Leigh Marble: guitar & vox Ben Macy: organ, piano, accordion, bg vox Jason Russell: drums
Influences
musics: Morphine, Kristin Hersh, Joseph Arthur, Fugazi, Steve Earle, Richmond Fontaine, King Tubby, Buck 65, Dan Bern, Ani DiFranco, Wilco, Tin Hat Trio, Tom Waits, Calexico, Varnaline, Elliott Smith, Neutral Milk Hotel, Dolorean...
books: John Irving (esp Garp and Hotel New Hampshire), "Fishboy" by Mark Richard, the Lester Bangs anthologies, Cryptonomicon
Sounds Like
A cross between Tom Waits and Fugazi: rooted in folk forms, yet idiosyncratically smart and sharp. Junkyard Americana, some might call it, with a scrappy sound descended from punk rock minimalism. Leigh's live show features propulsive drumming from Jason Russell, supple organ and accordion work from Ben Macy, and Marble's tight rhythms pumped out on an amped-up acoustic guitar.
With his second solo album, Marble set out to make an album with more dirt, sweat, and human interaction than its predecessor, "Peep". All of which he did with Red Tornado.
"Red Tornado" is a descriptor of the emotional state that each of these songs came out of, whether it be depression, frustration, or high anxiety – the common thread running through this album.
Whether it’s album opener "Lucky Bastards", a song about ambition and poisonous envy, the American dream vexed to nightmare by the vapidity of pat aphorisms, or "On Your Way", a kiss-off song to a friend full of high ideals and low standards. To "Salt In the Would", a song Marble describes as "a memoriam to a number of slow-suicide cases I’ve known in Portland. Frustrated artists that forget their beauty and drink themselves to death", Marble pulls no emotional punches in his pursuit to speak his mind and let his voice be heard.
"I took chances letting more people into the creative process. Working with two musicians in the band now (keyboard maestro Ben Macy and feral drummerkind Jason Russell), working with some outside engineers for tracking. I had a couple key overdub sessions with friends Peter Broderick (Horsefeathers) on violin and Mike Apinyakul (Shoeshine Blue) on guitar, both of which helped push songs in a new direction."
Marble also admits he was more sonically adventurous this time around. He tracked drums with more distortion from the beginning. He stacked up guitars more than he had in the past. And he tried to follow what each song was asking for, rather than relying on his preconceptions of what the arrangements were going to be. This less rigid, more organic approach resulted in a more vibrant expression of his vision.
"I was willing to lay some stuff down, like a rock record, and not mess with it by polishing it," states Marble. "I left the rough edges in this time."
Red Tornado was recorded at Leigh's Fishboy Studios, and was mixed by Jeff Stuart Saltzman.
Hi Leigh We are playing town this Wednesday. Come on down if you can. cheers, Casey
an evening with Casey Neill & the Norway Rats. Wed May 14th- PORTLAND, OR Lola's Room at the Crystal Ballroom EARLY SHOW - 7pm doors, 8pm start, $8, No Smoking, 1332 W. Burnside we're fresh off a month of touring and and playing a full 2 set show. The band features Ezra Holbrook, Jenny Conlee, Adam East, Little Sue, Lewi Longmire and Hanz Araki
wow, lookin like things are going really well for you leigh! happy for ya :) and your page is looking really great.. professional and all ;) and i was glad to find scarce has a myspace page too! really nice to see that! http://www. myspace. com/scarcetheband ciao babe~
No problem, we had tons of fun. At least we got to see you perform a few songs. We will definately come back and see you again! It was really nice meeting you and thanks so much for taking pictures with us. Im gonna have to teach Summer how to use the camera, maybe a coupon for a photography lesson..haha Take care Leigh! :)
You bet! We look forward to going to another show sometime. No need to apologize, I know how that goes! Thanks for taking the time to meet and talk to us---and being so patient while I tried to figure out that new camera. haha! Have a great weekend!