of the battle seems to see how you can creatively make music on your instrument without playing it correctly. Personally, I would take my horn apart throw the mouth piece where the slide would normally sit and play a quasi-euphonium with an F attachment trigger. Moreover, I would throw a plunger into the mix to get some really wacky trombone sounds.

A trumpet was also present into the amalgam of performers.  I thought this added a unique voice in an ensemble that consisted mostly of woodwind instruments and pianos. I thought the two note swells that were utilized with the cacophony of sound flowing through the room reminded me of a dissonant film score. Technology was also used in this performance the synth patches added a unique ingredient in the improvisational bisque heard throughout the room.

The concert concluded and with the added improvised musical experience circulating my brain I decided to finish round out my practicing for the day before the next exciting concert of the day began. The next performer of the festival was Ji Hye Jung, percussionist. When the BlueSHIFT concert concluded, Dr. Butler (m) mentioned to not miss this opportunity and championed Jung’s playing to the nth degree. “Praised as “spectacular” by the Los Angeles Times and “extraordinary” by the Ventura County Star, the Times describes percussionist Ji Hye Jung as “a centered player who can give the impression of being very still yet at all places at once (SIU Program Notes).”

This was one of those recitals where the performer had such a calm effortless command over her instrument and every movement seemed organic. What I found truly mesmerizing was how deftly she was able to recalibrate her mallets and adjust to hit certain notes without hesitation.  Jung performed Violin Sonata No.1 in G Minor Fugue on marimba and while listening to said fugue my theory brain kicked on identifying most of the aspects of a fugue. Honestly, it was an excellent benchmark and test for myself because I had been reviewing forums of both fugues and inventions in theory tutoring.

My favorite work on Jung’s recital was “To the Earth” a percussive tale and homage to the Earth mother and the people inhabiting the pale blue dot. The composition is played on four different sized pots and spoken over. From my vantage point I could not believe how she sat down on the floor of OBF because of the way in which her legs bent if I were playing said composition my legs would have been long asleep and getting up afterwards would have turned the work into a comedic farce of disastrophy plus two. The message of this composition is simply take care of the earth and it will take care of you.  “Be generous and give me a happy life…in return for my song, so that I can continue to praise you with my music.” The recital concluded and my colleges and I were amazed at the masterwork recital that we had just witnessed.

Sunday was peculiar because I had the opportunity to listen to The Altgeld Chamber Players and also perform for the student recital.  The first piece “I Was Like, Wow” was a great experience because it was the first time I had heard my teacher perform live. However, the composition is very sobering and staggering. The composition and fixed media help tell a harrowing account of war-torn middle east, but on a micro level, the awful fate of a soldier who ended up triggering multiple mines and blowing himself up. Although the composition may be macabre, the trombone is used unconventionally utilizing flutter tonguing, glissandos, and vibrato. The fixed media and trombone is blended with the screams of the audio track and gives the trombone a quasi-reverberation effect. The composition concludes with the wounded warrior riding his ATV off into the distance.

The next composition on the recital told the story of a spider and his growth through three musical movements. I happened to really enjoy the “Shadow Warrior” movement and how the shadows casted on this building at night makes anything scurrying by colossal. “Shadow Warrior” utilizes a large range of the piano in order to emulate this growing spider’s confidence. The imagery that I conjure depicts a massive spider scurrying over its domain.

Next one of my favorite compositions was played. “The Rite of Spring” is one of my favorite compositions because of the primal rhythms that Stravinsky uses throughout. Anecdotally, this reminds me of the dinosaur extinction from Fantasia. Which was one of my first encounters with classical music and is most certainly my first encounter with Igor Stravinsky. The amazing aspect of this particular composition was that it was done all on piano with four hands. I cannot even imagine the coordination required to play the ballet, however, it was amazing nonetheless.

Finally, it was my turn to listen to many of the student performers and also get the opportunity to perform myself. I really enjoyed seeing my peers play compositions by Ives, Adler, Webern, and Jespersen. I had the pleasure of performing Concerto for 9 instruments by Webern. Coming from a film studies background I have a different perspective about the twelve-tone music than my performance peers. Many of the compositional techniques used in twelve-tone music would eventually permeate one of my favorite film genres, noir. Furthermore, the expressionist film movement also used low-key lighting another staple of the noir genre. My film background gives me a bit more context into musical expressionism too.

Overall, I thought the concerto went okay. I was a measure late with one cue and I seemed to have fumbled a bit of the trio in the III movement. Some of my notes spoke a bit late, but other than those mistakes I thought my performance was okay. I thought the coolest piece of the concert was “Boombox Serenade” by Ryan Jespersen. The concept of this piece shows the inner mind of a street musician. I had the pleasure of hearing this performed before the concert. Interestingly, I thought about noir once again, however, this seemed more like revisionist noir that would take place in modern or even future setting. Honestly, the audio track reminded me of Blade Runner. My minds eye pictured a hardboiled detective roaming the streets in search of a missing persons and on his journey that was probably a lead given to him by a femme fatale. It was interesting to see this underlying theme of film noir emerge out of atonal and contemporary music of Sunday. Much of noir film owes its skeleton to the expressionist movement, but that is a discussion for another time.... 

The Week(s) of Unconventional Quadrilateral Boundaries will continue in Part 3

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The Week(s) of Unconventional Quadrilateral Boundaries Part 1

           Introducing the strange can be a wonderful lens to delve through. My journey took a strange turn down a rabbit hole of artful outlandish musical oddities, truly idiosyncratic and unforgettable. Interestingly, Altgeld Castle hosts an eccentric music festival that dissolves unconventional quadrilateral boundaries like a petty façade.

           Following a refreshing break and traveling on The Wheels of the Mellow Roll I returned to the Desert Castle of Altgeld. After my long journey my primary directive was to unsheathe my blade and begin training. A new element of strangeness that I have began introducing into my routine is aural dampening. This element of strangeness consists of muffling your ears in order to produce a stronger sound. I enjoy synthesizing strangeness in the practice room, so I created what I call blackout aural dampening when practicing lip slurs. This strangeness pairing forces myself to rely only on my ears which are handicapped and therefore requires me to play at higher volumes. Additionally, my eyes are closed too in order to combat they eyebrow habit I have. After completing a few standards sword techniques, I noticed a strange blue hue that seemed to be lingering in sandy halls of the desert castle halls.

Upon further inspection, the hue grew stronger as I got closer to Shyrock colosseum where I found the source of the strange blue light. BlueSHIFT was a fantastic introduction to the week of avant-garde music ringing throughout the castle grounds. “False Summit” was described as composition inspired by climbing mountains only to find that the peak you thought was the zenith is bogus and the true apex lies ahead. I thought about my own personal musical journey and how many times I hit certain echelons only to find that this point of the voyage is really only the beginning. In regards to music, it reminds me of the mathematical concept of an asymptote which is “a line that continually approaches a given curve but does not meet it at any finite distance (dictionary).” No matter how far you climb the musical mountain there is always a false crown around the bend. Based on the opening of this festival I knew that I was going to be in a for something non-compos mentis.

The ninetieth started just like any normal school day where I wrestled myself from a dormant sleep to pick up right where I left off. The musical habits that have been established continued fluidly despite transitioning from break. Over break I noticed that I hit new bench marks with my aural skills surpassing any melodic and harmonic intervals and getting into intervals that are over an octave which is what is expected of me for the review class. With that in mind, I need to round out a few other areas of aural skills and I will be in good shape by the end of the semester. I was still riding the blue wavelengths of the concert the evening before and I was eager to get into a practice room.

Interestingly, I started refining a few of my warm-up routines by adding dynamics during the climaxes of my warm-up exercise. One important note that I wrote in my log is that my higher slurs have started to smooth out which means my flexibility has gotten better.  Over the break I managed to get into my normal household practice schedule which includes spending time on a piano, so without any hesitation I decided to try and incorporate it into my schedule. Normally, I choose a new key every week, review scales, root chords, jazz voicings, and noodle around a bit to have some fun for a change. I usually practice piano when my chops are exhausted or need of a buffer before I start another routine.  My day concluded with a Tonal and Aural Mastery exercises of 1-4-1-3-1-2-1 in all keys and ranges.

In Pedagogy that week we spent a good portion of class talking about practice/ performance techniques and with more strangeness synthesis occurred in the form of “shaken not slurred” which indicates the use of vibrato on certain notes in order to find the center of the note. Thus, I hope eventually I will learn the center of higher pitches because the length of my bell augments where certain notes lay. Additionally, in regards to performance practice the concept of variety seemed to have resonated well. When doing my normal buzzing routine, I came across some old 16-bit chip tunes from older Sega Genesis games that I use to play. It was fairly challenging to buzz some the intricate melodies, runs, and licks throughout the sound tracks.

Honestly, this week proved to be somewhat stressful on top of getting music ready for the final evening of the festival. I was also involved in some extra rehearsals because of the student recitals and our quartet had a church gig rehearsal to prepare for Easter. I must say that one of my personal goals of playing as much music as possible has certainly come true. I really enjoy getting exposed to a wide variety of repertoire leading to a diverse musical pallet.

Wednesday was a bit unorthodox because of the schedule shift that took place, however, because I had some extra time I could really refine my solo. I rarely ever take time to acknowledge my playing, but even I was impressed with how the first movement of Ghrondhal was sounding… HEROIC. When I play well an enormous surge of serotonin ripples through my body as I enter a heightened state of ecstasy. I remember being extremely content for the rest of the day and my only wish is that I can learn how to replicate this transcendent state more often.

Unconventional quadrilateral boundaries were unhinged on Friday when I experienced renown guest artist and saxophonist Randall Hall.  Hall’s recital was grounded in Neoplatonism “this brand of Platonism, which is often described as ‘mystical’ or religious in nature, developed outside the mainstream of Academic Platonism (New-Platonism).” He created a program about tapping into the gateways of visiting with higher transcendental entities via music. Hall opened with a piece about Orfeo’s descent into the underworld to meet with Hades. He also utilized soprano sax for one of his pieces because it resembles the Greek aulos. Hall utilized many extended saxophone techniques including slap tonging which he seemed to do effortlessly in his playing. Another aspect of Halls recital was to invoke this idea of trances in order to meet with transcendental entities. The fixed media he used throughout his recital helped to articulate his program concept. Overall, it was an outlandish trip into the spiritual realm of mysticism with Randall Hall as a shaman and spirit guide….

The Week(s) of Unconventional Quadrilateral Boundaries continued in part 2

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Wheels of the Mellow Roll

Windows down, tunes up, and the sun shining as the frigid weather slips into a dormant decline. Spring break is often a time to get out of dodge, let the mind recoup, and enjoy a road trip to a known or unknown destination accompanied by your favorite tunes. Nothing beats listening to your favorite mellow road tunes with a long drive ahead of you with the windows ajar breathing in the premature spring air.  Honestly, I could not wait for the opportunity to make my way home for spring break shepherded by my select artist of choice. However, a lot was on my mind with my uncle passing away two weeks ago. I wanted to find something that ushered in spring break as what the ITunes store describes as “a set of sunlit, heartfelt singer/songwriter fare that finds… reflection on family [and relationships] with often stunning candor (ITunes Store).” However, before I reveal my spring break road trip artist of choice. I must tell a zany anecdote from 2015 that starts with none other than a coffee shop and a sunny day in Los Angeles, CA…

I started my day with my normal bus routine and proceeded to grab a red eye at my frequented coffee joint Brazil Kiss. Brazil Kiss is located on a production lot, and every morning the buzzer would be wrung by about three interns looking for coffee, food, or Guarana Antarctica. Every morning I would start out the day with a red eye. A red eye at Brazil Kiss is the closet equivalent to Ragged Edge's Turkish Blend Coffee. It is no joke and will have you flying through music cue sheets in a caffeinated frenzy of mouse and button clicks. Honestly, I have not had a caffeinated rush like that since community college and was it ever so pleasant. The employees at Brazil Kiss were extremely down-to-earth. One day I was asked by an employee if I knew who Canadian singer/ songwriter Mac Demarco I was replied no, but after a quick Google images search I erupted in uncontrollable laughter… and a case of mistaken identity and moonlighting began.

Mac Demarco started his musical career as a joke. His debut album Rock and Roll Nightclub (2012) exposed the world to a madcap musician with echoes of 50s sounding rock and roll paired with whacky radio sketches in the interim of the album.  However, Demarco really found his voice on his sophomore album titled 2 (2012) which he released the same year.  Demarco fits in the vein of Blur and Ween and is influenced primarily by Steely Dan’s Pretzel Logic. Mac self produces, engineers, and masters all of his music and uses analog recording techniques. I really respect Mac’s devotion to his craft because of the extreme demands that being a musician nowadays calls for and due to my background in audio and music production I see Mac as hero who deserves everything coming to him. From a musical standpoint, you can listen to the growth of Demarco’s production and songwriting chops from Rock and Roll Nightclub (2012) to his latest album This Old Dog (2017).

This Old Dog (2017) easily fitted the criteria I was looking for when selecting music for my return trip home. The warm harmonic progressions Demarco uses is an excellent reminder that warmer days are approaching. The warm progressions and mellow instrumental mix make for a superlative smooth road riding experience chalked with many musical jewels. My Old Man” opens the album with Mac reflecting on his relationship with his father, but ultimately concludes that he is “seeing more of my old man in me.” “This Old Dog” showcases the sunlit feel of the album especially with the guitar bends which sound like sunlight reflecting off of a body of water and barks of Demarco getting older, stronger, and less forgetful of substantial events that have occurred in his life. “One Another” starts with an upbeat, cheerful, and earnest examination of a dissolving relationship where “these days are better without one another.” “Moonlight on the River” tells the journey of returning home and confronting mortality and provided a poignant commentary on exactly what I was doing.

Overall, This Old Dog (2017) picks up where Salad Days (2014) concluded and is arguably Demarco’s finest album to date. Interestingly, things have a weird way of coming full circle to the West Coast, specifically, Los Angeles.   Demarco recorded This Old Dog (2017) while moving to Los Angeles.  “I demoed a full album, and as I was moving to the West Coast …. and it was weird, because usually I just write, record, and put it out; no problem. But this time, I wrote them and they sat. When that happens, you really get to know the songs. It was a different vibe (Mac Demarco).”  According to Demarco when you sit on your tunes they ferment and provide a weightier meaning. However, I believe that some of his earlier work provides just a much weight as this set of tunes.

In conclusion, I would give This Old Dog (2017) a solid 8/10, however, when I factor in my personal biases and everything going on at this specific time in my life I would award This Old Dog (2017) an 8.5/10.  I would recommend This Old Dog (2017) as the perfect road companion to accompany anyone on a long smooth mellow journey. As a musician, I am really looking forward to seeing “Mac Attack the Knife Demarco’s” career blooming like an aconite in spring. I believe Mac’s devotion to his craft is deserved of everything coming to him. Until then, I will keep traveling and looking for the mellowest road tunes to accompany anyone on driving on a long-winded voyage home or to any destination… wheels of the mellow roll.

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