Though mostly known for playing drums for a dozen or so bands for the last few years (School For the Dead, The Figments, Mark Mulcahy, Don Lennon, The Fawns, Lo Fine, Haunt, etc) songwriting has been going on in Brian Marchese’s life since he was a 16 year-old making 4-track albums. It’s just that in his adopted city ofNorthampton, MA, singer-songwriters outnumber drummers 12–1, so he found himself becoming everyone’s go-to guy, gaining quite the reputation as a crackerjack skinsman extraordinaire. Finally, in 2004, enough was enough and he released the first SNTB album, A Cartoon, A Joke, which was met with surprise, delight and very kind reviews. By the way, he still does play in a million bands—hard habit to break.
Polite: the second album
Marchese plays right-handed guitars but flips them upside-down and strums the strings from the bottom up. This unorthodox method symbolically reflect what you’ll discover on his latest CD, “Politeâ€: Marchese’s penchant for lyrical left turns and the left-of-center leading chords that lure the listener. Brian’s distinctive voice will engage you with tales of everything from rejection and isolation, to oceanic superheroes and cows in meadows.
The southpaw’s sophomore solo set is comprised of ten expeditions into a slightly trippy terrain of pop/rock, perhaps reminding you of some 60’s NYC , 70’s Cali or 80’s UK vibe; or perhaps of the current day indie artists who have made moot the difference between AM gold and cult classic, Brill Building and crop circle, bubblegum bliss and narcotic oblivion.
