MARK SISTO (Vocals) the Visitors, the Manifestations
GED CORBEN (Guitar) Lime Spiders, Cruel Sea
JON SCHOFIELD(Guitar)Paul Kelly&Coloured Girls,Stepfords,Ian Rilan's love addicts,Grooveyard
ANDY NEWMAN (Bass) ME262,the Manifestations, the Free Radicals
JEFFREY WEGENER (Drums) Ed Kuepper, Laughing Clowns, Saints, Nick Cave
Co-singer MADELEINE CHASE. Skolars
Influences
for SISTO:
At the moment Ged, Schofield, Andy, Jeffrey and Madeleine are major influences. Of course I got a few priors.
I have been influenced by the weird times we live and lived in. Furthermore, having had many biblical epic nightmares as a kid,...yes an influence
GENE CLARK,
JOHNNY CASH,
SCOTT WALKER,the BYRDS
WE FIVE,
JOHNNY RIVERS,
GRAM PARSONS,
ARTHUR LEE and LOVE
JIMMY WEBB,
EDGAR ALLEN POE,
BRIAN WILSON,
GENE PITNEY,
ROY ORBISON,
Igor STRAVINSKY,
the DOORS,
MC5,
JAMES BROWN,
SRC,
ROKY ERICSON,
SAM COOKE,
ALAN VEGA/Suicide,
Ray Charles
SINATRA,
FRANKIE VALLI and the 4 SEASONS,Cocteux twins
DION and the Belmonts,
the BEATLES(John,not Paul)
AND YA CAN'T FORGET THE FUNK BROTHERS the MOTOWN sound
First time I saw live music of any kind was THE WHO when I was 12, front row, elbows on the stage at an over-capacity crowd at the Grande ballroom, .(Joy and Grandriver), I got myself influenced. Also watching local Detroit television, like George Pierrot, Soupy Sales, also influenced by those weird radio stations that would come up out of deep Appalachia, when the ionosphere was just right and you'd get a bounce, you'd get these high, (very high!! ) on Jesus, Holy Rollers, praising !!! Must include early RADIO BIRDMAN days must be included.
Even as an adult , influences can still influence, I was 30ish when I was introduced to SCOTT WALKER , The city of DETROIT, the town I was raised in, had a profound effect on me, as have trees . The ATOMIC BOMB had a big effect on me, it not only terrified me profoundly, but it also may have very well have saved my fathers life.
so many.... MARK SISTO
Sounds Like
Byrds, Love, Jefferson Airplane, Gram Parsons, 13th Floor Elevators.
But on the other hand, these guys seem to sound like what ever they damn well feel like. A BROAD SPECTRUM musical phenomenon, no narrow slot for the convenience of marketers, or for our own commercial sensibility...
Remember what happened to Eva Cassidy? No record deal - she couldn’t make up her mind, then she died. Defied the system... some correlation perhaps?
BENT, BEAUTIFUL or FURIOUS never lightweight, never monotonous, can be dark and menacing, then humourous.
It takes you on a kind of a journey
For example, last gig it started with an appetizer of that jazzy sax honking jitterbug jam called JITTERBUG
Then a first course gentler Psychedelic tunes,
Then stopped to belted down a shot each of Scott Walker and Johnny Cash,
Then second course was more fury and passionate rockness
and the jazzy and dangerous Sidewinder to close
ANDY NEWMAN: Bass,... Six out of seven guitarists who have worked with Andy, say things like, "Yeah, Id rather have ANDY" and "Andy is real good" and other superlatives.
We claim our door charge is justified just to hear Andy and his Alembic or his surreal looking stand-up bass. Andy also happens to be a superb pianist.
GED CORBEN: As well as being a Lime Spider and founding member of the Cruel Sea has been a "folky" in "Wheelers and Dealers". Anything with more than 4 strings, Ged has for breakfast. Ged played with PJ PROBY once !!
JON SCHOFIELD: Has played consistently in the local scene and elsewhere since Grooveyard in the early 80's. and since with Paul Kelly and coloured girls, Ian Rilen's Hell To Pay, the Stepfords, and the Wet Suits, Recently played piano and wrote the score for the documentary "Remembrance", a tribute to Australian WWII veterans. Loves trying to sing with Sisto.
JEFFERY WEGENER :Just back from a playing in UK, with Ed Kuepper, and Nick Cave.
Jeffery found himself drawn to "Project Smoothie" Why? He says he cant tell you
BUT he will show you !! At these two up coming gigs !!!
MADELEINE CHASE: A singer/songwriter, guitarist, and a teacher of singing,
8 years with the Skolars, and since a solo artist , cabaret and an amazing dancer when she feels like it.
MARK SISTO: First visible to Sydney audiences as Radio Birdman's "Minister of Defence" (that's another story), then as singer with post Radio Birdman band the VISITORS, now very much at home with a 12-string onboard, and a female voice to harmonise with occasionally. Sounds nice and sweet, huh? Well, here's how it looked through foreign eyes...
AN OBSERVATION FROM THE HARD HITTING FRENCH BAND, "HOLY CURSE"
___________"Very of black vêtu as to his practice"______________________
".....this good damaged old man of Sisto Mark to the song .
They attack by excellence a "When the Man Comes Around" of Johnny Cash.
They give in a register more arty that us, although their base is very
rock' roll - enough Velvetien in fact. These guys have an exceptional
level, that plays serious. I appreciate much the presence of Mark on
scene, very of black vêtu as to his practice. it declame and tells,
as much as it sings"
"...the only reference to 60's-70s Detroit I could recognize is Mark Sisto's dancing. Remember these MC5 footage, with Wayne Kramer(i think ROB TYNER right?) doing some kind of slip and slide across the stage. Well, Sisto's got it all the same. No doubt he was raised through Motown.. It is often in extreme cases , but with this key of genius which makes that that becomes beautiful.
It has this very theatrical way to cut out the words and to throw them to
us to the vusage. This type is an actor at least as much that singer. It
benefits from all the situations and ties up a chick with her cable of
microphone and is useing her leg for a micstand, with Mark Sisto, as the sour icing on top. Holy Curse's guitar player said that Mark Sisto's singing and dancing reminded him of Italian movies from the 60s. I'm more into German cabaret but I get his point too. Tying up the girl upfront with the mike lead was probably less frightening than Sisto's preaching on 'The Man Comes Around.'"
"...this impromptu duet is completely captivating and mimicry of the two
protagonists would undoubtedly not have displeased to a scenario writer
as Fellini... the concert finishes but one will not lie down immediately."
New album out now. 11 tracks. With free cd version inside !!! Going straight to the source, The Holy Curse went to Tardis 2 studio, Sydney with Deniz Tek (Radio Birdman) and to Jim Diamond’s Ghetto Recorders (Dirtbombs, White Stripes, …), with guest appearances from Deniz Tek, Mark Sisto, and Gary Rasmussen. www.myspace.com/theholycurse www.holycurse.net
Who am I? I'm asking myself that all the time too.....if only I could get this bloody mask off maybe I could find out!? Oh hang on, that wouldn't help at all, cos that's Julie Newmar dressed as the original Catwoman wearing the mask, not me......Oh, I'm depressed now, I hope I still have some mystery!?
