All Hail Mike Korzek By Derek Phillips, October 13, 2004 GLONO discovers next big thing and it is Mike! We get a lot of shit to review here at GLONO. I mean a LOT. Its overwhelming and weve been adding to our list of reviewers to try and get through it all. Most of it is crap, Ill be honest with you. Its a lot of boring emo or obnoxious mall punk. And most of it is adorned with so much swag that its no wonder so many labels are going under. We just throw that shit away. But a few weeks ago I opened an unadorned envelope (save for a photocopied version of the picture accompanying this article) to find a breath of fresh air. According to the very brief bio, Mike Korzek has been a singer/songwriter, guitarist for over 30 years. Well, dont be modest, Mike. Youre so much more than that! No, ladies and gentleman, Mike Korzek is the futureor the pastits hard to say. But thats what makes great music, no? Its timelessness! Spurning the temptation to record his songs in a fancy, money-sucking studio, Mike Korzek brings it back to basics. This is lo-fi, friends. And isnt that all the rage? While the Strokes throw down thousands of dollars for effects that mimic crappy mics, Mike cuts out the middleman and walks straight to Radio Shack. The results are priceless. The honesty of the lyrics comes through, unhindered by windscreens, or preamps, or mixing boards, or effects processors, or ProTools Pitch Correcting software, or any of that bullshit that the Mans been feeding us as professional sound. And why get caught up in personality disputes that can get in the way of the music? How many great bands have to disintegrate before we learn our lesson? Was it not enough for the Beatles to descend into lawsuits and public bickering? Did we learn nothing of the Fleetwood Mac and Sonny & Cher divorces? Must we endure another tragedy like what befell New Kids on the Block? As the Kills say, Fuck the People. Its about the music, and Mike Korzek is getting the music down before he reforms the Mike Korzak Band. Thank you, Mike. Thank you for thinking of the music first. No, Mike Korzek is currently working with a four-track recorder, a one-beat drum machine, a bevy of guitar effects, and a dream. Sure, some might say this is Mike cashing in on the minimalist craze. But lets keep it real because I am keeping it real. And so is Mike Korzek. The White Stripes are near the end. Theyre a divorced couple pretending to be brother and sister. Theyre bound to implode. The Handsome Family are a two-piece aided by a drum machine, but they too often poison the song with the addition of organs and autoharps and backing vocals and lots of other accoutrements. The Kills? Please, they have a hot girl singing. Yuck! Mike Korzek lists his influences as classic rock in the tradition of Hendrix and Cream. But youd be hard pressed to find any of the guitar wankery of Hendrix or the percussive shenanigans of Ginger Baker in Mikes songs. He lets the music come through with just one repeating drum beat and a handful of loosely fingered guitar chords. Thats his punk roots coming through, and Mike attributes those roots to also being influenced by the alternative wave represented by Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Bush. Yes, Mike likes to keep up with the new sound. Afterall, an artist doesnt live in a vacuum! Thankfully, we can expect a lot more from Mike than the 10 songs he sent GLONO. Along with the social commentary of Pulpers in Palm Beach County or Dying in Westland and the gentle honesty of Karen Toes or Ballad of Jimi, we can expect more of the truth in the over 230 songs Mike has recently penned. I know Ill be checking the PO Box with anticipation. So bow down, GLONO readers, for we have seen the future and he is the I.T. guy in your office. While you want to encourage an artist to grow, you cant improve on perfection, as Mike so eloquently states in the title of track 9, I Like What I am Playing and I Dont Want to Improve. God Speed, Mike Korzek. God Speed! Lots of Mike Korzek mp3s available at IUMA and you can stream samples of even more songs at mp3.com THE MIKE KORZAK BAND http://www.isound.com/mp3s/mike_korzak_band Wednesday Elektra [Wednesday]: Mike, please introduce us to your band and tell us a little bit about how everything fell together. Mike Korzek [Mike]: First off, I have been playing and writing music for quite awhile now. I began learning to play guitar when my brother brought home a Cream, "Wheels of Fire" album. Right now the band name is for my DIY (do it yourself) solo projects until I am able to get a band firmly going in Detroit, Michigan. Being a songwriter, it has been difficult to find musicians committed to original projects without wanting to be a cover band. Wednesday: How would you describe the alt-rock music scene in Berkley, Michigan and where do you fit into the picture? Mike: When my wife and I first decided to really make a go at gigging in the area, I went to a place in Detroit. I went in there and it was a real dump, so I didn't play. I later found out that The White Stripes got their start playing there at that time, so maybe I should have played and had a chance to meet them. Kid Rock also played at a saloon in Berkley. To me I would think that the alt music scene has suffered, quite like the economics of our area. There are some areas to play at, but I would prefer to reach a much broader audience. I think with the Internet many bands are able to do that. As where I fit into our alt/scene, I feel very much a progenitor of something that hasn't really developed yet. Wednesday: I see you had a show in Toronto (Ontario, Canada) not too long ago, do you have plans to tour or perform in the future? If so, what areas are you looking to hit up? Mike: There is a big Ren Cen gig in downtown Detroit that I have applied to and haven't been accepted as of yet. As it stands now, I will be doing acoustic type gigs in the Detroit area, and maybe in Illinois also. Ideally I want the popularity of the music on the Internet to generate a more ambitious tour and get band members a step of faith to come and gig with me. Wednesday: Tell us about your latest release and your plans for future releases. Mike: Charts In France has available "Uncle Beanies Band" (2005) and "Playin' On The Shelf" (2004). http://www.chartsinfrance.net/musique/artiste/27971_The+Mike
+Korzak+Band.html. There are plans to officially release "Mr Blue" this year as soon as the finances are available to release it. I also have between two to three CDs of material that I would like to release as soon as possible, and a lot of older songs. I would say I have about 250 rough demos of songs. A lot has been done on analog tape and I'm waiting to upgrade my equipment to burn the CDs digitally. I just finished writing a song this afternoon, in fact, I really enjoy the creative process. Wednesday: Where can our readers go to hear your music and how can they get in touch with you? Mike: You can download several songs at: http://www.isound.com/mp3s/mike_korzak_band, or at places such as download.com, and musicane.com. Also, I have CDs available through Yahoo music under "Mike Korzak" and you can do a general search for my stuff. You may also email me at
[email protected], I used to have a ton of stuff on vitaminic.com and iuma.com but I haven't been able to access them since 12/05. Are they out of business? Wednesday: Where do you see yourself by the end of the 2006 year? Mike: I work as an engineer in Detroit, so I look forward to being back at work, I also look forward to further exposure of my music that would lead to an indie record deal, and further opportunities to air my music and put together a kicker of a band. Wednesday: Thanks Mike for the interview, is there anything in closing you'd like to leave the readers with? Mike: Lyrics to a new song: "Hey, Mr. Guitar Man. Hey, what's your plan?" Don't forget to Boogie!
