Giulio Carmassi, Frogs, Steve McDonald, & Matt Cooker.
Influences
Elliott Smith, Portland, OR, pedal-steel guitars, David Bazan, cellos, self-deprecation, The National, Pete Yorn, Brooklyn, NY, Baby Roxi, photographers and models, Dave Delhomme, poetry in Los Angeles, violins, Kelli Noftle, fraternal twins, open tuning to beat writer's block, bowed vibraphone, Jeff Tweedy, Johnny Cash, impossible dreams, Ben Gibbard, Boston, MA, Giulio Carmassi, Bob Dylan, Conor Oberst, Coner Oberst doing Bob Dylan, Steve McDonald, bathroom acoustics, drunken handclaps, upright pianos, sleigh bells, Before Sunrise, shitty Halloween nights.
And that's just the first album.
After ten years fronting rock bands in Boston and Los Angeles, Marc M. Cogman dissolved the critically acclaimed five-piece The Neon Calm and began his first solo venture in the fall of 2006. Searching for a more organic sound, he wrote all the songs on solo acoustic guitar or solo piano and tried them out live in that form during his 4 month residency at The Mint in Los Angeles.
After choosing the best of the best, he recruited a multifaceted group of local musicians and friends to help him realize the songs in larger form. By February of 2007, Cogman's little experiment had worked, and the fruit of his labor was his 10-song debut solo record, Welcome to the Danger Show.
Always a competant songwriter and talented lyricist, Cogman has taken his talent to a whole new level with Welcome to the Danger Show. Behind his acoustic guitar and a score of instruments, varying from song to song, Cogman sings in his raspy baritone about his year of danger, from the end of a long term relationship, his decision to go solo as an artist, and an illicit affair with an unavailable woman. Through these personal experience Cogman muses on what it means to gamble with your emotions, and examines the very nature of risk itself.
The sonic landscape of Welcome to the Danger Show utlizes what Cogman calls "the truly American sound". Folky tunes like "Run Like Hell", "We", and "Incurable Blues" showcase Cogman's affinity with Bob Dylan, complete with snarling B3 organ, honky-tonk piano, harmonica, and lap steel guitar. Meanwhile, the indie-rocker isn't completely gone on the edgy anthem "Lonely, Lonely" and the break-up rock-ballad "I Can't Fix It". Rounding out the record are perhaps the most potent songs, where Cogman shows restraint in his sparest orchestrations. The heart-breaking "Complete" is dominated by a single vocal track and a Wurlitzer piano, while "Chiaroscuro" features finger-style guitar and two violins.
The violins also appear on the stellar "Foreign Movie" and the sad, beautiful "Porcelain". After the foot-stomping blues-rock of "Incurable Blues" has lifted the listener at track 9, Cogman gets behind the piano for "This Won't Last" on the final track 10, just to remind everyone that all is never well for long.
From start to finish, Marc M. Cogman's Welcome to the Danger Show is a unique glimpse of an experienced artist who's finally found his perfect voice. Buy your copy and hear this brilliant young indie artist who won't be indie for long.
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Hey Marc! How's everything going? I'm planning a road trip down to LA soon... maybe you and Buffy can chill. You guys know you always have a place in Fresno to crash
looks like things are going well so hurry up and blow up already my skills as a bouncer are getting rusty and im not getting any younger over here man!!! and im still personally screening all the groupies b4 i let them back stage!! lol hope all is well my friend luv the new stuff so get to dc already!!
Hi Marc Hope we can cross paths out here sometime. I'm back east for your next show at the Mint, otherwise I'd come. We have several mutual pals... Cheers~ amilia
I have to concur with Rachael Jean. 'Incurable Blues' is a prodigious piece of artistry. Even if you opt against adding it to the player, thank you for writing/performing it.
Marc, I love your music. Mandy and Bryan gave me your CD last time I was in LA and I've since been converting Utah to your sound. We love it! Anyway, I just finished recording a new song. I've posted it on our Myspace page. Check it out when you get the chance. I'd love to get your feedback.
